Kat Kinkade
Encyclopedia
Kathleen "Kat" Kinkade was one of the eight co-founders of Twin Oaks, an intentional community
in Virginia
originally inspired by the behaviorist utopia depicted in B.F. Skinner's book Walden Two
. Kinkade was the only one of the original founders to remain a community member for most of the community's history. Her daughter, Josie, was also a member of Twin Oaks Community as a young adult.
, Kinkade helped found Twin Oaks in 1967, when she was in her mid 30's, after a career as a "bored secretary" and a brief stint at a cooperative house in Washington, D.C. In the 1970s, Kinkade left Twin Oaks to move to Missouri to help found East Wind Community, an offshoot of Twin Oaks. She eventually returned to Twin Oaks, though East Wind continues to this day.
In 1993, Kinkade was one of the founders of Acorn Community
, her third income-sharing intentional community. While Acorn is located only 7 miles from Twin Oaks, the founders were not interested in exactly duplicating Twin Oaks. Instead they chose several important differences including consensus decision making and face-to-face membership "clearnesses" (see Clearness committee
).
Kinkade was also instrumental in founding the network of income-sharing egalitarian communities called The Federation of Egalitarian Communities
or the FEC. Twin Oaks, East Wind, Acorn and 3 other communities belong to the FEC.
Kinkade became disillusioned with certain aspects of Twin Oaks, such as what she perceived as its rigid adherence to egalitarianism
. She also found it difficult to live without air conditioning as she got older, which most of the community's members were unwilling to install. A Washington Post article on the community from 1998 available at the Twin Oaks website details her objections to the way that the community developed over time.
In 2007, while in her 70s, Kinkade returned to Twin Oaks. She was previously on an indefinite "personal affairs leave" from Twin Oaks, which gave her the option of returning to the community at any time. Kinkade was the only person in the history of Twin Oaks to receive an indefinite personal affairs leave - all other such leaves have come with a one-year expiration date, after which the former member must be voted on to rejoin.
Kinkade died of breast cancer complications on July 3, 2008, aged 77, shortly after Twin Oaks' 41st anniversary.
Intentional community
An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
originally inspired by the behaviorist utopia depicted in B.F. Skinner's book Walden Two
Walden Two
Walden Two is a utopian novel written by behavioral psychologist B. F. Skinner, first published in 1948. In its time, it could have been considered to be science fiction, as the methods employed to alter people's behaviour did not yet exist....
. Kinkade was the only one of the original founders to remain a community member for most of the community's history. Her daughter, Josie, was also a member of Twin Oaks Community as a young adult.
Career
A native of Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Kinkade helped found Twin Oaks in 1967, when she was in her mid 30's, after a career as a "bored secretary" and a brief stint at a cooperative house in Washington, D.C. In the 1970s, Kinkade left Twin Oaks to move to Missouri to help found East Wind Community, an offshoot of Twin Oaks. She eventually returned to Twin Oaks, though East Wind continues to this day.
In 1993, Kinkade was one of the founders of Acorn Community
Acorn Community
Acorn Community is a medium-sized egalitarian, intentional community located in rural Virginia, USA and is a member of the Federation of Egalitarian Communities. Acorn was started in 1993 as a daughter community of the older, larger Twin Oaks. For reasons not entirely clear, the early 1990s saw a...
, her third income-sharing intentional community. While Acorn is located only 7 miles from Twin Oaks, the founders were not interested in exactly duplicating Twin Oaks. Instead they chose several important differences including consensus decision making and face-to-face membership "clearnesses" (see Clearness committee
Clearness committee
Within the Religious Society of Friends, the clearness committee represents a process for discernment. Clearness Committees are often used when a member of the meeting seeks to reach clarity on how to respond to a concern or dilemma...
).
Kinkade was also instrumental in founding the network of income-sharing egalitarian communities called The Federation of Egalitarian Communities
Egalitarian communities
Egalitarian communities are groups of people who have chosen to live together, with egalitarianism as one of their core values. A broad definition of egalitarianism is "equal access to resources and to decision-making power." For example, decision-making is done by consensus or another system in...
or the FEC. Twin Oaks, East Wind, Acorn and 3 other communities belong to the FEC.
Kinkade became disillusioned with certain aspects of Twin Oaks, such as what she perceived as its rigid adherence to egalitarianism
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
. She also found it difficult to live without air conditioning as she got older, which most of the community's members were unwilling to install. A Washington Post article on the community from 1998 available at the Twin Oaks website details her objections to the way that the community developed over time.
In 2007, while in her 70s, Kinkade returned to Twin Oaks. She was previously on an indefinite "personal affairs leave" from Twin Oaks, which gave her the option of returning to the community at any time. Kinkade was the only person in the history of Twin Oaks to receive an indefinite personal affairs leave - all other such leaves have come with a one-year expiration date, after which the former member must be voted on to rejoin.
Kinkade died of breast cancer complications on July 3, 2008, aged 77, shortly after Twin Oaks' 41st anniversary.
Books
- A Walden Two Experiment; The First Five Years of Twin Oaks Community William Morrow & Co (February 1974) ISBN 0-688-05020-4
- Is It Utopia Yet?: An Insider's View of Twin Oaks Community in Its Twenty-Sixth Year Twin Oaks Publishing; 2nd edition (August 1994) ISBN 0-9640445-0-1