We just hosted a work day at our house, on Labor Day of all days. We're building a garden shed and we have found it to require more manpower than just my husband and I could provide on our own. So we have turned to our friends and family for a little bit of help. With a few more work days in our future before the project would be completed, we turned to the old tradition of barn raising for a little inspiration.
Originating in rural American in the 18th century, barn raisings were an occasion where a community would turn out to help construct a barn for one of its members. The workers were unpaid, but with the understanding that the favor would be returned to them in the future. It was considered mandatory, and missing a barn raising in your community was a sort of social faux pas. Children would gather around to watch and learn about what would be expected of them when they grew older. Young men provided heavy labor and more experienced and elderly workers provided leadership. Women toiled to provide food and drink to the many workers.
Today, some Amish and Menonite communities still hold barn raisings, though they pretty much halted in the rest of the country by the end of the 1800's. However, you'll still find such a thing from time to time among friends, especially in the rural northeast.
Have you ever participated in a communal work day, either by hosting or by helping? If you hosted, was the favor eventually returned to those who helped you? If you helped, was the favor returned to you?
(Image: Flickr member cindy47452, licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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My friends and I never build anything, we are far too poor for that, but we do this same thing in a sense. One or a few of us is usually moving every year, so we all get together for moving parties. The person moving will buy bagels and coffee in the morning and pizza and sodas when its all over. No one ever complains and the favor is always returned!
My family does this. We've done roofing, building decks, digging french drains (back hoe and hall), splitting wood, and miscellaneous other things over the years. I didn't realize this isn't a part of every family until my teens.
Oops! that "hall" was meant to be an "all." Looks like my fingers got ahead of my brain.
My father, uncles, cousins, and my dad's friends have all come to my house to help re-shingle my garage roof, gut and renovate my entire bathroom, update the soil grading and landscape around my home, and to install a new water heater. There are carpenters, plumbers mechanics, contractors, and engineers in the mix... but mostly it is just about offering useful labor. I am not skilled in any of those things, so I help with what I can and provide food and beverage. They do these things for me because my dad has fixes their cars and helps them cut down trees. I helped my uncle make a promotional video for his business when he needed one (since that is more my area of expertise). We all help out one another. I'm really grateful to have a family like that.
I do this among friends and family for all the heavy-lifting/massive project things that come up. And my community has an official 'neighborhood time bank' that does it on a neighborhood level. In both cases we barter equivalent labor or go right for food and drinks as payment.
My husband's family does this. Buildings, roofs, haying, etc. You need enough family close by, and they have to be willing, and enough people have to have skills (which they do--whew).
There are still many barn raisings where I live in central PA. There are some great photo's of them on amishphoto.com http://amishphoto.com/images/07_BARN_RAISINGS/barn-raisings-1.htm
My sister has a women's work group. They take turns at each other's houses doing big jobs. At one house, they might paint a kitchen and hallway, at another they might dig up some bushes and square up the garden. They also provide meals for each other on birthdays so the birthday girl gets a week of meals. Brilliant! I need some handier friends.
Our cabin project has involved the volunteer help of a couple of dozen people over several years. It's been a slow but amazing and cost-effective way to get something done that we otherwise would not have been able to do.
The women's work group that @MARYCOOKSALOT mentions, above, sounds like a *brilliant* idea, especially for those of us who are single and not living near relatives, etc. I'd love to get something like that going!
I grew up going to "work parties," and have had a few myself.
My sister-in-law and her husband live in PA's Amish country. I asked my brother-in-law (who grew up in the area) if he'd ever seen a barn raising. He looked at me like that was the stupidest question ever asked by anyone about anything. He said, "There's one down the ridge, let's go watch." It was beautiful to see each person having a job, doing it well, people not getting in one another's way. And they got things done quickly.
I love the idea of a women's work party!! Reminds me of quilting bees and canning sessions my grandmother talked about (except cooler because I would probably serve some killer drinks while we dig things up).