Founder: Kathleen Kineade

Place: Louisa County, Virginia. 

Date of founding/composition:  

The community was founded on a 123 acre Tobacco farm in 1967. A supporter leased the land at $50 for 3 years and they bought the land after 3 years. It was founded as a behaviorist community with a labor credit system that is still in use.

End date:

The community has not ended and is still in existence.

Why ended:

N/A

Size of group:

About 90 adults and 15 children live in a community on about 465 acres of land. There are seven large houses, a children’s building, a community center with a main communal kitchen, and several industrial buildings.

Goal/Mission of community:

The group founded the community based on Walden 2 by BF Skinner which contained a similar fictional behaviorist community. The group wanted to make a sustainable, egalitarian society. Members of the group are committed to nonviolence, egalitarianism, and stability.

Religious component:  What role does it play in civic life?Ab

There is no specific religion or spirituality component of Twin Oaks. Members of the community belong to a diverse group of religions. The official holidays are the two Solstices and Equinoxes with a day off of work, a party and an informal ritual

Describe their social contract.

The basic guiding principles of the Twin Oak's community are cooperation, egalitarianism, income-sharing, and non-violence. The group believes that everyone should have an equal voice in the process of deciding what to with the collective money supply. The community extends the idea of egalitarianism to all its members regardless of race, gender, or status, giving them all the same legal rights. 

What is their definition of happiness?

The community defines happiness as living in a community with equal cooperation between all members.

What is the source of human distress (what problems need to be solved)?

Inequality with discrimination based on race or gender or economic status is what the society believes is the cause of human distress.

Rules

  Conduct

Members must act according the basic principles of the community.

Sex and marriage

    There are no community rules regarding sex and marriage. They have members of all statuses such as single, married, or long term relationship, and they have members of all sexualities.

Children

     Members are aloud to have children.

Labor

The members work at either one or two of the community businesses. The community's major source of income comes from Twin Oak Hammocks. All members work about 40 hour weeks.

Economy: how sustained? Wealth & poverty? Private property?

People share the wealth in this utopian society. No member earns a personal salary. All the money earned goes into a pot for communal use. The community members also earn 75$ a month for personal use. People use this money to buy chocolate, or go see a movie.

Agriculture & manufacturing

Twin Oaks Hammocks: They produce and manufacture hammocks. This is the major source of income for the Twin Oaks Community.

Twin Oaks community foods: They produce and sell tofu, tempeh and soymilk.

Twin Oaks Indexing: They create index's for the back of books.

Law & justice

     They have their own system of written laws that citizens must uphold to. They also ask for community input on decisions regarding justice in the community.

Social organization

     Every one is equal in this community.

Power structure: who’s in charge?

No one is in charge. It’s an egalitarian society, meaning there is no hierarchy.

How are new members added? How do people leave?

Any one can join the community as long as they are willing to uphold to the communities systems and beliefs. They also must go through a series of interviews in order to become a member. People may leave as they please, as well as people are sometimes asked to leave for not upholding to the policies of the community.

Foreign relations 

They have no foreign relations out side of this country. Although they do buy and sell goods with local towns

Kathleen Kinkeade and Twin Oaks Analysis