Winter 2026 at The Common|Wealth

Winter 2026 at The Common|Wealth was a season of intentional cultivation, Regenerative Education, and deep-rooted craftsmanship. From the launch of Year 2 of the Neighborhood Academy to the immersive experiences of our RND Re-Search interns, the Sweet Water Foundation team remained dedicated to the practice of Regenerative Neighborhood Development. This season, we defied the dormant Chicago winter, sustaining life and growth year-round in our hoop houses - powered only by the sun - a rare feat in the Midwest. Through the cold winter months, we also experimented with new carpentry techniques on the lathe and strengthened our connections to Values-Based Partners across the country and internationally. We invite you to read more about winter at The Common|Wealth.

SWF Communiversity Winter Programming

This winter, The Communiversity was alive with activity. The early months of the year focused on deepening the knowledge and practice of returning community members and welcoming emerging practitioners into the rhythms of The Common|Wealth. Through the Neighborhood Academy and our RND Internship program, SWF continued to demonstrate that winter is a vital time for preparation, reflection, and growth.

Neighborhood Academy

In late February, SWF launched the second year of the Neighborhood Academy (NA). Meeting weekly on Wednesdays, the program followed a purposeful routine: mornings dedicated to cultivating the Hoop Houses, Community Farm, and community garden, and afternoons focused on carpentry and community builds. This year’s cohort featured a dynamic mix of new and returning members of our community network.

For our returning Academy members, the re-launch served as a "refresher" that built upon last year's foundation. In February, participants revisited the Shelf of Life (SOL) and the Hoop Houses, diving deeper into Regenerative Mathematics, propagation techniques, and the connection between indoor and outdoor growing spaces. As the season turned toward April, the focus shifted from winter maintenance inside the Hoop Houses —weeding, pruning, and harvesting —to the essential tasks of seeding, potting up, and activating the Carpenter’s Greenhouse in preparation for spring. In the afternoons, the group met in the Work-Shop for carpentry lessons, ranging from tool-safety refreshers to the creation of new products like the Fractal Planter Stand and Fractal Seat. Neighborhood Academy time in the Work-Shop is literally Community Building, transforming waste to resources, while building the literal and social fabric of the neighborhood.

As a continuation of SWF’s pedagogy of Regenerative Education, this year’s Neighborhood Academy featured weekly “cross-city” calls with our Values-Based Partners network that included a mini-lesson to enhance our collective knowledge of plant life.  These sessions – an extension of Sweet Water Academy, our homeschool program – are part of a year-long exploration of Plant Study at the Intersection of Agroecology, Botany, and Horticulture. The mini-lessons covered topics such as Propagation 101, Meristems, Tropisms, and Transplanting, translating complex research into digestible and applicable insights for learners of all ages. By connecting theoretical study to hands-on work, these lessons reinforced the week’s activities; for example, when participants were seeding, the mini-lesson explored the science of seeds and the mechanics of plant growth, including the impact of light (phototropism) on a developing seedling.

RND Internship & Spring Break Immersion

This winter, we also welcomed a cohort of students, artists, and community practitioners into the Spring 2026 RND Re-Search Internship program, which ran from February to April. The cohort included individuals from across the globe, ranging from Algeria to Philadelphia to Los Angeles to the South Side of Chicago. The group met each week virtually, with Chicago-based interns also plugging in onsite. This year, each intern was encouraged to grow something in their own living space, bridging the gap between digital connection and the hands-on work that’s done at The Common|Wealth.  

In March, four interns joined us at The Common|Wealth for a three-day Spring Break Immersion. This intensive period began with an onsite "disorientation" and moved quickly into hands-on spatial analysis during potting-up sessions. Using SWF "one-sheets" as technical references, interns worked alongside Neighborhood Academy members to develop transplanting techniques and plug into onsite tasks.

The immersion concluded at the Civic Arts Church, where the interns contributed to the Sankofa Civic Arts project. They used natural paints to create swatches for the Sankofa mural, bring hand-drawn flower illustrations to life, and decorate "prop blocks." This blend of physical labor and creative expression grounded the interns in SWF's core values.

Seeding the Future

In January, SWF resumed the 2025-2026 Academic Year Seeding the Future (STF) program with Beasley Academic Center. After a virtual prep session with students in January, SWF welcomed Beasley students to Civic Arts Church for the Fourth Annual Sankofa Living Memories Civic Arts Project. Inspired by George Washington Carver and Alma Woodsey Thomas, students used paint created from natural materials – such as black beans, greens, spices, and soil – to paint rectangular “swatches.” These forms, echoing the shapes in Alma Woodsey Thomas’ mosaics, will be assembled into a collective mosaic. Students also let their creative energy flow as they painted watercolor sheets of hand-drawn flowers commonly found around The Common|Wealth with the natural paint. The STF program will continue through the end of the school year, fostering a legacy of cultivation, memory, and art.

Carpentry + Design

This winter, the SWF team began experimenting with the lathe—a machine used for turning wood into balanced, cylindrical shapes. Practicing the art of woodturning with salvaged scraps, the team expanded from bowls and cups into the production of wooden plates. These handcrafted pieces are more than decorative; they will be used for Wellness Wednesday meals, closing the loop between the Work-Shop and the kitchen. The team also introduced a range of new carpentry products, including planter stands and seats, which embody our commitment to transforming wastes into resources.

Cultivation

Despite freezing temperatures outside this winter, the team sustained vibrant indoor growing spaces, such as the Hoop Houses and Shelves of Life. We harvested greens and herbs, such as mustards, kale, basil, and Cuban oregano, on a weekly basis from the Hoop Houses and Shelves of Life. As the weather warmed, the hoop houses began to overflow with a lush mix of cold-weather crops – including lettuce, mustards, collards, and kale – alongside thousands of new seedlings in preparation for planting outdoors. This year-round harvest ensures that our transition into the spring growing season is not a “start-up,” but a seamless continuation of regeneration.

Civic Arts

This winter was rich in Civic Arts activity. More than 50 people participated in the Sankofa Civic Arts activity, contributing to the ongoing legacies of George Washington Carver and Alma Woodsey Thomas. Additionally, the team activated the basement of Civic Arts Church, transforming the space into a functional hub for ceramics, printmaking, and general Civic Arts practices. Throughout the season, the team held ceramics workshops to develop wheel-throwing and hand-building techniques; sessions that served as a pilot for our upcoming summer Civic Arts workshop series. The printmaking studio was equally activated, as the team refined their production process to generate hundreds of SWF tote bags and t-shirts in preparation for the upcoming market season.

We look forward to welcoming you to The Common|Wealth this Spring and Summer!