BUILDING PINERIDGE

I came to live at Findhorn with my two children as a long-term guest during 1983-84. I had visited the community several times before and sensed that people perceived as ‘intellectuals’ were perhaps not particularly welcome. Since I was on sabbatical leave from an academic job, I decided to keep a low profile. I cleaned the bathrooms at Cluny for six months and was happy to be away from the politics and ego-bashing of academia. Then I met John Talbott and JR, both working in planning and building for the community. A major event had just taken place – Pineridge had been purchased by the community and there was much talk about replacing the caravans.

I decided to come out of the closet and told John Talbott I knew about housing preference surveys. I composed a questionnaire survey asking what members would like to see in Pineridge and almost everyone responded. I don’t remember a lot about the details, but I do remember that the majority asked that the houses built to replace the caravans be modest in size, and be built in a style consistent with local Scottish housing. Returning recently and seeing some of the houses that have been built on the Field of Dreams, I sense that those preferences have mostly been forgotten. Ah well, times change.

The survey was done in 1984 and probably sits gathering dust in a drawer somewhere. But it was a good exercise and I am glad I could use my skills in service to the community. When I returned to my job at the university, I refused to keep the Findhorn part of me in the closet and since that time have introduced guided meditations and feeling-based exercises into my academic teaching, to the surprise and delight of my students.

Clare Cooper Marcus