Nineteen joined this ASK Salt Spring gathering welcoming the Chuan Society. While much of the conversation centered on Kajin Goh, one of the moving forces of this society, it was clear that Chuan is fueled by the energy, compassion, vision, and plain hard work of a committed team of volunteers. Present at this gathering were Chuan Society council members Christina Chua, Gloria McEachern, and Jenny McClean, as well as valued volunteer and team members Victoria Skinner and Phil Vernon. After Phil gave our Land Acknowledgment, we all got a chance to introduce ourselves. From these introductions, we learned that many in the room were passionate supporters of the work of the Chuan Society. A significant number of participants at this ASK Salt Spring gathering, however, had come because they knew virtually nothing  about Chuan and wanted to learn. 

Kajin began by speaking of his delight watching Chuan evolve. Designed not as a charity with benefits that come from the top down, Chuan is committed to bottom up empowerment. This empowerment thrives by creating a community based on relationships and friendships. This empowered community seeks not to compete for the same resources but to enhance that pool of resources through collaborative resourcing. Easy? Absolutely not! Building these relationships is complicated, complex, often messy and even loud. Despite challenges, Kajin and his team see sure signs that this collaborative community of trust is thriving at Phoenix Landing, the Chuan Society’s major project.  

Kajin arrived on Salt Spring almost exactly 13 years ago and, within a day, knew that he had found his forever home. These early years were not easy, beginning with briefly moving into the harbour on a 20-foot Cal sailboat (not designed as a liveaboard vessel!)and marked by years of insecure housing. It was during these years that Kajin built lasting friendships with others in precarious living situations. He soon began to realize that it was these friends, with so little themselves, who had sustained him when he was most in need. 

This spurred Kajin to question the extreme poverty on Salt Spring, despite the island’s relatively high, but unevenly distributed, wealth. “Why were there so many marginalized and almost invisible residents?” Four years later, this became the impetus to gather a group of friends to find ways to break down systemic barriers in our community. The Chuan Society was officially established in 2017.

While not a First Nations society, the name “Chuan” was chosen as an acknowledgement of pre-colonial place names, which are now beginning to be known and spoken more commonly thanks to the work of elders, knowledge keepers, archaeologists, and others. The only street on this island acknowledging an indigenous place name is ‘Chu-an’ Drive. Meaning “straight down to the sea,” 

“Chuan” was an approximation of the First Nation’s name for the distinctive mountain known to many as Mt. Tuam (https://saltspringarchives.com/Place_Names.html). It is also the first name given to our island on an early map, the result of an expedition undertaken by Sir James Douglas and included in his 1853 report of the discovery of salt springs here. 

In recent years, the Chuan Counsel (not Board, as they counsel rather than direct) has discussed changing the name as a point of cultural sensitivity and respect, continuing to consult with members of different local nations. This is an on-going discussion and subject of review.

The Chuan Society began by offering well-attended celebratory events – most notably the all-ages block parties held at the Island Savings parking lot, The Kids R Alright! – but everything changed when COVID engulfed us. Already battling isolation, COVID significantly increased already existing challenges for those who were insecurely housed. To make things even worse, the winter of 2021-22 brought record-breaking cold. On Christmas Day 2021, with everything frozen and closed, Chuan volunteers met to figure out what could be done. The decision was to erect a “Warming Space,” a tent with heaters and cooking options to help those with no homes get through the freezing winter. It was decided to pitch this tent in one of the CRD parks, assuming permission would be forthcoming. Kajin looks back with a laugh, clearly recognizing his naivety: He had thought by reaching out to the CRD that there would be a recognition of the community’s needs and a provision to allow for this clearly-needed space on our publicly-owned property.

And, thus began Kajin’s political education and the beginning of the Chuan’s growth into the established society it has become. That winter was not easy, marked by nine different locations and four traumatic evictions by CRD bylaw enforcement. But, it was through this process that Kajin and his team learned about local political realities and, despite a bumpy start, developed a deep and respectful relationship with Electoral Director Gary Holman, one of our participants at this ASK Salt Spring gathering. 

Clear that understanding and navigating political realities was crucial, Chuan volunteers began by establishing relationships with CRD, Islands Trust, and both provincial staff and our MLA. They also forged partnerships with like-minded Salt Spring nonprofits such as the Mental Wellness Initiative, Restorative Justice, IWAV, Transition Salt Spring, the Farmland Trust, Community Services, the Lookout Housing and Health Society, GIFTS, the United Church, and the Anglican Parish of Salt Spring. 

During these years of partnership-building, Chuan volunteers also invested energy creating the agreements and policies that guide them today, a constantly-evolving process of learning and listening. A number of important programs were also developed and implemented during these years, including Yoga For The People and the well-loved Gabriel’s Kitchen, often feeding between 30-80 at its weekly feasts at different locations for nearly three years. 

When Phoenix School closed and School District 64 offered the Drake Road property for rent, Chuan applied, seeing this property as the perfect location for a more permanent home. While they were not awarded the lease (which went to the CRD), Chuan immediately began seeking a Licence of Occupation (LoO) from CRD. Initially given only a four-month tenure in a portable building on the Drake Road property, Chuan is currently near the end of a one-year LoO for the upstairs of the home as well as the playground and garden plot. (As this LoO is due to expire this September, Chuan hopes that it will be renewed.) 

This space, Phoenix Landing, is open seven days a week, with allowable operating hours from 8:00 am until 10:00 pm. (Please call their landline at 236-362-4086 to check if volunteers are present at the space). It is a “dry space,” meaning that drugs, alcohol and smoke are not to be consumed on site. It is comprised of five rooms as well as outdoor spaces:

• The Hearth, the collective living room doubling as a multi-use space for workshops, events, and meetings,
• The Brain, an administrative and volunteer area housing office equipment and records needed for the smooth-running of Phoenix Landing, 
• The Earth Room, envisioned as a healing space where health practitioners can come to offer workshops as well as offering a quiet place to nap,
• Phoenix Community Pantry, a growing repository of staples and other food needed for Gabriel’s Kitchen meals as well as the food needs of those using the kitchen,
• Gabriel’s Community Kitchen, a heartbeat of the shared space, consistently a hub a warmth, good smells, and shared comfort cooking. 
• Lucky’s Corner, a space for workshops and creative pursuits like filmmaking and music (and named in tribute to Lucky Smith, a well-loved community member and son of Chuan council member Gloria McEachern), 
• Phoenix Playground, the site of many food events and gatherings, especially in good weather, and 
• The Phoenix Community Garden, soon to produce some of the local produce served at Phoenix Landing.  

Clearly an important gathering place for all wishing to participate, Phoenix Landing has made a significant difference in the lives of many on Salt Spring. It is a complex undertaking. Volunteers spend an enormous amount of time developing, re-evaluating, and refining the codes of conduct and agreements needed for its smooth operation. 

Despite efforts, unexpected hiccups occur, causing hard-working volunteers to convene participants again and again to reinforce and redefine agreements that all can follow. 

A busy place with outdoor space where members gather to talk (with smoke having been an issue, even with guidelines restricting its use on site), often including a number of canine companions, and the smells of BBQ at their weekly Community Potlucks wafting over the rural community, some neighbours were concerned. 

As Chuan’s lease for Phoenix Landing is soon to expire, some Drake Road neighbours took the opportunity to speak to a recent Local Community Commission (LCC) meeting to express their concerns. Kajin and his team are taking these concerns seriously, recognizing their validity as well as seeking resolution of them. 

While Chuan volunteers will continue to address the issues that are passed to them by CRD staff, Kajin has hopes that these neighbours will share their concerns directly with him and Chuan volunteers. He believes that only through this personal communication can complicated issues like the ones raised be resolved. He spoke of times when those with concerns and those at which those concerns were directed sat together to talk freely in a safe environment. It is then, in Kajin’s opinion, that the conversation shifts from issues and concerns to the recognition that we all share similar needs and perspectives. And, Chuan is inviting neighbors to participate in upcoming social events and shared meals to better understand Phoenix Landing. 

But, direct communication with neighbours, participation in circles, and invitations to gatherings may not be enough. As result, a Phoenix Landing Community Liaison committee is being established to do even more to resolve issues and be the best neighbour possible.  

A participant noted that it is very hard to plan with only a LoO from year to year, asking why Chuan could not be given a longer tenure. We learned that CRD only has a five-year lease from School District 64, several of which have already passed. Without clarity about a longer lease, the LCC cannot make any long term commitment for the space. Further complicating the issue is its expected use by PARC Maintenance when construction of its new Kanaka location begins, expected in 2027.

Despite this lack of clarity, Chuan volunteers are proceeding with the focus needed to make Phoenix Landing the best it can be. In addition to on-going work with agreements and policies, a wide variety of free workshops are being developed, welcoming others in our community to come to Phoenix Landing to share their  skills and expertises. High on the list of expected activities will be Food Safe Certification training (Gabriel’s Kitchen has arranged for the training of 25 community members so far), culinary skills, the creation of a tool library, and filmmaking projects (through the formation of a Community Film Coop) so that, in addition to eating and laughing together, stories can be shared. 

Kajin spoke of the great support they receive from Community Services in so many ways, including funding for volunteer work programs at Phoenix Landing, coordination with the Shelter, Tuesday Market tokens, and the list goes on. . . .We learned that Community Services’ Harvest Gardens, its farm, and its Food Bank are rich sources of the food needed to stock the growing Phoenix Landing pantry.

What does Chuan need? More funding is always helpful. But, most of all – Chuan needs more volunteers – there is so much more support possible with more volunteers and community members working together! Currently accommodating between 15-40 everyday at Phoenix Landing, with numbers rising as weather turns cold, concerns about isolated seniors are on the radar but have not yet been addressed (Phoenix Landing is working towards being an inter-generational resource and space). High on Chuan’s wish list is a transport van (The Phoenix Bus!) so that all can easily access Phoenix Landing. 

Want to help? Donations are gratefully welcomed! While they are currently working towards a website, interested individuals can check out Chuan’s Facebook page. (Do a search for ‘The Chuan Society’, or better yet, as these are updated more frequently – ‘The Hearth at Phoenix Landing’ and ‘Gabriel’s Kitchen’ on Facebook). Other inquiries as well as donations can be directed to: chuansociety@gmail.com. 

Our time together already over, participants expressed their appreciation for Kajin and the Chuan Society, amazed at the good already accomplished in such a short time. They lauded that delicate balance of careful planning flexible enough to be revised when needed. Taking so many Salt Springers from surviving to thriving, participants at this ASK Salt Spring gathering thanked Kajin and all the Chuan volunteers for their vision, hard work, and tenacity during challenging times. (Thank-you, Kajin and the Chuan team!)  

Just in case you are interested. . . .This report has been written by Gayle Baker, founder of ASK Salt Spring, currently also a Salt Spring Local Community Commissioner. It has also been reviewed by Kajin.