West Coast Communities Conference 2017

Welcome to the 3rd Annual West Coast Communities Conference, Sept 29 – Oct 1 in Souther California! Taking off from last year’s subject of economic justice, we are organizing this year’s topics around the subject of equitable and sustainable income and affordability.

Organized by SWICA – South West Intentional Communities Alliance and co-sponsored by the Foundation for Intentional Community, Cohousing California, Terra Madre Gardens and Sustainable Living Institute, this year’s Keynote Speaker is Diana Leafe Christian, author of “Creating a Life Together.”

Some of the potential topics:

• Financially feasible ways to start Community and ongoing affordability
• Organizing for affordability in less able neighborhoods
• Intentional Business (IB): Kinds of businesses that may be suitable with Intentional Community
• A look at Worker Cooperatives (Collectives)
• Fairness of equitable effort: Everyone pulling their own weight while respecting those less able
• Balancing Intra (local) Economy and Extra (global) Economy
• Alternative Trade Systems: LETS, TimeBank, HourWorld, etc.
• Sources of Funding

The event will be held at Terra Madre Gardens, near Escondido, CA, off Highway 15 between Los Angeles and San Diego.

Whether you’re old hat to intentional community or just diving in for the first time, join us at the third annual West Coast Communities Conference to get the boost in skills, connections, and wisdom that will take your engagement to the next level. A blend of workshops and interactive social activities, we will go deep into the topics that matter most to our communities while also making time for joyous connections.

Inspired by the Communities Conference that takes place at Twin Oaks in Virginia each year, and organized with sponsorship from the Fellowship for Intentional Communities (FIC), this event promises to be a brilliant convergence of those who see the vital role community has to play in the trying times we live in. Anyone with interest or experience in cohousing, ecovillages, worker cooperatives, rural communes, artist collectives, or any other kind of communal enterprise is invited to participate.

SWICA, the South-West Intentional Community Alliance, is a regional network for existing and forming intentional communities, affiliated groups and individuals interested in community. Our goals are to provide an infrastructure for sharing of information, ideas and resources to assist in the creation and growth of new communities, increase awareness about intentional community for the general public and maintain visibility in the worldwide community movement for our region.