A MONTHLY EMAIL PUBLICATION of the FIC since 1999. December 9, 2006 1 Visions of Utopia Video: Volume Two 2 Community Bookshelf Titles At Sale Prices 3 Communities Magazine Issues 4 Help Build A More Cooperative World! ________________________________________________________________ 1 VISIONS OF UTOPIA VIDEO: VOLUME TWO By Geoph Kozeny ________________________________________________________________ I'm happy to report some progress on the editing of Volume Two of my documentary. The second video will be comprised almost entirely of segments that portray the stories of 11 separate and unique communities: '71 The Farm (TN) '73 Miccosukee Land Cooperative (FL) '74 Sandhill Farm (MO) '77 Community Alternatives (BC) '78 Fraser Common Farm (BC) '78 Remote Hamlet (CA) '80 Ganas (NY) '81 Goodenough (WA) '85 Catholic Worker House (TX) '86 N-Street Cohousing (CA) '87 Hearthaven (MO) Each segment will be approximately 10 minutes long, and will describe that community's vision, daily life, accomplishments, and challenges. At this point I have nearly completed 3 segments: one on the Catholic Worker House, and another describing the two sister communities in BC (which have been combined into one segment since their urban/rural relationship is such an important part of their story). To speed up the completion of this long and drawn-out editing process, I am seeking donations to use to hire a professional editor to help me create the finished segments. For each $2000 that I raise, I can pay to have one more segment completed. (I will still be editing segments on my own, but that is a significantly slower process.) If you or any of your acquaintances feel inspired to provide some funding to help move this valuable project forward faster, please email me at geoph at ic dot org. More information about Volume One http://fic.ic.org/video/communities.php Purchase Volume One http://store.ic.org/video ________________________________________________________________ 2 COMMUNITY BOOKSHELF TITLES AT SALE PRICES Featured by Catherine Nicosia, Community Bookshelf Manager ________________________________________________________________ RADICAL SIMPLICITY: Small Footprints On A Finite Earth 2003; 288 pages; 9 x 6"; paperback; ISBN: 0-86571-473-8 Radical Simplicity is a title that several of our customers recently have brought to our attention as one that they would like to see us carry on the store. We have featured it at some of the fall events that Community Bookshelf has travelled to this year and it has sold well. The subject of this book is obviously one that resonates with the growing awareness of sustainability issues. In the face of what many see as a looming ecological crisis, the impulse is strong to make significant changes in lifestyle choices as a tangible way of transforming the unsustainable aspects of our culture. Radical Simplicity is the first book that guides the reader to a personal sustainability goal, then offers a process to monitor progress to a lifestyle that is equitable amongst all people, species, and generations. Jim Merkel was a weapons engineer on the fast track to economic success when he had a profound moment of realization at the time of the Exxon Valdez disaster. He details his own compelling journey to a more environmentally sound lifestyle. He also gives you the analytical tools he used to evaluate the effects of his lifestyle on the world. Using methods first developed in two other books (Your Money or Your Life and Our Ecological Footprint), Merkel shows how you can take back control of your life and put it on a more meaningful basis. Regular price $18.00 Special price $15.00 ________________________________________ CONTINUING SALE PRICES ON THESE TITLES: WE'MOON 2007 DATE BOOK: On Purpose 2006; 240 pages; spiral bound paperback Created by, for and about women, the We'Moon date books have been published for twenty six years and have developed a loyal following during that time. The 2007 edition focuses on the role that purpose plays in our lives. A rich, full-color feast of women's art and poetry from around the globe reinforces the theme throughout. Regular price $18.00 Sale price $15.00 CUTTING YOUR CAR USE: Save Money, Be Healthy, Be Green! by Randall Ghent and Anna Semlyen 2006; 128 pages; paperback Cutting down on the time you spend in cars will save you money, benefit your health and improve everyone's quality of life. Cutting Your Car Use is a practical guide for people who want to reduce their car dependency by making simple changes to their travel habits, or by sharing or giving up their car. Regular price $10.00 Special price $8.00 ---------- http://store.ic.org/catalog/specials.php Shipping/handling 3.00 S/H for first item (combo counts as one item) 1.00 S/H for each additional item Shop online for lower shipping rates, more shipping options, and more sale items. http://store.ic.org/catalog/specials.php S/H prices are for Standard Mail postal delivery within US. Information, catalog, ordering http://store.ic.org/bookshelf Community Bookshelf RR 1 Box 156 Rutledge MO 63563 800-995-8342 bookshelf at ic dot org ________________________________________________________________ 3 COMMUNITIES MAGAZINE ISSUES Winter Issue (Healthy Economy) By Diana Leafe Christian ________________________________________________________________ COMING UP IN THE WINTER Issue #133 This issue is projected to mail in the third week of December. The theme for this issue: Helping Your Local Economy Thrive Table Of Contents #133 Winter 2006 ----------------------------------------------------------------- How a Steady State Economy Can Change Our Lives The Steady State Economy concept--which claims that the economy is part of the environment and not the other way around, and which seeks a low, sustainable level of natural resource use--is shaking economics today the way Darwin's natural selection idea did to biology, says economist Paula L. Craig. * What is Globalization? * Global Economic Collapse * Resources for a Sustainable Economy An Abundance of Small, Sustainable Solutions Your local community is already rich, says community economist Paul Glover, with enough potential wealth nearby to enable everyone to work a few hours daily, and enjoy healthy food, low-cost housing, clean and safe transport, handcrafted clothes, and household goods-- and do so while replenishing rather than depleting the integrity of the planet. Our Own Money: Recipe for Healthy Local Economies Ecovillage and peak oil activist Albert Bates shows how standard of living is a function of the speed at which money bounces back and forth in the economy. Velocity, not volume, determines how well off we are, as the town of Wörgl, Austria, happily demonstrated in the early 1930's. * Local Currencies--Stephen Burke "Mutual Enterprise"--Creating New Jobs Locally An economic system based on mutual enterprise means that good jobs can be generated locally, suggests community economist Paul Glover, since virtually everything used locally can be made locally by small energy-efficient shops using regional and recycled resources. How Ecovillages Can Grow Sustainable Local Economies. Ecovillages can break free from the gravity of the global capitalist economy, asserts Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) president Jonathan Dawson, by creating an alternative economy of bioregional solidarity and by making decisions based on social and ecological criteria, rather than on increasing short-term profit. GOOD MEETINGS When We Should Use "Blocking Power" Advice from community process and communication experts Caroline Estes, Bea Briggs, Karl Steyaert, and Tree Bressen. SEEKING COMMUNITY The Dilettante's Journey, Part II Further adventures of a community seeker interested in way too much of everything. Our dabbler in community continues his tale. Frank Beaty. FOUNDING COMMUNITY To Be or Not to Be an LLC: Changing Horses in Mid Stream How one ecovillage compared the pros and cons of two significantly different legal entities for owning land--and switched to a whole new plan. Kees Kolff. LETTERS Publisher's Note Laird Schaub No Pat Answers: Can Communities Be a Safety Net for People Struggling in Life? Ecovillage Living Cecile Andrews Creating a Non-residential Ecovillage in Our Seattle Neighborhood Fellowship News Laird Schaub The Cohousing Conference in Carolina ... A Senior Moment? Federation Update Tom Freeman Financial Security vs. Freedom of Choice Cohousing Life Betsy Morris Can Cohousing Communities Help Generate a more Sustainable Economy? My Turn Louis Wu How Using Money with Nothing Behind it Affects your Personal Buying Power Reviews Paula L. Craig, Molly Morgan Peripatetic Communitarian Geoph Kozeny Accounting for Sustainability ---------- Get a sample issue, renew or subscribe here http://store.ic.org//communities/sample.php http://store.ic.org/cmag Sample issues $4 plus $3 S/H by US standard mail. Shop online for lower shipping rates and more shipping options. Subscriptions one year 4 issues $20 US :: $24 Canada :: $26 Other Order by phone fax or mail FIC * 138 Twin Oaks Rd * Louisa VA 23093 800-462-8240 fax 540-894-4112 ________________________________________________________________ 4 HELP BUILD A MORE COOPERATIVE WORLD! ________________________________________________________________ E. B. White once said, "I arise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." Like many of us faced with the same dilemma each morning, you can choose to improve the world in a way that also helps you (and many others) to savor it at the same time. Join the FIC! If you've already joined, donate! It's easy, it's fast, it gets you discounts and other benefits... but best of all, it's a way to both enjoy being part of a vast network of community-minded folks, and also enable the growth of that very network. So, don't fret over whether to improve the world or enjoy it--do both. Savor community living while bringing it to more people. Please join us. For more info on member benefits and to join online using our secure server go to http://store.ic.org/membership To request a membership form by mail, or to email, or to talk with a human, contact us at RR 1 Box 156 Rutledge MO 63563 800-995-8342 fic at ic dot org To learn more about the mission of the organization visit http://fic.ic.org/index.html Many thanks from all of us in the Fellowship.