Wayves Staff • Lunenburg County • 2025-07-28
Crows’ Commons Co-operative provides pathways to culturally relevant and affordable housing, art, and farming for 2SLGBTQIA+ and disabled folks. It is located in Springfield, Lunenburg County, about a half hour north of Bridgewater, a half hour south of Greenwood.
"Crows Commons is a land-sharing cooperative based on principles of commoning, coming together to grow food, make art, build housing, and nurture community," says their web page, "We advocate for more accessible and inclusive rural communities and we envision the Commons as a place that holds and nurtures our creative spirits through gatherings, performance, respite, skill sharing, and community building."
we are working towards the stewardship of a community that is created by and for queer, trans, and disabled folks
The organization is a multi-membership co-operative non-profit. "Through art, housing, farming, and community building, we are working towards the stewardship of a community that is created by and for queer, trans, and disabled folks."
Legally, Crows Commons is a "Co-Op": it has voluntary membership and is collectively managed by the members in a non-hierarchial way.
The co-op's purpose is to provide land access for art programing, food production, affordable housing, and community development for 2SLGBTQIA+ and DDMI (Disabled, d/Deaf, Mad, and Ill) members. The co-op will strive to meet its members’ needs and advance opportunities for its members in these areas.
"We envision safe, inclusive, and experimental rural communities for Queer, Trans, and Disabled folks. Through a robust system of mutual aid and solidarity economies, we are networked together and thrive outside of and beyond existing capitalist and colonial notions of ownership and productivity," says the webpage.
The Commons does a Land Acknowledgement in practical ways: the land is available to all Indigenous people, not just members, for hunting, growing, harvesting, access to trails, and the use of the space for gatherings, rest, and play.
Queer Craft Skill-Shares: Felting + Cyanotype Printing
Through the support of an Arts NS Artists in Communities grant, Crows Commons is hosting three free art days, entitled "Creating with the Land - Queer Craft Skill-shares." These events bring together queer artists and participants to share skills, build relationships, and host people on the Commons.
The next workshop will be on August 9, when the Commons will be hosting a Felting and Cyanotype Printing art day. The registration form invites: "Come make art with us in this closed queer space on the Commons! We hope you sign up and help us build the skills and capacity to host and convene together."
Click the poster for a full size version; the registration link is below.
The third workshop will be on September 6th.
