New Directory, New Manager

Editor’s note: Earlier this year as we began planning the overhaul of the online Communities Directory and the publication of the 7th print edition, we learned that our Directory Manager was going to be leaving us. It was unfortunate timing, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It led us to hiring Roshana, a new member at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, who’s jumped in with both feet and has been amazing in helping move this project forward. In the midst of our current crowdfunding campaign we asked Roshana to say a few words about her new position.

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Hello! My name is Roshana, and I’m the Directory Manager for the Foundation for Intentional Community. I started the job in mid-September, shortly after moving to Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in northeast Missouri.This is my first experience living in an ecovillage, and it has been, to put it mildly, quite an adventure. I’m staying in a strawbale house and getting ready for my first winter in Missouri, with only a wood stove to stay warm. Wish me luck!

I discovered the Communities Directory a couple of years ago, when I thought about moving to an intentional community. I was feeling burned out at my job (as assistant editor at a daily newspaper in Kansas) and thinking it was really time to walk my talk, as it pertains to living sustainably. At the newspaper, I wrote a weekly column and talked a lot about climate change, natural building materials, using passive solar design, measuring my carbon footprint and many other “eco” topics. But I was still driving my car to work every day, even on nice days, and even though I lived just a mile away from my job.

Sure, I recycled and turned my thermostat down and conserved on water, but I didn’t think I was doing enough to live my values.

The FIC Directory led me to Dancing Rabbit, along with several other interesting communities. After that, it was the many videos on Dancing Rabbit’s YouTube channel that enticed me to visit, and a 10-day visitor session in June helped me make up my mind to take the plunge.

I have certainly learned that it’s challenging to live sustainably, and I so admire the people in this community who have been doing this for years. I also admire all the people who have been working to build intentional communities, whether their focus is on living sustainably or living according to spiritual or religious convictions, or just trying to live more closely to their fellow human beings with integrity.

I‘m excited about having a hand in making the Directory as useful as possible, both for the folks who are looking for just the right community and the communities who are looking for just the right members so that all can thrive. As an editor, it’s important to me that everything is accurate and up to date. I have an eye for errors and inconsistencies that helps me with my new job with FIC.

Work has been especially busy lately as we prepare to publish the print version of the Directory this coming spring. I enjoy getting in touch with communities and letting them know how we might make their listing more clear and bring it up to date. The communities I’ve heard from have been wonderful to work with. They make my job a real pleasure. Maybe there’s something about living in an intentional community that helps people roll with the punches more easily and become more patient, more appreciative and more joyful.

We hope to continue to make the FIC Directory as accurate and valuable as it can be, so that intentional communities and potential residents can find each other quickly and easily. And we thank you for helping us do that!