A MONTHLY EMAIL PUBLICATION of the FIC since 1999. June 20, 2004 1 Featured Bookshelf Title At Sale Price 2 Visions Of Utopia Video: DVD Now Available Online 3 Communities Magazine Summer Issue #123 Mails This Week 4 FIC Co-sponsored Events Late Summer & Fall 2004 5 We Want You! To Join The FIC _________________________________________________________________ 1 FEATURED BOOKSHELF TITLE at SALE PRICE by Alline Anderson, Community Bookshelf manager _________________________________________________________________ Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times by Zoe Weil 2003, 260 pages Last Sunday afternoon I was in Chicago's Union station, waiting for the train that would take me home from the annual Book Expo. Entering the public restroom I had to squeeze by a luggage cart filled with suitcases, a doll or two, and the usual toddler paraphernalia. "Whew", I thought to myself, "traveling with a toddler must be hard work." It was then I heard a tired, frustrated mom, hidden behind the door of a stall, screaming at her child. I heard a slap that echoed against the tile walls, and then the resulting wail of the little girl. My instant response was anger - I wanted to break down the door, grab the woman by the hair, ask her what on earth she thought she was doing, and whisk the girl away to protective services. Instead I did nothing. Embarrassed, appalled and frustrated by my inaction, I left the bathroom. I later saw the pair wheeling their cart to their train - a thirty-something mom and her quiet, well-dressed child. Both were smiling. I felt like dirt. This morning I opened a shipment of new books that I recently ordered for Bookshelf. And I sighed with relief when I pulled a copy of Above All, Be Kind from the box. I was stunned (but not too surprised) when the first section I flipped to was Ocean Robbins recounting a walk on a beach with his father, John Robbins. They encountered a mother yelling at and about to hit her child. While it is too long of a story to recount here, I found comfort and excellent suggestions for what I could have done in my situation at the train station. Parenting is hard, hard work. It is also extraordinarily rewarding, fulfilling and joyous. A few questions remain however: how can we instill our children with compassion and integrity? How do we raise children who know who they are and what is important in life? Where can adults learn the skills that don't come naturally to most of us? Author Zoe Weil's organization, The International Institute for Human Education, exists to answer these questions and more, and to raise the parenting bar. Not to make parenting harder, but to make it reflective of respectful, responsible values. Above All, Be Kind is hugely thought provoking, inspiring and encouraging. It gives clear, concise direction on what each of us can do. I love this book; it gives me hope. Highly recommended for parents and everyone who loves children and wants to see them thrive. For more details on the book please go to our website: Regular price $18.00 Sale price $13.50 (25% off) http://store.ic.org/products/email-spec-offer-jun2004a.html Order online, by phone or mail order Shipping/handling as follows 3.00 S/H for first item 1.00 S/H for each additional item All prices shown here are for Standard Mail postal delivery within US. Enews special offers are valid through [[offerdate]]. Information, catalog, ordering and prices for delivery outside US http://store.ic.org/community-bookshelf.html Community Bookshelf RR 1 Box 156 Rutledge MO 63563 800-995-8342 bookshelf ( at ) ic ( dot ) org _________________________________________________________________ 2 VISIONS OF UTOPIA VIDEO: DVD format now available online _________________________________________________________________ Last month we announced the release of Geoph Kozeny's award- winning video documentary about intentional communities in DVD format. We're happy today to announce that the DVD Volume One version is available at our webstore. To order a copy of Volume One (VHS or DVD) for yourself or to share with your friends Volume One | 94 minutes color VHS (American) or PAL (European) or DVD format (universal) $30 plus $3 S/H standard mail in US http://store.ic.org/products/visions-of-utopia-video.html Order VHS or DVD by phone, fax, or mail FIC :: 138 Twin Oaks Rd :: Louisa VA 23093 800-462-8240 :: fax 540-894-4112 More detailed info about the Video http://fic.ic.org/video Geoph More information about VHS, PAL and DVD formats http://store.ic.org/infopages/video-format-info.html _________________________________________________________________ 3 COMMUNITIES MAGAZINE SUMMER ISSUE #123 Mails This Week "A Day in The Life" _________________________________________________________________ What's it really like living in an intentional community or ecovillage? "A Day in the Life" is the theme of Communities magazine's summer issue which has been printed and will be mailed this week. This issue describes each author's typical day at widely different communities around the world. Theme articles include ~ By the Plume of Popocatepetl (Tepoztlán, Mexico) ~ Summertime and the Livin's Busy (Upstate New York) ~ A Spring Day at Tamera (Colos, Portugal) ~ Living the Good Life (Southern Missouri) ~ La Caravana Arcoiris por La Paz, "The Rainbow Caravan of Peace," (Iquique, Chile) ~ In Deep Forest and Meadow (Western Oregon) ~ Pilgrimage in a Desert Monastery (Syria) "It's an exciting, eye-opening issue," says editor Diana Leafe Christian. Other articles include How To Really Support Ecovillages (Not Just Hugs and Theories) by Enrique Hidalgo of Quilla Tunari Ecovillage in Equador and Part II of Seeing the Forest _and_ the Trees using Earthaven's Forestry Co-op to illustrate the challenges of visionary community-based businesses. UPCOMING Fall 2004 #124 issue theme: Spiritual Communities. UPCOMING Winter 2004 #125 issue theme: Student Co-ops. Get a sample issue, renew or subscribe here http://store.ic.org/products/communities-magazine.html http://store.ic.org/products/communities-magazine-sampl.html Sample issues by surface mail $6 US - $7 Canada - $8 Other 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 FIC CO-SPONSORED EVENTS LATE SUMMER & FALL 2004 Twin Oaks Communities Conference Global Ecovillage North American Conference Many more events listed here http://www.ic.org/events/ _________________________________________________________________ TWIN OAKS COMMUNITIES CONFERENCE Labor Day Weekend - September 3-6th Text by Valerie Renwick-Porter, Conference Organizer Co-ops and communes and ecovillages, oh my! Having just returned from our semi-annual gathering of the Federation of Egalitarian Communities (a group of 7 income-sharing communities throughout the US), I'm extra-inspired about the upcoming Twin Oaks Communities Conference. One of the host communities for the FEC meetings, The Emma Goldman Finishing School, was telling us about their project to channel some of their resources to help build a network of other communal households in their area. I thought, that's exactly the kind of networking our conference is custom- designed for! People meeting and connecting with others with a similar interest in cooperative living, sharing our ideals for the creation of alternative social realities, and finding the people with whom those "Aha!" connections are made -- these are all a big part of what happens at our gathering. And that doesn't even count the more formalized parts of the weekend -- workshops on interpersonal dynamics, group decison-making, ecological sustainabilty, as well as a time to create-your-own-workshop. Throw in the Sharing/No-Talent Stage, our Utopian Architects program and an evening dance extravaganza, and we've got a weekend with something for everyone who's interested in living a cooperative lifestyle. We'd love to have you come and be a part of making the gathering more of what you'd like it to be, and to be a part of creating a more communal reality together. We each have a piece of the communal puzzle, and we'd love to have you come join yours up with ours at the conference. We hope to see you there! The Conference is co-sponsored by the Fellowship for Intentional Community, the Federation of Egalitarian Communities and Twin Oaks Community. Communities Conference at Twin Oaks 138 Twin Oaks Rd Louisa VA 23093 540-894-5126 conference ( at ) twinoaks.org Information and pre-registration http://www.twinoaks.org/conference --------------- THE GLOBAL ECOVILLAGE NETWORK NORTH AMERICAN CONFERENCE An FIC Co-Sponsored Event | September 20-25, 2004 Hollyhock Retreat Centre, Cortes Island, British Columbia ORGANIZATIONS AND PURCHASING POWER is the theme of this conference. What is the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN)? Why was it birthed? Is it making a difference in the world? Are there ways GEN can work more closely with the FIC? What is the future vision for the Fellowship for Intentional Community? Is it growing? Could the FIC and GEN find a new path of collaboration? The FIC has an estimated 600 communities as members in N. America. GEN has 88 in N. America. The FIC eNews goes to 5000+ people. Do you think there might be advantages in a purchasing cooperative? Come meet Albert Bates, Director of GEN, and Laird Schaub, Executive Secretary of FIC. Bring your questions and your support for the future! Come meet Marty Frost, our newest confirmed speaker: Marty Frost created and is Director of Westcoast Development Cooperative (DEVCO). DEVCO is the leader in co-op development in the Province of British Columbia and has assisted over 100 co-ops and community groups with their development and training needs. He's a founder and Director of the Canadian Worker Co-op Federation and their co-op developers' network which has roughly 50 co-op developers in every province of Canada. In addition he's a Director of the Co-op Housing Federation of Canada and consults for the Enterprising Non-Profits program which provides technical assistance to charitable non-profits who wish to create an income-generating enterprise to support their activities. Marty will be presenting and discussing what a N. American purchasing co-op might look like. Bring your voice to add to a possible Future! For more info and to register see: http://www.ecovillage.org/conference/index.htm _________________________________________________________________ 5 WE WANT YOU! TO JOIN THE FIC _________________________________________________________________ Seeking more sense of community in your life? Want to help others discover the benefits of cooperative living? FIC membership benefits include invitations, discounts, credit union access, and a newsletter -- but we think the biggest benefit is the knowledge that you're helping bring into reality the vision of a cooperative world. Read more about membership and sign up online using our secure server http://store.ic.org/products/fic-membership.html More info. Request a membership form to be sent by mail. RR 1 Box 156 Rutledge MO 63563 800-995-8342 fic ( at ) ic ( dot ) org Learn more about the mission of the Fellowship organization http://fic.ic.org/index.html