Search result

Join Now Member Login

Home	About O.E.N.	SharedZone	ChatZone	InviteZone	Site News	BirdTribes.net	Instructional Vids	FAQs
Log In / Register	Members	VideoZone	JournalZone	ImageZone	Music	Groups	Affiliate System	Forum

JournalZone

All Journals Top Journals Top Posts

Search result

Tags - eco-village

PART 2 - Proposal for Intentional Community

January 21, 2010

1 comments

Uncategorized

it falls back onto the individual who obviously did not think positive enough, or did not belief enough in what was at stake). Many of such cross-overs have come to infect our civilization and cause much of the dysfunctionality we see in our current society and confused humanity about what is life about, on what is the purpose of our existence.   The common value that motivates peoples throughout the world is the pursuit of being happy, but throughout the ages, this pursuit has been reformatted by countless ‘isms' for the benefit of the few. The latest such ‘ism' is consumerism, the propaganda that makes us believe that all the stuff we obtain and have and all the things we do can make us happy.   In line with the foregoing values of this community, our pursuit of happiness could be redefined as follows:   "We, the people of the New Age, we want to be Happy!"   Happiness that comes from living a meaningful and responsible life. Therefore we want Sovereignty based on: <ul> <li> freedom of thought and speech, </li> <li> freedom of expression and of press </li> <li> freedom of religion and association. </li> </ul>   Happiness that comes from living a life with purpose, a life with a sense of belonging. Therefore we want Justice based on: <ul> <li> equality for the law, </li> <li> equal rights to all, </li> <li> equal respect for all, regardless our differences. </li> </ul>   Happiness that comes from living a prosperous and dignified life. Therefore we need to share the wealth and resources of our community in a brotherly way, based on need and not on greed: <ul> <li> brotherly make life affordable by sharing whatever we have in common, </li> <li> brotherly maintain and share the common good, </li> <li> brotherly share the workload and compensation as the way to stamp out poverty. </li> </ul>   Happiness that comes from living a life with Hope and a positive outlook on the future. Therefore we need security based on sustainability: <ul> <li> sustainable economy, </li> <li> sustainable environment, </li> <li> sustainable lifestyle based on voluntary simplicity. </li> </ul>   Interests of the Community:   Although the interests of this community will largely depend on the interests of the members, we nevertheless would like to direct our focus to those aspects which will support our vision and mission.   <ul> <li> Coming together as a unified group in order to motivate and strengthen our commitment to our common vision. </li> <li> Permaculture, Bio-dynamics, Organic ways of food production. </li> <li> Recycling and Re-using wastes. </li> <li> Reducing our energy requirements and living with less. </li> <li> Balancing all aspects of living and time <ul> <li> Family time, work time, communal time, celebration time, educational time, maintenance time, planting and harvesting time, personal time, quiet time. </li> </ul> </li> <li> Celebrating life in meaningful ways expressed through music, art, theatre, and dance etc. </li> <li> Socializing with friends and neighbors. </li> <li> Wholistic Healing of ourselves and assisting others with theirs. </li> <li> Connecting and interacting intimately with Nature. </li> <li> Communicating compassionately, openly and freely with others. </li> <li> Giving and sharing our time, energy and resources with others inside and outside the community. </li> <li> Co-operatively building energy efficient homes from natural local materials i.e. 100 mile housing. </li> <li> Sharing communal work load with others in a joyful way. </li> <li> Inner reflection and contemplation through Meditation, Yoga, Tai Chi, etc </li> </ul>   Goals and Objectives:   <ol> <li> To share this proposal with others interested in community. </li> <li> To gain commitment from other people who really want to contribute to this vision. </li> <li> To create a name for this community with the involvement of everyone who has committed at this point. </li> <li> To create a legal entity set up as a corporation named "XXXX" as a way to safe guard the material and financial interests of the members. </li> <li> To create a separate legal entity set up as a non-profit society as a way to safe guard our common vision. </li> <li> To find suitable land for the community. </li> <li> To solicit adequate funding in order to manifest the envisioned community, property and all. </li> <li> To acquire the land; possibly purchase the land under the corporation. </li> <li> To set-up temporary dwellings on the land. </li> <li> To begin preparation of the land and soil for planting trees, gardens etc and plan towards adequate infrastructures. </li> <li> Build a self-sustaining infrastructure to support our basic needs. </li> <li> To begin building our homes and some necessary common buildings. </li> <li> To secure funds (possibly apply for government grant money) for the development of a wholistic healing lodge and any related initiatives. </li> <li> Initiate communal cottage industries towards economic viability with minimal dependence on the current global market system. </li> <li> Create and nurture a space for our spiritual sanctuary. </li> <li> Empower the children of the community to design, decorate and build their own educational space with the assistance of the adults. </li> <li> Build the healing lodge and associated buildings. </li> <li> To establish the higher educational, leadership, internship, and other such programs that will enable us to be of service to others, communicate and share our experiences, and link with similar local and global efforts. </li> </ol>   Natural Law - A Guide for a Return to Harmony   Without a doubt, the state of our planet has lots to do with our state of mind, especially the way we live alienated from the balancing dynamics in nature. This alienation finds its roots in the Judeo/Christian religions, which is the undercurrent of our Western civilization. About five hundred years ago, Gallileo was able to make those in power come to realize that our planet Earth is not at the center of the Universe. All that time later, this paradigm shift has not shifted to the personal level as we are still very much in the mindset that we humans are the center of the Universe, the most important creature on earth and within the known universe. We seem to be convinced that all there is, is for our personal benefit and satisfaction, that our economy is above and beyond the ecology of the biosphere on our planet, etc. As this fallacy is becoming apparent, some of us do question our economic privileges and see the need to reconnect with nature and restore harmony with the balancing dynamics which gives nature the stability we come to recognize. One of the aims of this community is to seek that harmony and to adjust our way of life accordingly. Although most major religions the world over found their inspiration in nature and its eternal dynamics, those same religions have done an excellent job to obscure those natural laws and principles and reframe them in order to maximize economic benefit through human enslavement and exploitation. Needless to say, most religions do no longer live up to their mandate, the mandate to help people relate to the world beyond common comprehension, to help people find meaning, purpose and happiness within the limits of our Planet, to help people survive the adverse challenges they faced when out of touch with the natural dynamics, to give people guidance and direction for a sustainable future.   As a community, we find it essential to re-examine those fundamental principles and to make them part of our lifestyle. Without a doubt, we humans and all manifestations of life on our planet are mostly influenced by the cyclical interactions of our planet, the sun and the moon. Their cyclical movements in relation to each other determines day and night, the passing of the seasons, the tidal movements of the ocean waters, the life cycles of countless animals, insects and plants ... Pre-religious cultures, those we consider pagans, had no choice but to seek harmony with those re-occurring cycles in order to survive. For them, a direct relationship with nature was essential.   One of the natural cycles that has been tempered with the most is the solar calendar which combines the days, weeks and months into a solar year, known as the Gregorian Calendar. Early Patriarchal cultures found it more effective to control the masses by disconnecting the people from their inborn cosmic resonance, and what better way to disrupt the lunar synchronicity, especially from woman's experience, by disconnecting the man-made calendar from the true lunar cycle. Therefore, the solar calendar became divided in twelve arbitrary months, while the natural solar year of 365 days is naturally divided by thirteen moon-months of each 28 days in length, the same periodicity woman experience as their mooncycle. As a result, we live totally disconnected from the lunar seasons, each seven days in length, with the seventh day being the day of transition, the day of rest in nature.   Although the Judeo/Christian religions recognize the Sabbath or the Sunday as their day of rest, it is obvious that the true day of rest, the day during which the moon makes its transition through its solstices or through its equinoxes is very different than what the human made calendar proclaims, has no relationship, as they occur on very different days and vary from year to year. Therefore, adapting a more natural lifestyle could also include the adherence to such natural cycles by restoring the lunar calendar.   Similar efforts could be made to reclaim the true meaning and influence of special days throughout the year, days such as the solar solstices and equinoxes. Those days too have been Christianized and lost their true natural dimension. As a community, we will make space to celebrate those days in a meaningful way.   Another important natural law which we westerners have come to misunderstand are the dynamics of change. As a matter of fact, we have come to accept change as being the only constant, the gateway for a future with unforeseeable dimensions, called progress. Although change is being experienced as challenging and unpredictable, we nevertheless accept the ‘No pain - No gain' predicament as a necessity in order to change beyond the present situation.   To the contrary, in the world of nature, change is always a sign of instability, a sign of imbalance, the prelude for extinction. After all, the hallmark of Nature, of the whole Universe is balance, is the resistance against change. As a matter of fact, the most successful species which have been on the planet for the longest time, never changed, are still the true replicas of their fossilized ancestors which roamed the planet hundreds of millions of years ago.   Even the way we understand the seasonal changes (Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter) needs re-examining. In our shortsightedness, we accept the seasonal succession as a perfect example of how nature is nothing but change, but the fossil record shows that the same seasonal succession has been very constant, very predictable for at least the past 65 million years, never changed. In other words, using the past 65,000,000 seasonal successions as evidence of changes in nature demonstrates our lack of understanding the bigger picture. As the evidence of climate change is upon is, now we have a perfect example of change! And although we have been socialized to believe that we should embrace change, we all know that we're in for very unpredictable and unpleasant surprises as the planet will surely find ways to rebalance our destructive activities which are causing global warming.   Equally important is it to come to understand that what we have come to accept as changes in nature, are in reality reactions against change! May the changing seasons be a clear example: As we know, the seasons have a direct relationship with the inclination of our planet in relation to the sun. In the summertime, the northern hemisphere is leaning towards the sun, making the days longer and hotter for the northern part of the world. In response, the northern biosphere on the surface of our planet tries to maintain stability, tries to resist the rising temperatures by stimulating expansion, by stimulating plant growth which in turn helps to evaporate water in the atmosphere as the most direct way to create a cooling trend, to stabilize the temperature. Therefore Spring and Summer are the seasons vegetation in the Northern hemisphere expands and buffers the warming trend during that time.   Oppositely, during the Fall and Winter, that hemisphere is leaning away from the sun, making the days shorter and colder. In order for the biosphere to survive those harsh times, the trend is to contract and insulate the biomass. As such, plants contract into their root-systems, their flowers transform into seeds, which eventually fall onto the ground, and become covered with the insulating leaves, animals and insects find shelter underground, and as winter approaches, water contracts into crystals while the landscape is covered with a blanket of white insulation, snow. Evidently, the seasonal ‘changes' are not changes, rather reactions against change, reactions to stabilize and minimize the effects of fluctuating solar energy reaching a certain region, reactions to protect the biosphere in order to restore and maintain balance.   Obviously, we westerners have it wrong when it comes to understand change. Nevertheless, the call for change is a constant on the political agendas of countless political campaigns and socio/economic movements. This perpetual call for change finds its origins in the early Judeo/Christian doctrine, the ‘make-belief' that we humans have dominion over the world around us, over the plants and animals. This paradigm not only gave us the entitlement of superiority over whatever we consider we have dominion over, but also gave us the heavenly stamp of approval to change things as we see fit. We no longer had to accept the world of nature as perfect and sacred, to the contrary, we see ourselves as called upon to improve whatever we do not like. Several millennia later, our disregard for the intricate natural balance, our arrogance to think that we know better together with our increasingly profound changes to the natural world, has pushed the rebalancing dynamics of the planet beyond the subtle re-adjustments. Instead, as we drive the bio-sphere further away from the natural balance, more extreme forces manifest in order to regain the natural balance. This is no longer a vicious circle, but a downward spiral which keeps humanity entangled in a race to the bottom, a race in which we think we can outsmart, outrun the balancing dynamics of nature. In order to stay ahead of the inevitable consequences of our arrogance, we try to work harder, smarter and faster, make things bigger, better and more efficient, constantly looking for changes as our only hope for that better future at the end of the tunnel. Despite the signs on the wall, most humans believe the propaganda of the political leaders who capitalize on our fear and offer the promise of ‘progress to nowhere', prosperity without limits, continued economic growth without end. Obviously, the change they envision is not the recipe for a happy ending, but the way of the Dodo for countless species, the way for ecological collapse, our own demise.   Of course, the reality is that we as a human collective cannot change! First of all, our democratic systems are designed to maintain the status quo. Not only are those who proclaim to be elected by those who unthinkingly accept the common propaganda owned by the big multi-nationals, those same multi-nationals also manufacture the propaganda which will guarantee most popular support. The "Big Monster' is not in the business of solving problems for the better, but to create needs and problems and sell us pseudo solutions and call it economic growth and progress.   Secondly, all manifestations in nature always move forward in time, never go backwards! Very much like the second Law of Thermodynamics, which postulates that energy moves forward, from the higher energy level towards the lower, but never in reverse. As such, once a new trend or manifestation is set free, it can only grow, never to return to its original start-off point, however wrong, disharmonious or out of balance the new manifestation might become. The same applies to the Big Monster. Even when we as humans would dedicate countless resources to change the course of our current out of control economic system, nothing can make it change midcourse. Instead, the balancing dynamics of nature will eventually decide when enough is enough, when the tipping point has been reached and disintegration makes room for the new.     Along that line, what we most likely see as change, is nothing more than hanging onto the current status quo, or maybe setting the clock back just a little bit to that time when we felt a greater sense of purpose and meaning within the system. It could be argued that even the status quo is not sustainable and already very dysfunctional, while every day we support and prolong the status quo, we add to the demise of numerous species, impoverish the biodiversity of our planet - a biodiversity which will be in demand the day after the collapse of the Monster we created.   Evidently, change can only come about by small groups of people, people who take their responsibility in their own hands, are dedicated and in agreement. Such a community of people has to decide where to put their energy towards: to maintain and prolong the status quo or to help the planet to give birth to the new, to restore paradise that could be. Therefore, the choice of this community is not to jump on the bandwagon of change for the sake of change, or devoting much efforts to various energy saving solutions, or devising ways to create more and cheaper energy, etc. Instead of ‘Greenwashing' our consciousness, it is time to bring our knowledge, energy and resources together to create ways for humans to live on this planet within the means of the planet. Therefore, the intention of this community is to prepare for a lifestyle which will be needed after the current system is no longer functional, without being tempted to repair or rebuild the current monster.     Land Size of the Community   Throughout our western culture, success is translated in more, bigger and faster. As a result, we westerners have become socialized to associate size with success. Intentional communities did not get spared from measuring their success by assessing their size and did not see anything wrong by expanding their membership. Slowly, we have come to realize that as an intentional community becomes bigger, it loses its common intentions, and eventually sinks back to the level of community we have come to accept in our western society, the kind of community in which we only have the highway in common. (In order to survive our commutes on the highway, we have to oblige to common laws, common agreements. Those agreements have been dictated from the top down, from a governing authority, without much say or input from those affected the most, from the bottom).   The community proposed is one in which there is a balance in communication between all members (horizontal communication) while at the same time maintaining open communication between the members and those in a leadership position of the community and vice versa: an open communication between those in leadership and all the members of the community (vertical communication). It is evident that when the membership is too large, members cannot maintain regular communication with their fellow members, while the communication with the leadership becomes delegated and channeled through committees. As it is evident in nature that any cluster of equal sized shapes (eg: spheres) can only keep in contact with their neighbours and at the same time be in contact with the central shape, when such cluster holds no more than thirteen spheres or shapes. (In pagan cultures, 13 is a holly number). As such, human interactions are no different, and time and again, it has been proven that a group of about a dozen people are the most efficient number to maintain an all encompassing communication without duplication and where all are able to contribute in a meaningful way to the whole. Along the same line, in order for a community to thrive without burnout of its members, and without duplication of its various functions required to keep the community functional, it could be argued that the optimum amount of people is about a dozen. Not enough members requires that certain members take on more than one function, while more than about one dozen members creates duplication and eventually competition between those competing members, which eventually leads to resentment and loss of purpose and commitment. In practical terms, it means that the size of an optimal community is around twelve to thirteen families. In case more members want to become part of the community, it is imperative to consider the creation of a new sister community, independent from the first.     Land Criteria   The criteria for choosing the ideal place is as follows; <ul> <li> Climate: warm sunny summers, with adequate growing season and enough moisture to keep vegetation growing. Also, moderately cold winters with some snow so that nature comes to a standstill. Hardiness Zone of 4 or better. </li> <li> Fertile soil for growing fruit and nut trees, herbs, vegetables etc. </li> <li> Good road access to the property but not along the highway. </li> <li> Availability of good pure water on the property. Ideally spring or glacier run-off water. River or lake close by for recreational activities like swimming, kayaking etc. </li> <li> Surrounded by mountains and hills. </li> <li> If possible with not too extreme neighbors around. </li> <li> Within close proximity of an old growth forest, and with lots of trees on the property and surrounding the property. </li> <li> No more than one hour from the nearest city or town. </li> <li> Hydro-power access is not really important as we intend to live with alternative energy sources. </li> <li> Telephone access good but not priority as cellphones and satellite internet could be utilized depending on the service for the area. </li> <li> Size of land; 80 + acres to give everyone enough space and to contain the healing lodge and leave lots of land untouched. </li> <li> Land must have good southern sun exposure to maximize the benefits of growing and utilize the sun energy for heating homes and buildings passively. </li> <li> Must have proper zoning in place or have no zoning established yet. </li> </ul>     Layout of the Land   <ol type="i"> <li> Kin Domains </li> </ol>   Generally the family or individual who have become provisional members will choose their own lot and home site of approximately 2.5 acres. The lot will be with no greater density of housing than one home per 2.5 acre plot. Each family or individual is encouraged to design and lay out their own plot of land which should include their own garden, orchard, pond, greenhouse, chicken coup, and pastures. It would be expected that the building and initial planting would be assisted by the community members, as a group effort! The finished design should resemble a food forest so as to always have a fresh supply of food available, straight from the source, example; plenty of fruit and nut trees, shrubs, perennials, herbs, and an annual vegetable garden. This type of design will eventually require very little maintenance once it is established. All members should make an effort to build their buildings out of sight of neighbors, by either blending into existing trees or plant new trees around the perimeter of the lot as a living fence, so as not to break with the existing natural harmony. Homes should be modest in size, sized only to service our needs not our egos. Preliminary buildings, sheds, shacks, buses, vans etc used as temporary shelter should be removed from the home site after the proper buildings have been erected to replace them. It will be the responsibility of members to maintain and repair their own homes and domains.   <ol type="i"> <li> Healing Lodge and Guest Cottages </li> </ol>   Adequate space will be set aside for the Healing Lodge, guest cottages and associated buildings. At this moment, we envision twelve small hut like buildings arranged in a circle with a larger round building centrally located containing a dining room, kitchen, bathrooms, showers, laundry and a second floor social lounge. Fruit and nut trees along with many other food bearing perennials to be located within the spaces between the hall and the small lodges. The small huts to contain two rooms each with shared fireplace, one bed, one table, and two chairs in each room. Small personalized gardens to surround each hut for the growing of the lodge food and the healing of the lodge guests. Lodge guests would seed, maintain and harvest the gardens.   The main lodge and all its facilities (showers, laundry, lounge, dining room and kitchen) would be open and common to everyone in the community. This is were people could come to informally socialize with others (members and guests), for a meal or for tea etc. More formal gathering could also be planned here, like weddings, celebrations, pot-lucks etc. The huts of the healing lodge would also serve a double purpose, where some of the huts could be available at times for new potential members, visitors (friends, family etc), people giving service in exchange for treatment and room and board. Members of the community would need to book the lodge or huts ahead of time to ensure the lodge is not full or utilized for another purpose. Only a certain number of lodge huts should be dedicated to lodge guest only, to ensure there is always room for our healing guests.     <ol type="i"> <li> Sanctuary - Space for Inner Contemplation </li> </ol>   We intend to create a space, another 2.5 acres or so dedicated to an indoor space for meditation, spiritual movement, spiritual meetings etc., an outdoor space for silence and inner contemplation like a labyrinth and healing/therapeutic gardens containing a variety of flowering plants, shrubs and trees, and ponds containing fountains. This space should be kept simple, efficient and sound, where all can find peace and love and the presence of Spirit, Creator...whatever our concepts might be or religion we individually have chosen to follow that gives deeper meaning to our lives.   <ol type="i"> <li> Educational Grounds and Buildings </li> </ol>   Education will pertain to all aspects of learning for the children members, adult members, visitors, Healing Lodge guests, and workshop/course participants. The educational space should be located in the center or heart of the community. To be relatively equidistant from each Kin Domain as well as the Healing Lodge and Sanctuary (this will largely depend on the lay of the land and size of the property). This space should also be approximately 2.5 acres in size.   The children's areas (inside and outside) are to be designed, built and decorated by the children with the assistance of their parents and other members. One or more buildings to contain the following sub-spaces: library, music room, theatre room, bathrooms, classrooms, craft/art room. Some rooms could serve a double purpose to keep the footprints of the buildings low. The outdoor space to include but not limited to: tree houses, play houses, garden, food forest, pond, and amphitheater. The garden and food forests will be designed, planted and maintained by the children as part of their education. The food will also serve them and feed them while they are learning in this space.   The outdoor amphitheater could be multipurpose; for outreach workshops, community meetings, festivals, etc.   <ol type="i"> <li> Workshops </li> </ol>   There should be one or two building available to serve as workshops for woodworking, metalworking, engine mechanics, etc. All the common tools and equipment would be stored in or near these workshops.   <ol type="i"> <li> Common Gardening Area, Fields and Greenhouse </li> </ol>   As all members will be encouraged to grow their own food on their kin domain, common land will be designated to grow crops such as cereal and seed crops etc. The planting and harvesting of the communal fields would be a communal effort. Where the rewards of the harvest from the communal fields would be shared with all community members according to their needs. Over the winter, the community could gather together to make certain products from the seeds and grains or from the stocks, example; hemp rope, hemp rugs, cold pressed oil, etc.   A greenhouse might be considered as a nursery for the use of propagating our own fruit and nut trees or for assisting individual members in extending their growing season, if they don't have a small greenhouse of their own.   <ol type="i"> <li> Roadways and all other undesignated areas </li> </ol>   As in some other communities, we could keep a 10 foot setback on each side of the roadways, which is designated for use by the community. No person could rightfully build or maintain any structure inside said setback without board approval.   All other areas not assigned a purpose would be available to everyone for common use. No permanent structures should be built unless agreed to by all members.     Personal Space   Gardens, greenhouses, orchards etc. within kin domains, will be considered private space of the person/family it belongs. Because of topological reasons and different soil quality, it may be necessary to have one's garden located somewhere more suitable than on the lot used for a home site. Although with proper permaculture practices, it is likely to improve the quality of the soil, and keep the garden within one's kin domain. Nevertheless, gardens, orchards etc. away from the home site are not considered as common ground to other members or animals.   Members rooms, their houses, workshops, yards, gardens, greenhouses, orchards etc will be treated as inviolable and will provide as much privacy for their occupants as is wanted at any time. We hope "personal space" of others will be treated with respect; personal space also being something which people will be able to carry around with them. This implies that no-one enters another's living space or uses personal belongings without the consent of that person, and no-one consciously invades the personal space that someone else may be in, regardless of their location. It is also important that the personal history of members, prior to entering the community is regarded as part of that persons "personal space" to be shared or not at the persons own discretion. We accept a person for what he or she is or will be, and not for what he or she has been in the past.   Shared Space   All land on the property, except the kin domains already assigned to members, will be common space to all member. Common space also includes water ways, roadways, and buildings used as common buildings, common workshops, common gardens, educational spaces, common equipment and vehicles, common tools, the forest and cleared areas not in use by any particular member.     Sustainability   Ever since the Brundtland report (1987) made the world aware that sustainability is the way of Our Common Future, it became equally clear that the proposed models of sustainable development were beyond the carrying capacity of our planet. Instead of sustainable development, the new focus is on sustainable living. This lifestyle promotes the reduction of the individual and society's use of the Earth's natural resources, <ol> <li> reducing our carbon footprint by altering modes of transportation and especially by reducing the need to transport and travel, </li> <li> reducing our energy consumption and our dependency on fossil fuel energy, </li> <li> changing our diets by using seasonal and local grown foods, organic grown food, grown on a small scale and as low as possible on the food chain - a vegetable based diet is therefore seen as less taxing the environment -, </li> <li> by conducting our lives in manners that are consistent with sustainability, in natural balance and respectful of humanity's symbiotic relationship with the Earth's natural <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecology">ecology</a> and cycles, therefore called ecological living. </li> </ol>   Obviously, this level of sustainable lifestyle is beyond what is currently being promoted by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldwatch_Institute">Worldwatch Institute</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Policy_Institute">Earth Policy Institute</a>, which describes sustainable living in the 21st century as "shifting to a renewable energy-based, reuse/recycle economy with a diversified transport system." Noticeably, this form of sustainable lifestyle is not only promoting the status quo, but is still disconnected from the ecology, from the limited productive and reproductive capacity of our only planet. In other words, it constitutes business as usual as if there is nothing wrong with our lifestyle, just redistribute our wealth, reduce harm to the planet and live happy ever after, all in our own little cocoon. The sustainable lifestyle the planet ‘demands' from us in order for humans to become part of the planet is far beyond that and forces us to look beyond our individualistic lifestyle, but by organizing ourselves into the next level of our evolution: communal living.   This community shall be as sustainable as possible and as rapidly as makes sense to us at the time. We shall be producing almost all of our own food organically, building our own buildings, carrying out our own maintenance and repairs, delivering our own babies, enabling our children and ourselves and others to learn, running our own medical assistance, entertaining ourselves, and no doubt burying ourselves in the course of time. What we cannot find within the community we will find outside as long as what we find outside is in line with our community vision. What we cannot provide for ourselves we will import, but we will only import what we can afford financially and morally, and only if we do not have any other choice or alternative. Construction   The community dwellings that the members reside in would be built with simple, natural materials found mostly on the property that we live upon. This will provide for a certain uniformity throughout the community whilst at the same time allowing us the freedom to express our individuality as an extended family through the design and layout of our dwellings. Our aim will be to surround ourselves with attractive accommodations, simply built from readily obtainable materials providing us with beautiful facilities and comfort compatible with our chosen lifestyle. We envisage creating an environment which will bring a source of delight for ourselves and others. We will use mostly wood, rock, sand, straw and clay for our needs and stay away as much as we can from artificial materials like plastics, vinyl, composites. Whatever we build should conform to the local building regulations, as well to the health and safety standards.   Appropriate Technology   One definition of alternative technology is "ways and means of doing things with minimal environmental and social adverse consequences." We plan to make the fullest appropriate use of alternative technology, attempting to run the community on ecologically sounds principles. For example, we shall be using wind, solar panels and possibly methane to generate our power and electricity. Using water as a source of energy maybe possible depending on the property we find. Solar (passive and active) and wood burning to heat water and room space and food etc. will most likely be the primary energy sources. We can reclaim almost all of our waste as compost and fertilizer. Where possible we could use low energy methods of transportation, like ethanol, bio-diesel or straight vegetable oil as fuel. It may be necessary to utilize a generator to power larger equipment and tools if no hydro-power is available on the property. To reduce operating costs and the acquisition of tools for communal use, it would be essential to share our tools, workshops, and co-ordinate our working hours. Furthermore, we should keep a noisy (polluting) generator away from the home sites in the industrial area where we plan to keep the different workshops. For lighting in the houses low energy use LED's, candles, kerosene and propane lights could be used. If hydro is not already present, it should be our priority to reduce our needs and be creative in our energy sources. As a reminder, this community is not intended to exist only to solve our ever increasing energy demands, rather we shall strive to bring back our energy needs to a more natural balance and to change our needs and dependencies by choosing voluntary simplicity.   By changing our food choices and the way we prepare them,and avoiding the use of a fridge, stove and freezer (meat locker in town), we can do without hydro power. The use of dried food or food stored in a root cellar over the winter is just as useful as all the rest.   Telephone service line may not be available but cellular phones and satellite internet maybe possible depending on the service coverage for our intended community location. Telephone can be a handy instrument to communicate with the outside world and an important energy and time saver.   Gardening   We would like to find a balance among permaculture, organic, bio-dynamic, and natural gardening. In any case, we are avoiding the use of chemical fertilizers, sprays, pesticides and artificial preservatives as well as products to disinfect the soil. We also want to stay away from hydroponics and other unnatural growing methods. It will be necessary to save our seeds and ensure we have a safe and secure seed bank to draw from, one that is positively free from all genetic modifications. We would like to utilize passive solar as much as possible for the greenhouses with the possibility of using the Sol Viva design (chicken greenhouse). We would like to use the greenhouses for extending the shoulders of the growing seasons rather than growing plants and food out of season or from other parts of the world (as further explain in the section covering our diet). Needless to say that growing our food will be a huge focus for this community, it will be in our gardens that we will spend most of our time connecting with Nature.     Transportation and Equipment   We could try and maintain the smallest amount and variety of motorcars, four wheel drive vehicles, trucks, minibuses, tractors and other vehicles as necessary. For reasons of expediency we may well use hired earth moving equipment during our first stages on the land, this to clear land, to prepare access roads, and to level building sites. We will almost certainly use tractors and machines initially in order to get our land rapidly under cultivation. There may not be time to do it any other way, but as early as possible we will be reducing to a minimum our reliance on machinery of any kind. We could try to maintain and use our vehicles on a communal basis, so that we do not end up with every family owning a tractor, a 4x4 truck.... we could ride horses and bicycles and are likely to use horses for drawing carts and sleighs. We shall be working a lot with horses and we may breed heavy horses for our own use as well as for use outside the community.   Pets and Working Animals   We will be riding horses, working with horses and probably talking with horses, also having a working relationship with cows, goats, chickens, ducks etc. We will co-operate with bees for part of their honey, and with sheep for part of their wool. To keep in harmony with the bees needs, only a small portion of their honey should be harvested. The manure from cows, goats, horses etc. serves as necessary composting material. We should have a limited number of dogs and cats living with us - far fewer than many of us would like to have around.   We, and including our children, want to cultivate an environment in which we have many opportunities for relating to wildlife and to the animals which share our lives. Our aviary will be the sky and the trees, and our aquarium will be the rivers and lakes and sea, but at the same time we will b

Tags: intentional community sustainability anastasia permaculture kin-domain eco-village

PART 3 - Proposal for Intentional Community

January 21, 2010

1 comments

Uncategorized

Our aviary will be the sky and the trees, and our aquarium will be the rivers and lakes and sea, but at the same time we will be relating to our domesticated animals with the same awareness with which we shall be relating to other aspects in nature.   It should be kept in mind that only the best intentions and love should be brought forth in the raising and keeping of these living beings. We shall be keeping a loving space for the animals to share our lives with, rather than unappreciated and misused ways which we see as slavery of another being, another soul.   Hunting shall not be permitted any where in the community.     Water Use   Rain water capture in barrels or ponds would be ideal for watering plants and for domestic use like laundry etc. All toilets should be dry or composting instead of flushing toilets with septic tanks. Human waste to be properly composted and re-used on individual gardens and the common garden area. All grey water from kitchens, bathing, laundry, cleaning should be re-cycled and re-used in our orchards and gardens. Therefore we should avoid any activity or use of substances which pollute or contribute to the pollution of the land or water. Cleaning substances that are bio-degradable and made from plant sources would be essential.   Garbage/Pollution   With the lifestyle suggested for this community, we expect there to be far less non-recyclable garbage and waste materials. Shying away from canned and factory packaged products and foods would reduce the garbage to occasional oil cans from vehicles, broken jars etc. These things could be collected and periodically taken to the municipal waste disposal site. All paper can be collected for recycle or utilized as fire starters. All organic matter goes to the compost for the benefit of our own gardens.   To keep the community lands peaceful, we should eliminate or repair noisy vehicles or excessively noisy machines on the land - except when there is no alternative. Also no noisy recreation forms such as motorbikes or stock cars on the land.   Voluntary Simplicity   The only way to achieve the foregoing objectives is by simplifying our lifestyle, by adopting the principles of ‘Voluntary Simplicity'. Voluntary simplicity is a lifestyle characterized by minimizing the "more is better" pursuit of wealth and consumption. Simple living as a concept is distinguished from those living in forced poverty, as it is a voluntary lifestyle choice. Basically a choice to live outwardly more simple and inwardly more rich, a way of being in which our most authentic and alive self is brought into direct and conscious contact with living. Voluntary simplicity is deliberately chosing the freedom of having less stuff to worry about. Being happier with fewer trappings is easy when it saves you money, benefits the environment, teaches children meaningful values and helps others in need. Best of all, simple living delivers the personal satisfaction that only comes when you decide how much is enough for you. In short, simpler living is not backward living, but forward living. Less time spent on material goods and serving the Monster means more time spent with family, friends, children, nature, and unlocking the real passions and values of your life.   Voluntary Simplicity is also about lifestyle, about living more with nature and what nature has to offer as the ultimate convenience store. Its about more free time and less complicated routines. Freedom lies within simplicity, less to worry about, less to fix and repair, less distractions from what really matters.     Community Culture   As mentioned earlier, our western culture has become what it is by cultivating our separateness from nature, seeing us humans as co-creators and in charge of our destiny. Since the people attracted to this community see through these fallacies, we therefore strive to create our community culture that embraces our interconnectedness with nature and the world beyond, therefore focused on an inclusive or wholistic lifestyle. Although there is confusion about the term wholistic versus holistic, the former implies the totality of the being, all aspects - the whole - , while the latter finds its origins in holy, from which healing is derived. Therefore, a wholistic lifestyle implies the integration of the four levels of being: the physical, the emotional, the mental and the spiritual dimension. As those dimensions have been neglected in our fragmented western lifestyle, they might need some healing...   Wholistic Health   In line with the foregoing, wholistic health covers the four dimensions of our being: body, mind, spirit and soul, where all are interconnected and interdependent on each other to affect real healing. As we strive to become in harmony with nature, as our being is also nature, therefore we must recognize the need to become in harmony with those four dimensions within. Undoubtedly, everyone in this community will undergo healing on some level. We foresee the healing lodge as the focal point of our healing while more subtle healing continuously occurs living community life. The community we envision is one of health, wholistic health, where everything we do to ourselves, to others, to all life and to the planet has a higher meaning and purpose of moving towards harmony.   Diet   Enough evidence exists to demonstrate that food plays an important role in human behavior, and since a community is based on human behavior, food is seen as pivotal. Food choice, although very personal, requires open discussion. Based on the primary law that input equals output, or "we are what we eat", we as a society should be very concerned with everything that passes through our mouths. Obviously, those that benefit from our ignorance not only prefer blind mass consumption but also know that non-wholesome food (fragmented food) maintains a fragmented mind. Although people are becoming aware to this reality and as supporting information comes to light, the general consensus still remains that "if the government regulatory bodies say it's fit for human consumption, then it must be!" Regardless, the "food-like-substances" that are deemed safe are not only causing most degenerative dis-eases we face today but slowly poisoning us to a dead end. Changing one's diet not only changes how we think about ourselves, it is also instrumental to overcome life threatening diseases, to live a much happier and long lasting life, and gives ourselves a different perspective to our place in the universe. As such, building a sustainable community will require a sustainable personal lifestyle. Diet is the cornerstone!   As it is our dream to become in harmony with nature and the underlying Universal Forces, the instinctive way to do so is to accept the food from Nature the way it is, not processed, in season, locally and organically grown. In principle, we would like the community to be as vegetarian as possible, since a vegetarian diet is less demanding from our ecosystem. Besides the ecological demands an animal inclusive diet results in, it is equally important to remind ourselves that animals are mostly manifestations of horizontally polarized energy, energy parallel to the ground, parallel to the surface of our planet. Compared to vertically growing plants, animal like manifestations lack a strong direct cosmic connection and as a result are mostly motivated by competition and fear. Plants to the contrary, are not only manifestations of vertical energy, with a direct connection to the heavens and beyond, and once they take root, they tend to stand their ground.   In addition to the foregoing attributes, it is equally important to strive for a balanced diet, a diet as much as possible cradled between the expansive forces manifested in our food versus the contracting forces manifested in the same food (their seeds and roots). Basically, food that is wholesome and in balance between its opposing Yin and Yang forces. The mistake most vegetarians make is to rely mostly on greens year round (manifestations of mostly expanding energy) and a diet predominantly consisting of vegetables from the nightshade family (cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchinis, various squashes...), As is known, food from the nightshade family is in varying degrees not only slightly toxic, acid and low in energy, but also very intensively influenced by the current trend to genetically modify whatever is easy to grow and in high demand. Although it is not clear what the long term influences of Genetically Modified foods will be on human health, including our mental and spiritual health, it can easily be predicted that whenever we change the energy patterns in the foods we consume, we eventually interfere with and change the energy patterns in ourselves.   As a group of people interested in forming and sustaining a community based on the principles outlined throughout this proposal, one of the reasons we as individuals feel attracted to this lifestyle is the potential to become who we truly are, free and authentic. Therefore, our diet should underscore those very same values and refrain from causing on others those infringements we try to walk away from. The use of dairy products is surely one of those ingredients. Not only are we humans the only mammal on our planet that eats and drinks the milk (and the derived products) from another mammal beyond the period of lactation, we also add greatly to the enslavement and exploitation of those milk producing animals.   The use of common stimuli such as coffee is for most people another difficult habit to reconsider. Not only is coffee a product from a far away country, not even considered food and yet using a lot of fertile arable land in countries who have come to rely on a cash crop such as coffee, sugar and other commodities we can do without. Even the Fair Trade coffee which has added to the new opportunity to ‘greenwash' our consciousness, is a bad solution for the people trying to make a living from growing coffee to satisfy our endless demand for more energy and faster lifestyle. In line with the foregoing, it is understandable how a more balanced diet consisting of wholesome food adds to a more balanced human being, which in turn manifests in a more balanced and wholesome view and understanding of the world around. This quality helps the individual to see both sides of a situation at hand, helps to see the whole picture. This attribute is increasingly important in an ever more fragmented and disconnected world.   In practicality, we strive to focus our diet around whole grains, seasonal vegetables, including root vegetables, nuts and seeds, fruits, honey or maple syrup, maybe the occasional egg in spring and summer, and in case we come face to face with starvation, the occasional animal will keep us alive without losing the spirit of this community endeavor. Regardless, no-one is going to regulate whether a person eats meat or not, what you eat is not the concern so much as the effect of ones diet in reference to our goal which is creating community. The raising and killing of animals for the purpose of eating them, while there is plenty of other high quality food sources available, is in contradiction with the community vision. We have come to the conclusion that for humanity to live in harmony with nature, we need to stop the enslavement and the needless killing of all living beings on earth.   Physical Movement   The proposed sanctuary could be a place were all could gather on a daily basis, if one desires, to join in group movement. The type of movements would depend on the group and those willing to lead the group that particular day. Examples are yoga, tai chi, pilates, qi gong, martial arts etc.   Drugs - Tobacco & Alcohol   We trust that the individuals who will be attracted to this community will have a level of awareness and willingness to change their undesirable habits and dependencies. Living our lives in a more natural environment and being in harmony with nature will make it easier for most of us to grow towards balance with our surroundings without artificial stimuli.   Nevertheless we could see the use of an organic homemade wine for special communal celebrations. The use of communal organically grown tobacco for ceremonial purposes only.   Soft Drugs, Hallucinogens & Hard Drugs   There are many convincing arguments in favor of the use of marijuana, hashish, mushrooms, LSD, etc. but our choice as a community should be to find ways of being high on life without the assistance of drugs - as Ram Dass points out "The goal of the path is to Be high, and not Get high." Besides, one of the missions of our community is to heal body, mind, spirit and soul, whereas those substances easily obscure the mind and undermines true health. Some people believe in the use of drugs as mind openers to other realms, for vision quests or gaining clarity. From experience, we see people gaining sustained clear visions and open minds by simply purifying their body, mind, spirit and soul through natural means. We know from our medical sciences that the use of these drugs is harmful for ourselves and our future children, therefore this is one of the very few matters on which this proposal is not flexible. We recommend that people who want to stay with their drug habits, stay in that kind of community where these drugs are made available. On the other hand, we hope to be able to create a community where people who are struggling away from their drug addictions will find a home of love and understanding, and will find a helping and supporting hand to reach their goal.   Internal Cleansing   Creating and sustaining the intentional community we envision will require clarity of mind of all members. As we all know a clear mind resides in a clean body. Therefore, the Healing Lodge will be an integral part of the community and will offer all members of the community services to support internal cleansing, such as holistic food preparation education, herbal remedies, massage, sauna, sweat lodges, fasting, colonics etc.   Inner Reflection and Contemplation   We would hope everyone adapts some sort of practice to assist in their spiritual growth. Having a regular practice of inner reflection also helps us to cleanse our bodies and minds to receive higher wisdom and knowledge. We must give ourselves the time and space to do this, as the benefits far reach beyond ourself and extend to everything around us. The sanctuary space will be available for individual and regular group meditations.   Spiritual Counseling   We hope to have people within the community who have walked the spiritual path with integrity and are able give assistance to others in times of emotional, physical, and spiritual crises. They could also be instrumental as spiritual advisors for the community as a whole, as counselors for the Healing Lodge and communal celebrations.   Communication   The community would benefit from workshops for all community members on the fundamentals of 'Compassionate Communication' or 'Non-violent Communication' so that we can avoid dysfunctional communication. This will help to reduce and resolve conflicts and increase a greater sense of group cohesion.   Some of our communications in regards to community matters will take place silently and reliably by posting messages on the bulletin boards in common area, such as workshops, laundry room, sanctuary, dinning hall etc. Meetings will be organized from time to time to discuss any issues brought forward.   Medical Assistance   In terms of health, we shall be using all methods available to us and as appropriate to each individual: <ul> <li> from straight medicine to alternative medicine, </li> <li> from medication to yoga and auto-suggestion, </li> <li> from digging ditches to ocean and wilderness survival programs. </li> </ul>   Whatever form of healing people feel ready for, it is their own responsibility.   Our whole way of life will be synonymous with good health. Everyone who wants it, will have a sound diet in relation to nature, regular exercise, sunshine, fresh air, ample rest and relaxation and huge amounts of love and friendship.   In maintaining and restoring our health, we should give our preference to methods which are in harmony with nature, and only when no alternatives work should we use modern scientifically based medicines, which are in principle, mostly working against nature - against life with anti-bios - drugs and medication.   Sooner or later, our members will include herbalists, spiritual healers, mid-wives, homeopathic doctors, acupuncturists, colon hydro-therapists, massage therapists etc., offering various life-enhancing skills. These skills should be available to every member of the community.   We recognize sickness and disease as a normal, natural reaction of the body to restore balance or health. These reactions of our body are to be supported instead of being suppressed. Along the same line, we don't subject our children to immunizations and injections as it contradicts our striving to live naturally.   Clothing   Our clothing reflects our state of mind and the stage we are in now. The same can be said about the quality of our clothes, neglected clothes not repaired regularly, not refreshed or washed when dirty reflects a similarly neglected mind. Attention should be paid to obtain clothing from ecological responsible sources, fair trade, and organic while recycling our clothing as much as possible. It is our hope that members will be aware of the influence that different kinds of fabrics have on our wellbeing. We might have already experienced the difference between synthetic fibers versus fibers from vegetation versus animals. As far as clothing optional, if one feels the need to walk around their personal domain and home without clothing that is personal business, but for common areas, except say for a beach designated so, it would be expected out of respect for other residents and our guests that we all wear appropriate clothing.   Laundry - Washing   A common laundry facility would be the simplest and most cost effective for the whole, while at the same time, taking it one step further in our commitment to sustainability. Individuals could occasionally wash their cloths by hand and air dry. A laundry facility for the Healing Lodge is part of the plan and should be available to all. Another option would be to take large loads to a commercial laundromat in the nearest city or village. We should agree to the kind of soap used, either homemade or store bought but definitely bio-degradable, this to limit the impact to the surrounding eco-system.   World Affairs   The community and it's members will hopefully be well informed on world affairs by monitoring sections of the world press, radio, and internet. This community is not intended to be a place of escape from the daily realities which face our world. We want to remain part of that world we live in now. Keeping ourselves informed about the different struggles the world is going through will give us strength to live the way we choose to live and also inspire us to work out solutions and alternatives which we feel are needed for ourselves and mankind.   We will encourage all members to share the magazines and subscriptions they receive, with the other members interested in the same subjects. Maybe we can come to the point where all magazines and information, books, etc can be purchased by the community and kept in a common library room. We feel it is a big waste of money and resources if many families are buying the same magazines.   Relationship with Society   If the community is to serve as an example to society, it will have to be closely in touch with and open to that society. Through our connections in town (cafe/store), through the healing lodge, workshops and special events, outside work, and regular dealings with the surrounding intentional communities, we shall be building a trust based on an understanding and appreciation of our mutual lifestyles.   Politics   This will be a multi-national, nondenominational community with as much as possible no political party affiliations. As far as we are concerned neither race nor creed nor political leanings will ever of themselves be barriers to membership in the community.   As a community we shall in no way support a particular political party, although in another sense our very existence will be political. Our unique stance will be there to provide and demonstrate alternatives. We are likely to participate in local or national politics only insofar as we feel it to be essential for the community's welfare. In this case we may cast votes en bloc, or otherwise take joint action. We are unlikely to stand in the way of political action by individual members of the community.   Religion   As mentioned earlier, we humans are social beings, continuously redefining our sense of purpose and our desire to belong as a way to make our existence meaningful. In order to be able to do so in an effective and responsive way, we strive to fit into a group of like-minded people. Creating group cohesion around spiritual and religious commonalities goes back in history as far as we can see. Long ago, in Pagan times, the strive to survive was dominating human interactions, especially their interactions with their environment. Eventually, a very clear and precise relationship developed with their surrounding environment, a relationship which became gradually institutionalized by those in control, who in turn made that relationship into a religion (the word ‘religion' comes from the Latin word :Religaere' which means to relate). In those days of pagan tribes working together, their way to relate to their surroundings were rather uniform and worked well for countless generations living in a certain bio-climate. Now, we humans come from all over the world, all bringing our very different traditions and religions with us and we expect to find harmony with each other. That is a tall order and works seemingly well as long as there is enough space and distractions between the very different social groups. Although this level of tolerance and acceptance has been a hall mark for the people living in Canada, mainly because there is always another valley on the other side of the mountains and because there has always been plenty of everything to go around. This peaceful co-existence is quickly challenged when natural resources, jobs, lifestyle and living space are being compromised. The community we envision is no exception and as people from very different walks of life, different traditions, different religions come together, it will be essential to explore a common and acceptable 'religion', a common way to relate to each other, a common way to relate to the environment and the relationship to whatever or whoever we perceive to be behind the visible manifested world. In other words, we will have to face the reality to find or create a common religion, a way we can all feel accepted and a sense of belonging in the way the community relates to the above mentioned levels of connection with the world around us. Throughout history, it has been observed that when push comes to shove and survival comes in question, only what humans hold in common in their relationship with the environment makes the difference. Therefore, it is fitting to see a common relationship with each other and our environment to be focused on ecological principles, basically a nature based spirituality.   Nevertheless, in this community, we hope to provide the space for each of us to travel by whatever spiritual path we choose, provided that those paths in no way impede the passage of others.   This community will not provide the space for any "one way" to be presented as the only way. If for instance, the Christian way or Yogi Whoeverananda's teachings or any other creed or path is what it is all about for you - to the exclusion of all other possibilities - then that will be fine by the community at the same time as being unsupportable by the community. Some people are convinced that "all religions are opium for the people" and that is fine for them, because they can spend all their time and energy in the material aspects of life, supporting those needs of the Monster. Nevertheless, we hope that the members of the community will not get trapped in a material lifestyle, although the material based lifestyle i.e. science can surely help us in our understanding and relating of the universe.   At the same time, we hope that the members of the community will be able to help each other in finding their own truths and in making their own religion or spiritual path meaningful. Therefore, we should set aside common time to reflect about our communal way of life, its purpose in this vast Universe and to explore our own purposes.   In conclusion, our way of life should be a reflection of our spiritual awareness, by walking our talk and in keeping to the vision of the community.     Rituals - Traditions - Routines - Celebrations   Rituals, traditions, routines, and celebrations are important in the life of any society. In this community, whatever forms they take they will be of our own choice. Therefore, we shall be free to discard the trappings of society and ways of socializing in which we see no merit, while at the same time create our own celebrations that reflect our community values. Departures and new arrivals, rituals or customs are likely to spring up spontaneously around each of us. We are likely to design our own weddings and funerals, and our Christmases are likely to bear little relation to society's commercialized version.   For us this community is about exploring and learning to understand our traditions and using them to improve our lifestyle. Our destiny is going back to our origins. We find a lot of valuable concepts in the traditions and religions of the ancient wisdoms. These traditions have been obscured by the way they have been passed on through history. Therefore we should reclaim those ancient traditions we find in harmony with community vision.   Although all forms of religion and traditions are accepted within this community we should be aware of the practical consequences and to avoid ending up with a chaos of rituals - celebrations - holidays and all sorts of events which could interfere with or disrupt the smooth functioning of the community. For example: Christians take Sunday off as a holiday, while Seventh Day Adventists and Jews accept Saturday as a holiday. A communal project which involves all members eg. Fixing the road, would probably only be possible during the weekends - the Saturday or the Sunday... If we want to have one day a week for rest, then we do not have much choice. Therefore we should come to a consensus and give our choice for a day of rest a higher priority common for all members, a level higher than all man-made religions and rules. It is the suggestion of this community to adapt to our relationship to Nature, applicable to all.   By the same token, we recognize the influences on mankind when people all over the world celebrate the same fact at the same moment. For example: Christmas is a worldwide celebration beyond Christianity and although overly commercialized, it results in an increased vibration of love and peace, surely influencing mankind.     Relationships   We would like to be part of a community in which relationships are positively and consciously handled with high awareness. The quality of our relating will not be left to chance. This community will be an expression of our search for balance and harmony with nature. The more we become balanced within ourselves and the more we come in harmony with nature, the better we feel and experience ourselves as sensitive beings with an outspoken polarity: male or female. As we all miss a major part of the other polarity within us, our search for wholeness and balance brings us closer to a human being of the opposite polarity, with a vibration pattern in harmony with our own (understanding, feelings, emotions, love etc..).   The way members relate to each other will only depend on themselves. If they want to live as individuals and journey through life on their own, that is fine for the rest of us, but if members have closer relationships with each other and live as married or as partners together, that is fine also. The manifestation of our relationship should be open and understandable for the rest of the community. That means that if two people decide to live together in a closer relationship in the community, this fact should be expressed towards the other members. From then on, that couple should be accepted and supported as united by the rest of us. We do not want to become members of a community with wishy-washy relationships, or where promiscuity is a common fact and where couples split up as soon as the first problem arises in their relationship. On the other hand, in a relationship that does not work, there is no reason to support an unsupportable fact. We are not looking forward to living in a community which is a duplication of our present society, rather this community should be a place of peace and growth on all levels. This community should not be a place or a tool to solve family-relation problems, if the problems do not involve the community or community members. Many people will be attracted to a communal form of lifestyle, having problems with themselves, their partner, children, job or society, etc... and expect the community to solve their problems. In which case, they may see community as an escape to get away from it all and from their current reality. To some extent, the community is also a solution for our everyday problems, but the community we propose is not intended as a babysitter for those who cannot handle their children, or see children as a burden or handicap for doing other "important" things in life....it is also not a tool that conflicting partners can use to work out their differences....   Instead, the community should be a relationship on another, higher level, quite different than the common nuclear family relationship. One way the community could support the unity of the partner relationships in the community, is to accept each couple or family as being one - one voice or one vote on communal matters. That suggestion implies that both partners or the whole family will have to work out their differences between themselves and not in the community, not at the meetings, but in their own kitchen.   As a new age community, we should be careful not to get trapped in the opposite extreme, where we push our partners in a role they might not like. Therefore, the community will require the constant efforts of its members to break down the conditioning implicit in phrases such as: "my wife, my husband...." Within the community, no-one should have the right to "ownership" of another. Each member should belong to himself or herself, and in freedom, each member belongs to the other he or she chooses. The same principle applies at the community level: the community itself belongs to the members, and not they to the community.   The likelihood is that in a loving, caring community in which everyone is receiving an abundance of love and support and warm physical contact with each other, promiscuity will be at a very low level indeed. If love and trust and real communication exists between members of the community (and that is the only sort of community in which we will be interested), there will be little risk for members being abused by the dominance of others. None of this will threaten the security of any couple whose relationship is sound. It may well threaten or break-up relationships which are less than sound - but that happens also every day in present society.   Children   We have a responsibility towards our children to help them on their path to the future, a future which we see as a challenging New Age. By letting them learn from the experiences we went through, we parents, aware of the New Age, should be able to guide our children through the chaos of the present modern society into a more harmonious future. If we parents are not able to give our children the right examples and values which we experienced for ourselves as valuable and workable, we should ask ourselves what the purpose of our life is about.   Most people in our present civilization believe that being successful in business or on other materialistic levels is what life is about. We should not get trapped in a busy lifestyle where there is little room for children and the beautiful things in life. We can easily forget our spiritual destiny and how our children help us to grow along our path, as we allow ourselves to become brainwashed with all the "important" things we can and should do in order to sustain the status quo of economic growth.   Life is so simple, the only thing we have to "teach" our children is by showing them our lifestyle - by being true examples.   <ul> <li> If we want our children to be good parents later in life, we have to let them experience how good it feels to have good parents, </li> <li> If we want our children to be loving and peaceful, we have to let them experience how warm and relaxing it feels to live with loving and peaceful parents. </li> </ul>   All children that bless our lives are here to teach us important lessons, constantly reminding us to stay true to ourselves. They are pure refections of our beliefs and the patterns we carry within ourselves, expressed often through their behaviors and actions. Honoring our children as our teachers rather than "owning" them like property, instills respect and love that flows both ways. Therefore, we should respect and encourage the children's natural learning and growth by involving them in community projects such as the design, building and decorating of their own school.   Within this community, parents should be able to help each other to care for the children. Being good neighbors to each other should not be any problem.     Education   Present day schooling in conventional education sends our children into a future to nowhere. As such they are being prepared for easy money careers and soulless jobs, all adding to the collapse of our western civilization. Although we see the signs of where we are heading when it comes to educating our children, we lack the motivation to make effective change. As such, our children's upbringing will face the challenges of the future, and will depend on the skills and resources of those involved. Nevertheless, our children's upbringing should be very different from the parodies of education and freedom which most of us have experienced. Our children will grow up as New Age people with every opportunity throughout their childhood to experience things as they really are, to acquire knowledge and acumen and wisdom which will equip them for life rather than for positions in a dysfunctional and unsustainable system. They will not be growing up in a world in which 'careers' will matter or where pensions will be paid to those who persevere to the end. Continuous and versatile though our children's education will be, it will still have to comply with the requirements of this province, which is something which we should be able to take in stride. Our children will be given every opportunity throughout their childhood to be aware of and experience life in the outside world. They will be very familiar with the alternatives to living in the community.   The children's education should be a more child-directed type of learning. Where they follow their interests and learn whatever topic they like until it is exhausted or they are exhausted! The children should learn in one classroom setting where all ages are present and participating at whatever level they can. Older children would be encouraged to mentor the younger ones. The teacher is to be a guide rather than an enforcer or encyclopedia, gently guiding them towards their goals. All members, including adults and even sometimes visitors and guests, can partake in the learning offered by the children in the school. Topics that they may investigate: wood working, horticulture, practical crafts, cloths making, astrology, biology, food preparation, wild crafting, permaculture, meditation, building design, music, languages etc. The children may invite members from the community to assist them in their learning of topics that the member may have skill, talent or higher understanding of. The children would be encouraged to spend ample time outdoors exploring nature doing activities like: skiing, skating, snowshoeing, winter wilderness camping, hiking, swimming, canoing, camping, wilderness survival, etc   Community Structure   Who's in Charge?   We submit that anyone who takes part in the development of this community will discover exactly who is in charge: It will be you!!! You will be in charge of whatever happens to you, and each of us will be responsible for what happens to the others.   Leadership   Although we envision a community without a guru, charismatic leader or executive manager, as a group we nevertheless will need constant guidance and direction in order to stay the course we choose. As outlined in the chapter below, the decision making process of this community is based on consensus which gives all members an equal voice in all matters decided. As such, leadership within the community and towards the outside world will be as organic and flexible as can be and will require the involvement of all members when required and whenever they see fit. In practical terms this means all members will be encouraged to be a leader in their own way, in their own field, while at all times respecting the consensus based decision of the whole group.   <p style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none" a

Tags: intentional community sustainability anastasia permaculture kin-domain eco-village intentional community sustainable permaculture eco-village

PART 4 - Proposal for Intentional Community

January 21, 2010

1 comments

Uncategorized

Lessons from Geese:   Although our Western civilization claims to be modeled after the natural principles such as self interest and survival of the fittest, when we take a better look how animals such as geese manage to overcome great odds, a very different picture emerges:   <ul> <li> When geese fly great distances, they fly in V-shaped formations. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an updraft for the bird directly behind. It is estimated that as a result, birds use 70 % less energy to reach the same destination compared to birds flying the same distance by themselves. </li> </ul> Lesson: People who share a common goal and direction can get there easier and faster with less resources if they co-operate.   <ul> <li> When one goose falls out of formation, it feels the drag and has to do extra work by him/herself to keep up. Therefore geese try hard to stay connected in the flock. </li> </ul> Lesson: If we would feel as much support from each other as geese do, we would try hard to stay connected, to accept help and help others along the way.   <ul> <li> When flying in formation, the leading goose has to do all the hard work, but when tired the lead-goose drops to the back of the formation and the bird immediately behind him/her takes over leadership. </li> </ul> Lesson: If we had as much common sense as geese have, we would share leadership and recognize when we run out of energy or ideas to lead.   <ul> <li> Geese in the back of the formation honk to encourage those in front about speed and direction. </li> </ul> Lesson: If we had much interest in what is happening to us from our leadership, we would make sure that our protests are being heard and are in support of our common goal.   <ul> <li> When one bird gets sick, weak or shot at, one or two able-bodied birds will fall out of the formation and stay behind with the sick or injured bird to help and protect it. They will stay with the weak bird till it dies or in case it regains strength, they will help it to fly in their formation and eventually join a larger formation.   </li> </ul> Lesson: If we had as much compassion for each other as geese are demonstrating, we would support each other not only during the good times but equally so during the times of hardship.   <ul> <li> Geese mate for life, and during the northbound spring migration, the males move ahead to the nesting grounds where they will claim their nesting site about one week before their partners eventually arrive. </li> </ul> Lesson: If we humans had as much sense of belonging to a soul mate as geese do, we would take our relationships more seriously and follow our inner voice to guide us to where we belong at the right time and place, and not compromise into a relationship which is going nowhere.   <ul> <li> Geese flying in formation do not follow behind their leader, but fly of to the side in the V-formation, so they can all see where they are going. </li> </ul> Lesson: If we had as much interest in where we are going as geese have, we would not follow our leaders blindly and believe what they are saying, instead we would keep an eye on the common outcome.   <ul> <li> When a flock of geese is feeding or resting on the ground, one or two geese are constantly on the lookout for potential danger such as predators, and they will inform the flock about what they observe and alarm them when needed. </li> </ul> Lesson: If we had as much concerns about the wellbeing of our community as geese have, we would make effort to inform the community about what we see as dangerous and a threat.   <ul> <li> Geese eat a variety of foods which are growing along their migratory pathways. As they migrate, they will congregate onto those patches of food at the right time of the year, and move onto the next stop-over and eventually reach their final destination. When geese are being fed commercial foods, processed, not grown in the region and not in season, those geese lose the ability to migrate, miss the window to migrate and most likely perish in the harsh winter or become urbanized and come to depend on human intervention. </li> </ul> Lesson: No wonder we humans are so out of touch with nature, we only have to look at our diet.   <ul> <li> Migrating geese fly from one food source to the next, trusting there will be enough along the journey for all. They will stay in such a food stop-over, only long enough to regain strength and move on, leaving enough behind for those who follow. </li> </ul> Lesson: If we had as much social and economic integrity as geese have, we would share our food and our resources, instead of claiming ownership, erecting fences and creating borders. Also, if we would trust the providence of nature the way geese do, we would know that there is plenty to go around, and no need to hoard and secure for ourselves if we only take what we need, not what we greed. Membership   Provisional Membership   People who want to become provisional members are invited to come to discuss their ideas and the values they want to see protected for themselves. A visitor or someone who is already known to us may be accepted for a period of one year as a provisional member. During which time, the community and the provisional member will explore their compatibility with each other. Any person may request or be invited into a provisional membership. The acceptance of anyone as a provisional member will require an overall agreement of all existing provisional members and of all full members as well as agree to the community's bylaws and proposal.   Membership will also include the signing of an individual agreement with the community - this agreement will require certain commitments from the new member, including financial obligations. In return, it will guarantee to the new member an equal share of whatever the community has to offer.   As soon as an agreement is reached and the membership fee is paid, the prospective member will be considered a "provisional" member and be invited to choose a home site and garden area of approximately 2.5 acres to be surveyed and registered by ourselves. In the first year, the provisional members can start working the land assigned to them and set-up their own temporary dwellings on the land like a van, school bus, yurt, tee pee, temporary building etc. If a provisional member does not become a full member for whatever reason within the first year, then all modifications to the land (trees planted etc.) and permanent dwellings built on the land will not be compensable back to the provisional member.   Those whom we accept as provisional members will be those who intend on being part of the community as far into the future as they can see. Those who want to be with us for a period of 'training' rather than as a way of life will do so as long-term visitors. They will be encouraged to join us for a minimum of a year on the basis that it is likely to take that length of time for a new-comer to become fully integrated and to reach the point of being able to commit fully to the community.   The community will provide no grounds for discrimination over membership other than the impressions of the existing members. All members will, needless to say, join of their own free will and will ensure that they do so neither lightly.       Full Membership   Those eligible for full membership in the community will become full members after all other full members agree on the acceptance of those who were successful provisional members for one year.   Membership of Children   The children of full members will be entitled to the acceptance, care and protection of the community up to the point in their lives at which the community invites them to become full, contractual members of the community. This point will vary from child to child and may be at any time, from puberty onwards. It may follow a period of time in which the young person has been given space in which to live for some considerable time outside the community. It will mark the end of the period of unconditional acceptance and the point at which the young person decides whether to accept or reject his or her place within the community.   Founder Members   Founder members will be those joining the community prior to the time of the establishment of an organized community. At this moment, we are still in our formative stages. Each of us joining as founder members will at the same time be provisional members, untried by the test of time. The status of each of us, however secure it may be in practice, must be regarded in legal terms as being provisional, regardless of the commitments which we will have made to the community.   Membership Investment   As is explained in more detail under the chapter for community finance, we see two types of shares, a class "A" type share and a class "B" type. Anyone seeking provisional membership will be required to invest $10,000 Canadian in return for class "A" shareholdership in the community and for a home site ownership. That amount is the material investment required to become a provisional member, as well as for full membership (only paid once) per family unit. This amount would be non-refundable after a one year provisional membership as it is comparable to one year rent in regular society. Full membership can only be granted to provisional members who fulfill also their financial commitments.   Those seeking provisional membership with inadequate funds will not be prevented from becoming a member of this community. Although, new members should understand that setting up a community is impossible without money and the requested financial commitment is barely even a one-year working and saving question. Easy membership can make it easy for people to come, but also easy to go, and that is not the kind of community we are looking forward to establishing.   Every member who can afford to invest more than the agreed amount of $10,000, will be encouraged to do so as a means of enabling the community to expand. The optional investments will be recognized as class "B" shares, refundable as agreed upon case by case.   When it comes to deciding whether a visitor or other person will be accepted as a provisional member, or whether a provisional member will be admitted to full membership, that person's financial status, whilst it may be known to certain individual members, will not be published generally. A member's shareholding in the community will not be widely known and will certainly not be something to which any significance is attached.   The class "A" invested capital of a new provisional member will not be used by the community - it will remain in the bank on a one year long interest bearing term deposit. That makes it easier to pay the portion of the investment back corresponding to the length of stay, in case that the new member decides to leave or is no longer acceptable by the rest of the members. The interest of such investment comes to the community and will be used for the general benefit.   Instead of a capital investments towards the class "B" shares, a new provisional member could also contribute to the community by paying with material goods, such as livestock, machinery, vehicles, etc, the values of these items at the going price in regular society.   After a provisional member becomes a full member, his/her class "A" investment could be used for the benefit of the community - ex. To build common building, workshops etc. or kept available for purchasing adjoining land.   Another way is that the community finances the share of a member who is unable to pay out his share. The new member can put down a down-payment, and the balance he can pay back to the community on a monthly basis. This special arrangement requires approval of all full members.   Expulsion of Members   The specific grounds on which a member may be required to leave the community will be one of the subjects covered in more detail in our bylaws. It is an area in which the community's and an individual's security could be at stake, whilst it is highly likely that in times of difficulty we will not need recourse to our legal framework, it will be essential that we have one.   This subject should be discussed in more detail, along with everything else in this proposal. In this sort of community, the level of awareness of its members and of those attracted to this kind of community will normally enable matters of this kind to resolve themselves.   Members Leaving the Community   Members who want to leave the community can do so whenever they want. They are responsible for the liquidation of their class "B" investments, by either selling their investments to a new provisional member, who is also acceptable to all the other members, or refinancing through the community. How the community will be able to return the class "B" investments is at this moment not clear. It is to be hoped that a departing member will be able to leave with at least as much, in real terms, as he or she originally invested, and that the investment may have appreciated as a result of the community's growth. All improvements a leaving member made to his homesite - such as building a house, outbuilding etc. will have to be considered when selling; s/he has to sell that also to the new owner/member.   The community will track membership requests from people outside the community, so that the changeover of membership would not be a problem.   Absentee Membership   With obtaining membership is it implied that the owner(s) will immediately become a contributing resident member(s) of the community. Therefore, new members will be encouraged to let go of their past commitments and embrace the community fully at the time of receiving provisional membership.   Legal Entity of the Community   The members of the community, their activities and the operation of the whole community is to be covered by two separate legal entities:   <ul> <li> The first legal entity would be a non-profit society to cover all members in non-economical activities. The non-profit society consists of all the members of the community which entitles them voting rights in all decision making. Nevertheless, the member of that society can operate any business of their own or in common with other members or non-members as long as it is in line with the community vision. </li> </ul>   <ul> <li> The second legal entity to be incorporated is a holding company to cover all commonly held profit making activities within the community. The company will hold and own the land, common buildings and all other facilities of the community for the enjoyment and benefit of its members. The company will be owned by the members of the community through their shareholdership. The members of the community and only them will have an equal voice in all community matters, regardless of the size of their holdings. </li> </ul>   Finance   Capital   The community's capital will be the money invested by its members and by others. By "others" we mean, people who support our projects but who do not want to reside within the community. "Others" can only obtain class "B" type shares which does not entitle them to voting rights within the company. "Other" shareholders will be entitled to recover their investment under the terms of their agreement. It is our expectation that this proposal will bring together a team of people who feel committed to put this plan into effect and who will be prepared to invest in this operation, not only financially but also emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually.   Debts   All personal debts and financial obligations of any kind outside the community (other than those legitimately incurred on behalf of the community) will be the responsibility of the individual who incurred them, regardless of when they were incurred. As a community we will strive at all times to avoid indebting the community to any financial institution. Instead we will fundraise, solicit funding from "others", or work within our means.   Personal Income or Private Income   Each member is responsible for his or her income to support their own family and dependents. They can make their income doing whatever they like on community land as long as it is in-line with the community vision and in agreement with all members. It is the intention of this community to have the Healing Lodge as well as several community owned cottage industries as sources of income for members and the community. Therefore, income made on the common land, be it in the cottage industries owned by the community or individually owned businesses, will have to be split, part remains personal income, part becomes communal income. But the matter will need to be discussed and agreed upon as the situation comes along.   Personal Expenditure   As much as possible, member's needs will have to be met by her/himself. However, expenses for communal project, workshops, experiments, improvements for the benefit of the community will be paid by the community. To keep these expenses straightened out, all members should keep records, receipts, etc. so they can claim communal costs.   Community Income   Although all assets, possessions, buildings, land etc will be owned by the community, in reality it all will be owned by the shareholders. In order to keep the land and facilities of our community in good condition and in correspondence with our needs, expenses occurred will be covered on a communal basis. It is important that a distinction be made between income, which is invested money from shareholders and communal income. Expenses returning on a regular basis should be covered by income from the Healing Lodge, projects, workshops, fairs, classes, invested capital etc. run by members of the community in the facilities of the community. Improvements to the land, like building roads, installation of waterlines, building of communal buildings should be covered by capital from investments, because once the improvements are done they will have appreciated the common possessions.   This policy makes it easier to run the community economically. It gives the members and shareholders good security in their investments, with no problems returning one's investment if someone wants to leave the community. To keep the above matters clear and open to all members and shareholders we will have to keep good records, a form of open accounting so that all members always have a direct insight into what happens with the community on the financial levels.   Another way to cover maintenance costs would be that all members contribute a small amount every month. The amount paid by its members in some other communities is around $100, but also this will have to be discussed and agreed upon by all members. Economically seen, the financial basis and transactions of the community and its members, proposed in this proposal, are in no way different than in regular capitalistic society.   Distribution of Work   Personal Work   This community will essentially be a "back to the land" community, where people should try to live on the land and from the land, within the means of the land. Therefore, we see the benefit of all members having their own gardens to grow most of their food. But to be self-supporting and to be able to stay on the land requires an income of money on a regular basis, an income we make ourselves, the responsibility of each individual. Instead of scattering our energy in an outside job, any member could set-up his or her own cottage industry, craft shop etc. or become involved in the proposed communal industries ex. Healing Lodge. Another way to make some money is by doing carpentry work or building and construction work for other members, who are unable to do it themselves, or by fixing cars, baking bread for the group and the outside world.   Communal Work   As a group we will have to maintain our commonly owned possessions. For example fixing the communally own vehicles, repairing waterlines, keeping the road in good shape etc....we will have to agree when these things will be taken care of and by whom.   Therefore these various needs should be in the care of a member focusing on these specific tasks. This means that we may end up with all kinds of different "focalizers". Ex. A farm focalizer to co-ordinate all the farm work, a visitor focalizer who receives all the letters from potential visitors and makes a visitor schedule, a library focalizer to be in charge of the books and resources in the common library. A focalizer will be one of the members best qualified by temperament, experience or interest to handle its budget and make all decisions necessary for it, with or without the help of other members. When a focalizer needs help from other members, he/she brings it to the agenda of the next meeting. Giving the responsibility of the different departments to the different focalizers simplifies the workload of a community considerably. It also eliminates a lot of boring meetings and saves a lot of time.   Focalizers would hold their appointments for up to twelve months only, during which time they will take responsibility for finding and training their own replacements. Their roles will be as teachers, supervisors and coordinators of their departments. This way no-one gets stuck in or monopolizes a role. Almost every member will be or will have been a focalizer at some point and many will have been responsible for a number of different departments over the years. These positions will be voluntary. Being a focalizer will not in any way remove from a member the need to work as hard as everyone else. It will just be an added responsibility. This system discourages undue specialization. How we, all other members of the community, will pay the different focalizers who are working for the communal benefit is still to be worked out. We all will have to do some more thinking on that matter. There are two possibilities:   <ul> <li> All members become a focalizer of any kind and do that work so it is averaging about the same time and effort compared to the other focalizer jobs.   </li> <li> Another good system to consider is the Labor Credit System, outlined by BF Skinner's Walden Two and evolved since Twin Oaks. It is an infinitely variable system, from which we would gain some insight. </li> </ul>   Other communal work, which is not of any specialized kind, will have to be done by all of us. For example, maintaining the roads, planting and harvesting communal crops. We could spend a couple days a month to do such communal projects. When we all co-operate on such a day, a lot of hands will make a big job play.   Government   Governing is proposed to be on the principle of consensus, not by the rule of a majority against an unhappy minority. This implies that all members, full and provisional members, have to agree before any decision becomes effective. This principle is being practiced in different communities, some are successful while others have a hard time to keep it together. Although consensus building is at times slow and painstaking, in return it guarantees cohesiveness between the members and ensures that the community keeps building and moves forward on common values and decisions accepted by all. Although a decision has reached full consensus agreement, it is our practice not to implement such a decision until at least one full day has passed. This gives all members the chance to ‘sleep' over the matter and re-evaluate the potential outcome. It gives those who could not attend the decision-making meeting a chance to bring their voice to the table, also the time to discuss the matter with their partner, with other community members or with their children and explore in how far they are in agreement with the decision at hand. In order to ensure that all members know about the decision, all decisions are being posted on a community bulletin board, visible too all. Any disagreement has to be addressed not later than 24 hours after the agreed decision. In case no dissent has been filed, the decision moves forward. From our experience, the easiest way to achieve consensus in case all else seems impossible is threefold:   <ul> <li> Ensuring that any decision to be made is solved by a solution of the same domain. Earlier in this proposal, it is explained how the domain of Freedom, Equality, Fraternity and Sustainability are not only separate but also that a problem in one domain cannot be solved with the solution from another. (eg: might is not right, money or wealth does not give power or access to more than what is needed...)   </li> <li> Redefining the outcome of the decision in reference to the overall picture of the community. Basically looking at the larger picture, at the whole community and all its members. At times it is easy to forget about the larger and only see what is personal as important. That is where our vision statement and mission statement can make a big difference. At the same time, it is essential that every individual, even those who disagree are being listened to and that their point of view is taken in consideration. All too often, it came about that a single individual's dissenting voice was the higher road to be taken, while the majority already in agreement were not thinking clearly, were following the most convincing argument, or had no particular stake in the matter.   </li> </ul> <ul> <li> When only one member is in disagreement, whether during the decision making meeting or during the 24 hour re-evaluation period following the consensus decision, the decision is not implemented and put on hold. This results that the question or problem is coming back onto the agenda of the next group meeting. At this time, it is urged that the dissenting person brings in supporting information or evidence, or at least one other member of the community which he/she was able to convince of the importance of the dissent. We figure that when more than one person can become motivated to dissent the original decision, that there is plenty of reason to revisit the whole problem and its proposed solution(s). In case no additional voices can be added to the dissent within the set time frame, while no redrafting of the argument can help the deadlock, the original decision stands and is implemented as for the benefit of the rest of the community. </li> </ul>     Outreach Programs   Visitors   Every community attracts visitors and we are likely to be no exception. Visitors are part of the lifeblood of a community, and yet inadequately handled, they can be a major problem. Therefore we will have to develop our own policies to cope with visitors as the community develops. Our aim will be to demonstrate the values of community life, to express a natural harmony and sustainability to as wide a circle as possible. There is likely to be a high exchange of energy between us and those who pass through the community. Almost all of our new members will once have been visitors. Although we are unlikely to turn away someone who has slugged miles up from the highway to be with us as night is falling, our visitors will normally have contacted us beforehand and be scheduled. They will obviously come for varying lengths of time. One of our objectives could be to run programs of one or more weeks duration which would give them as rapid and deep insight into the many facets of community life. Our visitors will contribute financially to their stay and those who are with us for a longer time will be encouraged to take an active part in the community's daily workload, meetings etc. They will be able to interact freely amongst themselves and with members, and will have access to almost all of the communities facilities. But we may decide to give ourselves the protection of asking them not to wander into certain areas such as workshops. Visitors will not be allowed in the members personal spaces except after the invitation of the member involved.   Healing Lodge   One of the major attractions of the community will be the Healing Lodge which will offer a diverse selection of healing treatments and educational programs. A more detailed vision for the Healing Lodge is currently being developed with the input of the current members. The purpose of the lodge would be to facilitate wholistic healing to anyone who wants to participate. Ideally all members of the community should be participants at the early stages of the lodge formation. It is necessary for everyone to learn tools in order to facilitate their own healing. This will also bring a sense of unity to the group and members may embody more compassion for visitors or guests partaking in a healing from the lodge. The type of people the lodge may attract would be people who are more self-aware of their need for change. Only those people who are really ready for change and healing will find this place and will truly have effective healing. For this lodge will be a facilitator of healing, really a safe place to release and let-go, but the true healing is up to each individual. We (some members) are there as facilitators only to guide, to offer some tools which maybe emotional, physical, spiritual or mental tools and to hold their hands if need be. Once they have completed a one to six month stay, they may find that they have a new perspective in life, one that gives them more confidence to make the necessary changes to live their lives more fully.   Visitor Programs   These programs would be directed towards potential members of the community, introducing them to our communal way of life, from building homes, to planting gardens and food forests, to the children's education, working and supporting the cottage industries, attending meetings, making communal arts and crafts, etc   <ol> Courses and Workshops </ol>   The options and ideas are unlimited to what we could offer to outreach to the outside world. Examples could be; Natural Law, Healing and Cleansing, Belonging, Reclaiming our Divine Feminine or Divine Masculine, Meditation, Permaculture, Food Forests, Raw Food Preparation, Compassionate Communication, Sweat Lodges, Cob Home Building, Discovering your Spiritual Gifts, and so on.   <ol> Spiritual Cafe </ol>   We will try to run a shop or cafe on the property or in the nearby city or village, as a further contact point with the outside world. This would also provide us with an available outlet for the home-grown and hand-made goods of the community.   <ol> Selling of produce and crafts and other services outside community </ol>   The community could become involved in selling excess produce in local farmers markets, craft fairs and other type of seasonal markets.   Meeting Us- Meeting You   Once we have established a core group of members, this proposal will evolve and become a more complete core proposal which will be flexible and adaptable. Any changes would be for the benefit of the community as a whole and not for the benefit of individuals. It is our intention to meet people who are interested in the setup of community and to explore in what way they can help us. One of the purposes of this proposal is to eliminate a lot initial screening. Nevertheless, you will be in a position to meet us with an overall picture of the community and discuss those ideas that need clarification.   If you would like to meet us concerning this proposal you can contact either Norbert at <a href="mailto:nmaer10s@gmail.com">nmaer10s@gmail.com</a> or Marie & Pedro at <a href="mailto:marie.hyde@rocketmail.com">marie.hyde@rocketmail.com</a>   Let us know the nature of your interest and location so that we may arrange a meeting place. Our task for the moment is to bring together those people who will most effectively launch this community which has yet to be named.     Commitment - Challenge - Change   There will be a high level of commitment required of those seeking to be a part of this community. This community will not be an easy one to join. Commitment is required to obtain the good things in life and this community will be one of those which demands the most. Whilst we are out to create a stable, well-run community, it will be one which will be anything but boring or challenge-free. The sort of challenges in which we are likely to be most interested are the self-imposed or highly-selective, life-enhancing ones.   From the beginning of the formation of this community, there will be ample scope for everyone in the developing community to take on responsibilities. Everyone with talents and energy to contribute will have room to shine like they have never shone before; but one of the few things for which there will be no room for in this community is personal power-tripping.   This community will be built to last, but how long it will survive in any one place, or how long individual members will choose to live in it, is not our current concern. Although, many paths will cross within the community, some will end here while many more will continue beyond. The framework of the community will remain, whilst parts are constantly changed. As we know, the world is entering a period of great change in its recorded history, nevertheless we shall be in tune with the changes that are taking place and will often be several jumps ahead of them.

Tags: intentional community sustainability anastasia permaculture kin-domain eco-village intentional community sustainable permaculture eco-village intentional community permaculture eco-village anastasia healing lodge

Links News Contact Us About us Privacy Terms FAQ Bookmark

Home

About O.E.N.

SharedZone

ChatZone

InviteZone

Site News

BirdTribes.net

Instructional Vids

FAQs

Log In / Register

Members

VideoZone

JournalZone

ImageZone

Music

Groups

Affiliate System

Forum

Search result