Autistic Work Retreat – July 2015

View from the village


End of 1-mile path to cliffs

If you want to work hard and be in on the ground floor of something important, this work camp is for you. A group of about 15 will meet atop a mountain to build the very beginnings of the Ócate Cliffs retreat. This retreat center will be built and staffed by autistic people. We want this experience to touch your heart and be inspiring. You’ll be joining the Ócate Cliffs family near the beginning of the building process. You’ll meet other motivated builders and live/work in an autistic workspace.

When

Come for one or two weeks between July 4 (Sat) and July 18 (Sat) 2015.

Where

Ocate, New Mexico (northeastern part of the state). Closest major airport is Albuquerque (rides from there available), or Denver.

What you get

We’ll provide food. Some travel funds will be available, and divided up among those who need it. You’ll get the tools and training needed on site.

The experience can also provide excellent experience for future pursuits, and we’ll gladly write a supporting letter for a college or job application.

A few details

  • Each day will involve some hours of physical work and camping chores like cooking and washing. There will be a licensed builder who will direct the construction of the staff house. Other work will probably include clearing paths, putting up fences, and building a tree house and benches. We will discuss the work needed each day and negotiate who will be responsible for each thing.
  • Sleeping arrangements will be in sleeping bags in tents (probably shared unless you bring a single tent).
  • Food will be very basic vegetarian camp food such as beans and rice, fruit, and sandwiches. (You may also bring food for your particular dietary needs.)
  • You can take breaks and go on walks. You will have plenty of alone time if you need it.
  • We will organize some games and evening discussion topics, all optional.
  • To make it an autistic-friendly environment, we will need to be open to communicate in different ways. Depending on each of our needs we’ll arrange for rules that protect each person’s ability to be there and participate. For example we could create a rule about when we can use loud power tools.

Requirements for participants

View from lower end of park

  • You must be able to do physical work in the remote woods. You don’t need to be strong or skilled, but just be willing to work.
  • You must be able to handle the environment and sleeping conditions and food. There are bears, coyotes and wildcats. There is no electricity, internet, mail, stores or services. It may rain and sometimes tents leak. (There is cell phone access for some carriers. If yours doesn’t work, you can borrow a phone that works.)
  • You will need to acclimate to a moderately high elevation of 9000 feet. Some people have a slight sickness from the elevation and most people tire easily for the first one or two days.
  • If you are willing to present on your experience to other people where you live, you can earn a $75 speaking fee. It could be in writing, pictures, giving a talk, or otherwise in person (not only on line). This helps us get more publicity and helps with fundraising for our next steps.
  • You must be wiling to appear in promotional videos and photos. (Names won’t be released however.) A video is one of the important outcomes that needs to happen in order to do more fundraising.
  • If the participant is a minor, contact us first for arrangements.

Participant selection

If there is a lot of interest, we’ll have to limit our numbers or spread out so we’re not all there at the same time. If we have to choose, we’ll favor people who represent a variety of geographical areas and different on-line communities, and will also favor those who appear to bring the most energy or skills or can reach a wider variety of people subsequently.

Registration

Central meadow

To let us know of your interest, please email Star and include:

  • Your name
  • Mailing address
  • Email address
  • Phone (if you use phones)
  • Disability status – For example your diagnosis or if you are self-identified. (This is needed to ensure we are serving disabled people as required by our non-profit’s mission.)
  • How definite you are about coming.
  • How long you think you can be here and any restrictions on dates
  • How you will get here, and whether you need travel help
  • Any needs for accommodations
  • Any questions you have

A note on full inclusion

We recognize that this chapter of the Ócate Cliffs history is not fully inclusive, and there are some disabilities and autism characteristics that cannot be accommodated yet. Part of the work is to make the place that is accessible, so we can accommodate more and more people as we get more of it built.

What will it feel like?

Location of staff house

 

This is a totally new experiment, so try not to have very fixed expectations. Here’s some of the good and bad things that you should be prepared for.

On the good side, you might meet a person or two who are inspiring to you, and you might become friends, at least for the time you’re there. If you have communication trouble in everyday life, you might find that you’re included herein a way that you normally aren’t, and that communicating is easier, because there will be a collection of similar minds.

Because there will be a lot of people in not-so-comfortable conditions with a variety of views, there will be conflicts. Probably the conflicts won’t be completely resolved, and possibly someone will say it was not safe space for them. We’ll talk about these things and try to move on even though it will be impossible to create absolute peace.

For those who haven’t been to anything like this, one of the most important things to keep in mind is that it changes from day to day. The first two days might be dull or lonely, but then the layers of personality wear off and we start to see people more deeply. It takes patience, and sometimes the sense of community and friendships don’t become apparent until nearly the end.

For me (Star) one of the most exciting things is the unlimited possibilities of an experiment like this. I want to find out if autistic people can pull this off, and what we need to do to make it possible to work together. What if a bunch of artists and researchers and writers and other beautiful people who mostly work independently were suddenly all together in a critical mass? I don’t know what will happen and that’s part of the excitement.

Contacts

Contact: Star Ford, 505 908 9426 (cell 505 246 8490), for email see contact page