Off Grid = Hippie Commune?

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Dancing: Children attend a homeschool in the commune and are required to start working one hour a week at the tender age of four. Above, members and former members of Twin Oaks dance during the 40th anniversary celebrations on June 15, 2007, near Yanceyville

The work they undertake includes cooking, cleaning, tending to the commune’s gardens and milking cows. It also involves making tofu and rope hammocks, which the commune sells commercially.

‘The big sacrifice you make in living here is you’ll never become wealthy,’ resident Keenan Dakota told the program, adding: ‘I mean, you’re not going to hit the jackpot and suddenly make it to the top. However, you are never going to be poor, you’re never going to be unemployed, you’re never going to lose health care, you’re never going to be homeless. It is a trade-off that a lot of people – well certainly the people here – are willing to make.’

Inside Twin Oaks, residents have access to the internet, but televisions, video games and guns are banned.

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Gardening: The work also involves gardening (above) and making tofu and rope hammocks, which the commune sells commercially

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