A roadside poster in Fairfield, IA, announcing: “Now showing – FAIRFIELD. A cast of 10,000 as themselves. A true story about excellence of community living.”In an article published by the Iowa daily Des Moines Register, the home town of the Maharishi University of Management is hailed as a role model for a closely-knit yet wonderfully open community of the 21st century:
“Fairfield is a town of contrasts, where you can see a BMW parked on the street next to a pickup truck. The native population has increasingly accepted immigrants who brought a different culture and an entrepreneurial spirit that invigorates the city’s economy. Fairfield has earned a long list of plaudits in numerous “best of” categories, including the April Smithsonian magazine’s list of “The 20 Best Small Towns in America.”
Fairfield shows how to ‘manufacture dreams’ through civic collaboration
Mayor of Fairfield, Ed Malloy, with talk-show host Oprah in the Maharishi Golden Domes used for Transcendental Meditation practice. Photo: maharishischooliowa.orgEd Malloy is perhaps the best example of how Fairfield has melded small town Iowa values with the exotic culture inspired by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Malloy is an immigrant from New York, practices Transcendental Meditation and lives in a spacious and handsome home built to the exacting Vedic principles. He moves comfortably among traditional and non-traditional Fairfield, which is evident from his support by voters for more than a decade.
Malloy says Fairfield’s can-do culture begins with setting ambitious goals, but achievements are celebrated by the entire community, not just the strong core of Transcendental Meditation followers fed by Maharishi University.
In Fairfield, Malloy says, “People go out and manufacture their dreams. When we all share the pride, that’s when everything changes.”
Fairfield lives green
“Among the striking things about Fairfield is its ethic of self-sufficient sustainability. This manifests itself in many ways, such as a cooperative organic food market and a solar-powered radio station run by volunteers. Solar panels sprout from roofs and from freestanding structures. The city of Fairfield has an energy efficiency coordinator, whose salary is shared by the city and by Iowa State University’s extension service. (…)
This conservation ethic runs deeper in the community than these outward symbols of alternative and renewable energy sources. As a participant in Alliant Energy’s Hometown Rewards program, Fairfield took on a challenge beginning on Earth Day in 2012 to reduce its overall energy consumption by 4 percent.
It hit that and exceeded it: Fairfield residents shaved electric and natural gas consumption by 8.5 percent and businesses cut theirs by 8 percent. The total savings of 10.2 million kilowatt hours of gas and electricity is enough energy to power 1,077 homes for one year, according to Alliant, which independently verified the energy savings.”
Read the full article:
“Fairfield defines community action” by Rox Laird, The Des Moines Register (November 2, 2013)
