Last December, those of us who live in the Koinonia House (now affectionately known as the K-House) celebrated 25 years of living in community. As the only person to have had the privilege of living here all 25 years, I was given the task of trying to write a history of what has happened.
What follows of course is not a complete history, rather some reflections on what Gandhi called “experiments in truth.” However, at our 25th anniversary party we are inviting for house members and friends to offer up their own stories, reflections and commentary on what the K-House has meant to them. You can read those comments at the end of this posting.
Beginnings
In the summer of 1984 there was a group of friends who had been doing anti-war and Central America solidarity work in Grand Rapids. Several of us had decided that college was no longer the best place for learning and we were looking for an opportunity to live together to continue to do radical social change work.
We decided to buy a house that was in a part of the city that people considered at that time not very “desirable.” However, for us it fit into our vision of what kind of world we wanted to live in, which meant standing with those who have been marginalized by society.
The group of us who founded the house were following the model of Catholic Worker houses, where the principles of community, hospitality and non-violent activism were practiced. We also tried to live what we considered by US standards as a simple life style. We tried to reuse resources, practice sustainability (even before the word was mainstream) and avoid the trap of embracing a hyper-consumer culture.
We also decided that early on we wanted to provide hospitality to those who were homeless, fleeing abusive relationships or political refugees. Hospitality work often defined who we were as a house early on. At times we would have Ethiopian refugees staying with us, homes individuals and families and women who were fleeing domestic violence. While hospitality was sometimes challenging, it always affirmed this idea that we wanted our house to be a sanctuary for people, a place where they felt accepted, safe and cared for.
Central American Solidarity
Much of the political work we did early on was a product of the times. Central America was an obsession with the Reagan administration, so we participated in organized protests, sit-ins, boycotts, marches, teach-ins and eventually the Sanctuary Movement.
Since the US government was providing weapons, advisors and financial assistance to the military dictatorships of El Salvador and Guatemala in the 1980s, thousands of refugees fled those countries and came north. Many of them ended up in the US where a network was formed to provide sanctuary to those who were victims of US sponsored state terrorism.
The Sanctuary Movement was modeled on the Underground Railroad, where people in the US would take in political refugees to provide a safe haven, but also provide an opportunity for these refugees to tell their stories. Organizing opportunities for people to hear these stories was intended to shift public opinion about how US tax dollars were being used at the time.
In the spring of 1987, two families and two other adults from Guatemala were sent to us via the Central American Task Force based in Chicago. We knew the seriousness of such a commitment, but this became even more apparent when we were paid a visit by federal agents one afternoon who were inquiring about the Guatemalans who now lived with us.
Having this group of Q’anjobal speaking Mayan Indians was a big challenge for us, not only linguistically, but culturally as well. However, when human beings treat each other with respect and open arms you can overcome those kinds of challenges and discover each other’s humanity.
Eventually we acquired another house for the Guatemala families and in 1992, as an act of reconciliation for what Euro-Americans have done to Indigenous people, we signed titled of the second house over to the Guatemalans.
The experience of doing Sanctuary work led us down the path to having stronger ties to the Latino community as a whole. In 1992, we decided to become foster parents to a young Guatemalan who had been a torture survivor. In addition, many other Latinos who were political refugees found their way to our house in search of a place to stay. This dynamic then led to people of Latin American origin becoming members of the house and making a lasting impression on the direction and identity of the community.
Organizing and Activism
One key component of the K-House has always been the kind of organizing and activism that people who have lived here have participated in. Besides the Central American solidarity work, we have participated anti-war organizing and direct action. During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, our house was a sanctuary for those in the military who decided that the US slaughter in Iraq was unjust. Many of us over the years also participated in campaigns at US military bases in Michigan and weapons contractors.
The K-House has also been active in anti-racism work, whether it was in our neighborhood, Grand Rapids or West Michigan. In addition, people have done work around gender justice, housing rights, environmental protection, and prison solidarity. During the past 25 years people have participated in radical social change work in a variety of ways. Some people have done organizing work, others media work, while others contributed by writing, music or artwork. Political work has never been a requirement at the K-House, but people have always participated in some way, especially since the house has always been a place of education and awareness building.
Over the years we have had dozens of activists, organizers, writers, musicians and resisters stay at our house while on speaking tours across the country. We have been fortunate to have people like Dan Berrigan, Mitch Snyder, and former CIA analyst Ray McGovern. We have been fortunate to provide hospitality to people from Latin America, former political prisoners and war resisters. Earlier this year author and activist John Ross stayed with us a second time. A few weeks later he wrote about his stay with us on the political website CounterPunch. Here is what John had to say; “The big-bellied wood stove belches out waves of warmth on a chill late March morning. The big arms of the fluffy old lounger envelop a weary traveler and hold him close. K House remains a sanctuary deep in the heart of a wounded land.”
Living Intentionally
Another aspect of the K-house, which has always defined us has been our desire to live a life more in harmony with nature. Like the other work we do, this is an ongoing process as we learn what it means to live a life of integrity on this planet.
We have always tried to embrace a lifestyle that is less dependent on the capitalist system and practice cooperative and collective approaches to life. We heat with wood that would otherwise end up in a landfill. We built a greenhouse, mostly our of dumpster materials, so we can extend our growing season, start plants from seed and generate more passive solar heat for the house.
We have a large space for urban agriculture and can lots of our own food. We used to be members of the local food co-op, but after that fell through in the 1990’s we have been part of a more informal food buying club.
We all try to use bicycles as a means of transportation as often as we can, we compost, recycle, reuse and collect rainwater. We have practiced a DIY (do it yourself) philosophy even before the term became in vogue.
This has all been an important part of living at the K-House, in part because it can help you re-orient your life in such a way as to not be so dependent on an economic system which thrives on waste and want. And because we chose to grow food, heat with wood and bike as often as possible, our economic needs are less than most. This has meant that people do not have to work for money full time or not at all if they chose to. It has also meant that we can help each other out when money is tight, so that people never feel too caught by the system of debt.
However, maybe the most freeing aspect of our downwardly mobile lifestyle is the fact that we have more control over our lives. If people want to travel, they can travel. If people want to make art, they can make art. If people want to learn a language or another skill they can do that without having a stressful life. And if people want to engage in civil disobedience or direct action, even if it risks arrest, then they can do that.
For many who have lived here, just having the opportunity to learn about the world through books, discussion, potlucks, films and campaigns has resulted in a richer life. We hope that what we have done at the K-House over the past 25 years has been a labor of love and a joy for those whom we have come in contact with. We are all better because of those of you who have supported us and helped make us who we are by coming into our lives. May we all continue to celebrate each other in the years to come.
Abrazos y Solidaridad
