By Jonathan Taggart
Briarpatch Magazine
July/August 2009
Mishka, 2, plays with Fiza, a volunteer with Canada World Youth, on the floor of the communal kitchen while his mother sweeps. Members of Whole Village share community housekeeping responsibilities such as cleaning, cooking and child care. (All photos: Jonathan Taggart)
(Click photos to enlarge.)
“I first visited Whole Village in April 2007; over the course of the next 18 months, I lived on the farm in installations, working the land to earn my keep while photographing the community.”
Whole Village is an ecovillage and biodynamic farm founded in response to a perceived loss of genuine community, increased urbanization of rural areas and impoverishment of farmland. A self-described intentional community, Whole Village is located on a 200-acre tract of land an hour north of Toronto’s city centre. The community is made up of 30 educators, professionals and farmers who live in a 15,000 square-foot co-operative residence and share sustainability as their ultimate goal. I first visited Whole Village in April 2007; over the course of the next 18 months, I lived on the farm in installations, working the land to earn my keep while photographing the community.
