Finney Farm: An Intentional Community

When we first heard from Jennie at Finney Farm, she explained that the farm is an “intentional community of anarchists.” I didn’t know what to expect. Amber knows of some people in Silk Hope that live in an anarchist community, I still think of the red letter “A”, black clothing, and Jinkos, (yeah that’s right, Jinkos). I guess I just assumed that anarchy meant running amuck, wreaking havoc, or at the very least, existing without any type of organization. I was very wrong. That is not what it means at all; at least not at Finney Farm.

Finney Farm consists of several members; Robert and Jennie (their two girls Willow and Violet), Brad and Brandy (their two girls Zoya and Izzy) and George. Flap is what you call a floater- a friend and frequent guest…more like family. Luke is staying temporarily on the farm. People like Kat and Emily (and her son Brian) come frequently for weekend visits and Wwoofers (like us and Jack, from Yonkers, NY) come and go. The members each have a stake in the property. The farm is open for growth as long as everyone agrees on the new members. Every decision on Finney Farm is made on consensus. This means that if one person disagrees, the idea is vetoed. George is on a sort of trial period. During the first six months he can participate in the roundtable meetings and vote, but he does not have veto power. His opinion is still valued, but depending on the issue, his “nay” may not necessarily prevent the motion from passing.

Each family lives in a home on the property. Some of them have jobs and outside sources of income. Jennie states on the website, finneyfarm.org, that one of the main goals of the community is to “create and maintain affordable housing, eliminating much of the need for forced wage slavery.” Other goals are to “steward the land in an ecologically sound manner free from traditional development”, and to “encourage a strong community work ethic which is beneficial to the community as well as the individual.” Each averaging from 10-20 hours input a week; they share the responsibilities of managing the gardens, maintaining the community house, harvesting, chopping wood, and working the farmer’s market in Concrete.

The gardens are a good size for their community producing enough to sustain the people on the farm with fresh and preserved food throughout the year, with a little extra. The stand at the market is not only for profit. They mostly do it to for PR and to raise public awareness about the farm and their community. They also do different things throughout the year for the community. They have a stage on the property where they hold different performances. In early July they host the Southside Social and Barn Dance. They also host community dinners every Monday night in the community house. From the delicious, healthy food to the great conversation to the sauna, community dinners always bring the people and the land a little bit closer.