Toad Lane Theme: 2010-2011
We’ve just had a house meeting where we have updated our theme, and even changed it’s name! The new theme will appear under the “Charter” tab, but for safekeeping we are putting the 2010-2011 theme here in a post, in case people want to compare the differences over the years:
1. What is your house’s theme?
Friendly Vegans for Social Justice
2. Briefly describe this theme:
Veganism is a form of nonviolent direct action which takes seriously the interests of animals to avoid the suffering inherent in their exploitation. It looks forward to a future where liberation struggles such as anti-racism and anti-sexism are realized, but also where the underlying principles of justice are applied consistently to other patterns of oppression. We oppose speciesism, which is the assignment of different values or rights to beings on the basis of their species.
Veganism also has demonstrated health and environmental benefits, which contribute to its role in social justice. We do not endorse forms of veganism based on celebrity trends, weight-loss fads, or personal purity. Veganism doesn’t mean you should fit a stereotype.
What does it mean to live in our house? Members of the house are expected to abstain from bringing “new” animal exploitation products into the house. The question of “old” leather and wool, or dumpster-recovered items is less a question of ethics, but more a debate of strategy and consistency, open at this time.
Veganism is about social justice.
3. What is the history and evolution behind this theme?
Toad Lane has been a student cooperative since the early 1970s. In the mid-nineties, Toad Lane was acquired by CCRI. Around this time, it became a vegetarian house. Activism was a long-standing tradition, evident in the newspaper articles featuring its residents, hundreds of books about social issues in the library, and dozens of pieces of artwork in every corner of the house. We have evolved into a vibrant vegan community, hosting potlucks, fundraisers, and other events. While we disagree with one another on many things, we are always willing engage each other (especially over tea and fair trade vegan chocolate cookies!).
B) What has been accomplished?
This year, we have succeeded in increasing our potluck outreach within the CCRI community, both via posters and personal invitation. We’ve hosted several “Theme House Open Houses” where we have endeavoured to spread the idea of “theme houses” within CCRI. We have also hosted various theme-related events, including presentations by residential school survivors, a gathering place for activists. We also hosted a fundraiser for Haiti, and are hosting a conference entitled “Free Food: Perceptions, Choice and Progress in the Liberation of our Food Supply”. We also fielded a contestant for the Kensington Market Chili Cook-Off, who sadly failed to place.
4. What does your house hope to accomplish within the household over the coming year?
Begin the Canadian Centre for Excellence in Legumology
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Continue to improve our rooftop garden
Art Party
Communal Food Purchasing
Improve the spelling and grammar of our house members
A Cook-Off
5. What does your house hope to accomplish beyond the household over the coming year?
Friendly Vegans for Social Justice is a link to many other social and ecological justice issues. We hope to extend our philosophy of non-harming through cooperation within the house, and through outreach beyond our house to other co-op members, and the community at large.
-Reach out to the community and open up our doors as a place for public forum on various topics.
-Start a series of cross talks to get different activists talking about each other about synergy
-start a social enterprise in the house – invest in an industrial oven to bake bread OR start a brewery OR a soup company
-start trade economy beyond the house, inspired by the no-buy holiday stockings which were done in the past
6. In what ways does your house plan to reach out to other houses in the coop community?
We will support other theme houses in their infancy. We will also spread the word about our good work and our events in a friendly manner through posters, facebook, but not the intranet.
7. What key values are central to your theme?
1. Friendliness
2. Veganism
3. Social Justice
Also, “non-harming”, “living a low-impact lifestyle”, “cooperation”, “developing a healthy relationship with our food supply” and “fostering the future we want to see through community engagement”.
8. In what ways do these key values support one or more of the Roshdale 7 principles of cooperation?
Education, training, and information (“fostering the future we want to see through community engagement”.)
Cooperation among cooperatives (Friendliness, “fostering the future we want to see through community engagement”.)
Concern for community ( “cooperation”, “developing a healthy relationship with our food supply”, “fostering the future we want to see through community engagement”.)
9. If your home has previously been a theme house, what helpful advice can your house offer to coop houses which are similarly planning to become future theme houses?
We recommend an intentional community based on principles or values that translate to tangible activities which are better worked upon cooperatively than individually.
10. Synopsis
Toad Lane has been a student cooperative since the early 1970s, and a part of CCRI since the 1990s. Activism has been a long-standing tradition, evident in the newspaper articles featuring its residents, hundreds of books about social issues in the library, and dozens of pieces of artwork in every corner of the house. We have evolved into a vibrant vegan community, hosting weekly potlucks, fundraisers, and frequent informal discussions about social justice.
Veganism is a form of nonviolent direct action which takes seriously the interests of animals to avoid the suffering inherent in their exploitation. It looks forward to a future where liberation struggles such as anti-racism and anti-sexism are realized, but also where the underlying principles of justice are applied consistently to other patterns of oppression. We oppose speciesism, which is the assignment of different values or rights to beings on the basis of their species.
Veganism also has demonstrated health and environmental benefits, which contribute to its role in social justice. We do not endorse forms of veganism based on celebrity trends, weight-loss fads, or personal purity. Veganism doesn’t mean you should fit a stereotype.
What does it mean to live in our house?
We do not have a meal plan, but sometimes we make meals collectively.
We host open vegan potlucks every thursday attended by 10-30 people.
Cleanliness and weekly house chores are taken seriously and we strive to continually improve our home with art, plants, and renovation projects.
We regularly host couch surfers and use our house as meeting place for community groups.
House meetings are held on a monthly basis, and often involve communally prepared food.
We are very LGBTQ positive.
Members of the house are expected to abstain from bringing new animal exploitation products into the house. The question of old leather and wool, or dumpster-recovered items is less a question of ethics, but more a debate of strategy and consistency, open at this time.
northernsong
