Irish ecovillagers achieve the smallest ecological footprints recorded in their country.… More…
Category Archives: Starting a Community
Leaps of Faith
Two families leave a thriving cohousing community to follow their shared dreams as a tight-knit intergenerational group.… More…
Common Fire’s Top Ten Hard-Earned Tips for Community Success
The sometimes triumphant, sometimes traumatic experiences of the three Common Fire communities yield wisdom relevant to anyone working to create a community.… More…
Off-Grid, and In Community: ’Tis Easier to Find than to Found
The co-director of Maitreya Mountain Village suggests others not follow his example.… More…
Words of Experience: Starting a Community
A founder shares a well-learned lesson: “It is a LOT of work to start an intentional community. A LOT.”… More…
The New Communities Directory: A Star Chart for Seekers and Founders
Whether you’re starting a community or looking to join one, the new Communities Directory is an essential resource.… More…
Finding or Starting a Community, #170 Contents
Those seeking an intentional community are often faced with a choice: find it, or found it? Whether looking to join an existing community or working to start a new one, aspiring communitarians can glean invaluable lessons from the experiences of other seekers and pioneers. Our Spring issue is full of success stories, cautionary tales, adventures, reflections, advice, and resources for anyone interested in Finding or Starting a Community.… More…
Getting to Community and Life after Community: Collectivism vs. Individuality
Togetherness and solitude, action and reflection—our lives give us times for each.… More…
An Evolving Movement
The FIC’s new Executive Director reflects on his and the organization’s converging paths.… More…
Three Kinds of Community—Three Kinds of Experience and Learning
Whether with refugees, in the inner city, or in intentional groups, community holds life-long lessons.… More…
Land Use Regulations, Urban Planners, and Intentional Communities
A century since the United States’ first citywide zoning ordinance, community founders can find support in unexpected places when navigating land use laws.… More…
My Struggle to Legalize Sustainable Living
After nearly three decades of activity, a pioneering eco-community collapses under the weight of legal attacks by a small group of neighbors.… More…
It Takes All Kinds to Raise a Village
After an engaged local citizenry creates cultural shifts, a city endorses rather than prosecutes code-bending strategies that promote resilient community.… More…
My Intentional Community and the Law
Breitenbush has a long history of dealing with legalities and illegalities, from installing a volcano as their “boiler” and blocking old-growth logging to successfully petitioning for a zoning variance.… More…
Zoning Nightmare: Hartford’s Scarborough Street House
An unconventional family fights to stay in their collective house in the face of antiquated local ordinances which suppress community living.… More…
Free Land on a Tropical Island!?
Free land on a tropical island!? Pitcairn, a small remote paradise-like island in the South Pacific is running out of people. They are giving land for free to people who want to settle there. Could it make a good Ecovillage location? “With an aging population of around 50 people, this British Overseas Territory is seeking… More…
From Conversation to Community: How a Bunch of Mates Bought Some Land Together
“Wouldn’t it be great to buy a block of land together in the bush?” Dinner party conversations yield unexpected fruit.… More…
Vision, Money, and Sustainability: Bringing in Renters while Building the Dream
In the quest for sustainability, long-term goals can yield to short-term needs and opportunities, fertilizing new growth in unpredictable ways.… More…
Sharing Spaces, Sharing Values: Entrepreneurship at Dragon’s Nest Cooperative Homestead
“Founder’s joy” can wear off very quickly in the chaos of financial instability and unclear agreements.… More…
The Peace Bridge
Tamarack Institute and FIC invite all of us to share our conversations about community.… More…
Yes, Wealthy People Want to Live in Community in Sustainable Ways Too!
The facilitator of a telephone support group offers 14 suggestions from current or aspiring communitarians with significant financial resources.… More…
Achieving Affordability with Cohousing
Cohousing is intrinsically an affordable model; here’s why and how.… More…
Creating a Community of Homesteaders
A land trust with leaseholds keeps members’ costs down while allowing a combination of autonomy and connection.… More…
Affordability: Angst and Angels
Kara Huntermoon of Heart-Culture Farm shares her community’s affordability strategies.… More…
New Beginnings at Oakleigh Meadow Cohousing
A forming cohousing group experiences its share of bumps, but comes together to move forward.… More…
My Advice to Others Planning to Start an Ecovillage
An ecovillage founder offers 10 guidelines for success, including “Start with people.”… More…
Living the Questions
Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage grapples with obstacles to create a visionary housing project in rural Maine.… More…
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