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Visitors' Guide in a NutshellVisiting the LandPlease call first to let us know you're coming; facilities can sometimes be tight, especially in Winter, and/or there may be a specific event going on that's closed. When you arrive at the Sanctuary, we encourage you to talk with one of the Caretakers to get oriented. Visitors are welcome for initial stays of up to two weeks. Visitors may also schedule "faggot-only space" for a personal retreat. If there are things you would like to do at the Sanctuary that will require an extended stay, please talk with the Caretakers about the length and the focus for your stay. See the Visitor's Program section below for more details. Coming and Going There are numerous ways to visit the Sanctuary. Greyhound stops in Grants Pass, or you can fly into the Medford airport, where we'll be happy to pick you up (with advance notice of course). Plus we're located 5 miles off of I-5, so driving is also pretty easy. Caretakers A small community of Caretakers lives at the Sanctuary to look after the Land. There are usually also several long-term visitors who help keep the place running. If you have questions about anything at the Sanctuary or are having difficulty with a situation, please feel free to talk to the Caretakers. Also, if there is something here that you particularly like, let them know that, too! They appreciate your feedback. Donations We ask visitors to donate $5 per day for the Household Fund, which is used to buy food for the community. Nomenus requests $10-20 per day, more if you can, less if you can't, no one turned away for lack of funds, and anything you can give is fabulous. The Nomenus funds are used for utilities and for the general upkeep of the Land. Please give donations to one of the Caretakers. Accommodations The common buildings are mainly Garden House and the Barn. Most other buildings are private residences. There is limited sleeping space in Garden House, with preference given to those visitors with special needs. During the summer months, we encourage visitors to camp in tents. There are scads of lovely camping sites scattered throughout the Land, and we encourage you to explore and find one that suits you. What to Bring Tents - We have a few tents available on the land but they are limited. Tarps. A sleeping pad and sleeping bag. Cold weather and warm weather clothes. (The weather even in the summer can turn, especially at night.) Rain gear and a change of shoes. (You don't want to get stuck in the cold with wet shoes, trust us!) A flashlight. A water bottle or Nalgene. Sunscreen - On a nice day in the summer it can be all too easy to get badly burned. Toiletries - Please bring only earth-friendly, biodegradable products (see below). Medications. (Make sure to bring extras of any meds you may need in case you end up staying longer.) Ritual drag. (Although we have a lot of this on the land already!) Ritual items. Meals Our meals are mostly vegetarian, and the kitchen is open to all. We prepare and serve our dinners communally and welcome your participation. If you feel inspired to prepare a communal breakfast or lunch, please feel free to do so, although visitors usually prepare these meals themselves. We work with visitors to accommodate their dietary needs, and if you have special food requests, please let the Caretakers know. If requests are pricey, visitors often chip in a bit more than the suggested donation. You are also free to buy your own food and prepare your own meals if you have a particularly specialized diet. Facilities There is a shower in Garden House, and there are also solar showers in the Meadow, which we ask visitors to use during the warmer months to conserve propane. Please bring only biodegradable soaps, shampoos and other hygiene products as our wastewater drains directly onto the land. All of the water that comes out of a faucet comes from our own well and is tested regularly for purity. Meetings Each Monday we hold a Land Meeting to plan for the coming week and discuss projects that are going on at the Sanctuary. We also hold weekly Heart Circles to talk about what is going on for us, as we say, "from the heart." They are an opportunity for sharing and connecting with each other and are one of the ways we form community here. We strongly encourage you to participate in both of these meetings as part of your stay at the Sanctuary. Pets We discourage visitors from bringing pets to the Sanctuary. Owners are responsible for taking care of their pets and keeping them out of trouble. Because of pet allergies, we do not allow pets in Garden House or the Barn. If a pet becomes troublesome, the Caretakers may ask the owner to board the pet at a kennel in Wolf Creek. Long-Term Visitors' ProgramThe Community at the SanctuaryIn addition to hosting gatherings, two of the important functions of the Nomenus Sanctuary at Wolf Creek are to serve as the home for a community of caretakers and as a space for personal retreats. The Sanctuary community includes Caretakers and short- and long-term visitors who come here from many places and for many reasons. Through our visitor program, we are trying to create a healing and nurturing environment for everyone who becomes part of our community at the Sanctuary, however short or long their stay. As visitors stay here, they become more and more part of the fabric of this community, and we hope that the following will give you some idea as to how that might look. What We Ask of Longer-Term Visitors For stays longer than three days, we ask visitors to start taking a larger role in the upkeep of the Sanctuary, pitching in with the various projects we do around the Land. We expect all longer-term visitors to help with cooking and cleaning of the common spaces (Garden House and the Barn), and to attend Land Meetings and Heart Circles that occur during their stays. Also, if there are any personal projects you want to work on while you're here, or if there is anything you feel inspired to do to make the place run better or be more lovely, feel empowered to do it, girl! Please check with the Caretakers first to clear your ideas and visions, to locate any particular tools you need, or for other questions. In general, visitor stays are limited to two weeks; however, if there is something you would like to do at the Sanctuary that will take longer than that, please talk with the Caretakers about your ideas. Visits longer than two weeks need to be approved by the Caretakers and are reviewed by the Community on the Land Committee, a committee of Nomenus that includes Caretakers and other members of Nomenus and meets on a monthly basis. The things we look at in evaluating requests include actively pursuing an intent or focus having to do with faggot-centered spirituality and community, contributing to the sense of community at the Sanctuary, helping with the various chores and projects involved in running the Sanctuary, and in general, self motivation. We also ask visitors staying longer than two weeks to contribute something each month to our newsletter, the RadDish, in order to give the broader community an idea about the focus for your stay. For visitors who don't have money to contribute for food, we also ask that you apply for food stamps. The intent or focus for a longer stay could be any number of things, from exploring what is involved in becoming a Caretaker to facilitating a large construction project or doing some sort of internship or personal program of study, for instance on community dynamics or gay spirituality or organic gardening. Again, we encourage you to talk with the Caretakers about your ideas to help flesh them out, to help bring together the resources to make them happen, and to give you an idea of whether they are reasonably feasible at the Sanctuary. Creating Community The goal in all of this is to maintain a healthy community at the Sanctuary, where people can pursue their dreams and connect with each other in those ways that one finds in faery space. Making community together is not always an easy task, and it takes caring for each other, talking with each other, listening to each other, and working with each other for it to happen well. If something is rankling you, we ask you to talk with people so we can figure out a solution. One of the things the Caretakers do is look after the community at the Sanctuary, but everyone staying at the Sanctuary needs to be an active part of the community for it to work. We look forward to seeing you on the Land! |
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