Our Mission
“Inside the word emergency is ‘emerge’; from an emergency new things come forth.” (Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark)
Honeydew is a response to a convergence of crises – political, cultural, and spiritual. Citizens in ‘developed’ industrial nations feel powerless and rudderless; many testify to lacking meaning and a sense of purpose. Weary of consumerism and relentless competition, they nonetheless feel bound to a system that drives the destruction of the planet they wish to save.
The ‘Honeydew Generation’ – roughly the Millenial cohort aged 20-40 – has abundant energy and imagination, but no vehicle for transformation. Their individual prospects don’t reflect either their knowledge or abilities, and they live with acute anxiety. Many have an appetite for communal responses to their predicament: they seek fulfilling work, social recognition, and mutual nourishment – not the endless cycle of ‘the grind’.
At Honeydew, our social and ecological vision also has a spiritual component. We are blessed by the opportunity to be part of a project larger than our individual selves – and to be in service to each other. The creation of the community and its mission to heal are indivisible: the community exists to facilitate healing; the goal of healing is to nurture the community. At Honeydew, we believe that ‘the community is the medicine’. We come together, from a place of brokenness, to build something whole.
‘the community exists to facilitate healing; the goal of healing is to nurture the community.’
Why Now?
Creativity not Consumerism. By opening a space for self-expression and experimentation, we rely less on the validation of consumerism. Honeydew gives us back our imagination.
Shared Work with Purpose. The creation of a cohesive and supportive community, in which we channel our energies into a project the enlarges us all.
Healing. We cannot heal alone, but in service to each other, through mutual care and ‘radical trust’. We explore how to rekindle our social bonds and tend to the ‘collective heart’.
Mission. Creating the conditions for others to enjoy these freedoms. Ours is not a retreat from the world, but an attempt to create a blueprint for an alternative way of living.
Why Honeydew?
Climate Crisis. Overconsumption — not overpopulation — threatens our collective future. By living sustainably in a community powered by solar energy, we reduce our footprint.
Economic Crisis. A generation of educated millennials is caught in the rent trap. Honeydew frees their energy for building community, instead of enriching their landlord.
Social Crisis. Covid highlighted the isolation and alienation felt by young people, who struggle with high rates of depression and a deep spiritual malaise.
Cultural Crisis. Our culture celebrates competition above all — yet the creed of individualism breeds despair. It is time for us to co-author our future: we can write the script together.