That charity cult doc had me rolling my eyes until I visited my cousin's commune in Oregon

I watched this one documentary about a group that runs a sustainable farm and everyone kept saying it was a cult. Laughed it off until I drove up to my cousin's place outside Portland last month. Walked into their morning meeting and 30 people were chanting the same phrase about "aligning with the harvest cycle" while this guy in a beanie nodded at everyone one by one. He charged them $200 a month just to live in a tent and work 12 hour days. Has anyone else had a family member get sucked into something that seemed harmless at first?

2 comments

2 Comments

grantw4111d agoMost Upvoted

Read some article claiming these communes are just unpaid internships for the self righteous.

patricia3211d ago

Wait, does your cousin actually seem happy or just tired all the time? I've seen this play out twice with friends who joined similar setups, and the big red flag was always the money flow - if they're paying to work that hard with no ownership stake, it's basically a job with extra steps and less freedom. Best thing you can do is keep the line open without pushing, check in every couple weeks with normal questions about their day, and if they ever ask for a ride out, be there no questions asked.