Alia - Writer and photographer - “Claymont Society for Continuous Eduction” in Charles Town, West Virginia

It’s hard to try and describe where I grew up and not use the word “commune,” but the colloquial understanding of that word doesn’t fit with the particular experience at Claymont. I like to simply use the word community — it’s a few hundred acres of land owned and maintained by a group who want a space in which to learn how to live more consciously. Where the term “commune” often arouses scenes of drum circles and free love, instead picture a place where hard work on developing oneself and the community are the focus. Of course, my understanding of the more spiritual focuses of Claymont are an adult development; my childhood experience was one of playing in the forest and going to school, of learning to cook and garden, and of climbing tress and picking gooseberries. Going back now it’s mostly an experience of working in the garden, and while we pull weeds, prune, and pick we talk about ideas for projects, courses, and, not least of all, what’s for dinner.

The place I always eat:

There’s a little place called Shu Chen that’s been around for decades. It’s a little out of place to see a very traditionally decorated Chinese restaurant in the middle of a country town. It’s nestled in between antique stores and hardware shops right across the street from where John Brown was captured and tried before his hanging. The food isn’t superb or anything but it was one of the only restaurants in town when I was a kid and it was always a treat to go out for dinner.

Where to stay for the night:

There are two major communal housing spaces on the property, one is an enormous converted barn and the other is a mansion built by Charles Washington. While I love waking up to the sound of roosters over by the Great Barn, the Mansion is a historical landmark and the only Washington estate you can spend the night in, so it’s a pretty fantastic experience.

The one place I take everyone:

The widow’s walk on the top of the mansion; to get to it you have to climb up to through a trap door in a closet on the third floor in the old servants quarters. From up there you can see hundreds of acres of forest and fields and nothing else — it’s like being in a time machine and seeing America the way it was a hundred years ago. Go in July when the fireflies are out in full force and it looks like the fields are sparkling.

Best local product you should try:

Claymont’s community garden has some of the best organic eggs and produce you’ll ever eat. Items from the garden are used by my friend to make her wonderful skincare products “Karebeh” — their contents are so natural you could literally eat the products.

The 2nd best kept secret:

Anyone is welcome to come for the harvest to help, an most excitingly to eat! This year Harvest Feast is on September 10th… all it takes is an email to set up your visit!