Once, a member of East Wind told me the average length of a member's stay was 2 years. After 2 years, most members leave the community, she told me. So, I just did some number crunching, out of curiosity. As East Wind is 42 years old, having been founded in 1974, and as it averages, by conservative estimate, 60 adult members, that works out to how many former East Winders roaming the planet Earth? 1,260 former members or, in other words, 21 former members for each present day member. I won't say anything judgemental about the place, and acknowledge there is much to love about East Wind. I just like numbers, and think they give us alternative perspectives. I suspect many other communes have similar numbers. Personally, I think all communes should do what employers in Babylon do, and give an "exit survey" to departing members. That's all.
