The Utopia Foundation

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Forming
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2018

What we do

(See the interpals link above for a longer description of the political ideal of what we mean when we say “Utopianism”.)
Why do we need reciprocity? We feel it’s a part of our values, but there’s one problem with it.
Who measures the value of another’s work?
• If an individual does, it’s monarchy.
• If a small subgroup does, it’s oligarchy.
• If the entire group does democratically, it’s collectivism.
This will be a community which will be very careful about selecting members, but once selected, members will have their basic essentials covered. Period.
The only thing that can take away an individuals food, water, shelter, etc. resource allocation will be destructive behavior (eg, crimes), not an insufficient amount of constructive behavior (by some definition of constructive and sufficient).
Let me repeat that. There are no work quotas, no income requirements, no deposits, no assigned jobs, nothing.
Every person here is free.
Truly free.
(The catch is: how many members can we support?)
People say Universal Basic Income can never work. Well we don’t know if people in mainstream nations will choose to create that or if it will work in a society based on money.
But our project is from the bottom up instead of the top down.
We start with at least one person who’s willing (me who’s writing this! :> ),
And then we only accept as many members as we have resources for.
If members choose—entirely voluntarily in their freedom—to expand our capacity, then we can accept more members and grow :)
In that way, it’s not uncertain because it’s guaranteed to work (just not for a large number of people at first), and it won’t be politically tentative, being provided by a society that rather hates the idea of it.
Let’s see if Utopia is possible :)
Let’s see if we can be truly safe and truly free. :’)
Because it only takes one person to start the ball rolling with an act of pure altruism, then others need only pay it forward :’)
I can be that person.
And this can be that ball.

Our Mission

To be a community that *starts off* with Universal Basic Resource (not monetary) Income, and thus its members are truly free. :’)

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Coliving
  • Ecovillage
  • Activities
  • Education
  • Experiences
  • Networking
  • Services Business
  • Others

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2018
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2024
  • Started living together
  • 1 Total member
  • Open to new members
  • Not open to visitors
Total
1

How to join

There will be a formal membership process..once we can support more than like one or two members X’D

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Well, the first thing is for us to physically exist XD

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

A few people (not elected by the broader community) make the major decisions.

Decision-making process

  • Leadership Decides

A single person, couple, or small group makes most major decisions.

Governance structure

  • Founder/Leader-led

Primary authority rests with the community’s founder(s) or designated leader(s).

Conflict resolution approach

Technically we’re a Direct-Democratic Meritocracy (eg, a direct democracy but where just having an opinion (no matter how fervent or religious) doesn’t constitute knowledge or wisdom—heh, we’re taking a lesson from America on that one XD ).
But if the initial people here don’t do that naturally, we’ve chosen our initial members wrong X’D

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
(If you come with “pre-existing debt”, I mean fine but that’s still your debt XD )
• You will always be undeniably free to keep any capitalist money you have or make :)
(and any debt *cough*—what? XD )
• But there will be community coffers, and this is where things we can’t yet make ourselves come from (eg, food, medicine, clothing, etc., and only luxuries from community money beyond that needed for those being *perfectly* secure XD )
• I (and anyone else who, in their pleasure, chooses to) will be running several businesses—namely creating physical objects and selling them on multiple sites on the internet, and putting 100% of the profits into the community coffers :3
• If you run a business from here, you similarly get to keep whatever you make and it’s your choice to put the money into the community (either by spending it and giving us the things, or by putting it into the coffers for us all to decide what to do with it)
• If you start participating in a business whose profits are already going into the community coffers, then..I dunno, I guess we can decide that (but I’m leaning toward they stay going into the community coffers, and we can help you start your own if you want the muns yourself :3 )
Basically, we’re gonna be Quakers..but atheist*, and with UBI XD
(*agnostic, for me)
• I’m not sure if we’ll provide any allocation of income to members like we will resource-credits (I’ll let everyone else decide that :3 )
But it sure won’t be what we’ll rely on for long-term security X’D

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Community activities and engagement

  • Transition Town (post-petroleum and off-grid communities.)
  • School, Educational Institute or Experience
  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • Ethical Business, Investment Group, or Alternative Currency
  • Organization, Resource, or Network

Substance use culture

  • Substance use is prohibited in the community

Gender composition

  • Majority non-binary/gender diverse (over 30%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a Land Trust, Home Owners Association, or corporation

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Self-produced energy

  • Over 66%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Up to 33%
  • Land area size
    10 acres

Guest Book

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Location

  • Texas, United States

The Utopia Foundation

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Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

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1 week ago

Healing Love Healing Money: Trust As The Foundation For A New Culture

Money, love and power are among the hardest things any community works with, and many of us carry the same fears into both: not having enough, losing what we have, and the sense that if someone else gets money or love, we won’t. Healing Love, Healing Money: Trust as the Foundation for a New Culture is taught by two intentional communities. Karen McAllister and Duncan Cryle are from Clear Sky Meditation and Retreat Center, a Buddhist-lineage community in the BC Rockies. Monika Alleweldt and Benjamin von Mendelssohn from Tamera Healing Biotope, a community of about 160 people in southern Portugal that has spent decades studying love, trust and relationship. Clear Sky has spent years working on its relationship with money, and our two communities found surprising parallels in the fears beneath both. Over four sessions we explore the roots of fear around money and belonging, love, possession and power, trust as infrastructure (community as a container for healing), and ethical livelihood. We use short meditations, body-based practices, reflection and small-group conversation. You do not need to be in a romantic relationship or live in community. When: October 27, Nov 3, 10, 17. All four sessions: 12–2pm Vancouver, 1–3pm Alberta, 7–9pm UK and Portugal, 8–10pm Central Europe. Note: US and some Canadian provinces change clocks on November 1, so the US west coast is 12–2pm on October 27, then 11am–1pm for the remaining sessions, and Eastern is 3–5pm on October 27, then 2–4pm for the rest. Cost: sliding scale Details and registration: https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/healing-love-healing-money-online/  
October 27, 2026 13:00 – November 17, 2026 15:00
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  • Communities with Openings
4 months ago

Do you feel called to help co-create a small, newly forming eco-spiritual community?

Old structures are crumbling. New ways of living are calling. We are answering that call. Wild Grace is an eco-spiritual community located in the Sierra foothills 30 minutes from Grass Valley, California. We recently completed new homes for those who feel called to our vision. Currently there are four of us living on this sacred 80 acres of land although we are a hub for an expanded neighborhood community. Many join us weekly for potlucks, expressive dance, Qi Gong, monthly musical gatherings, and seasonal celebrations in our temple, as well as tending to our orchard. We are excited to welcome others to join us on the land who are dedicating their lives to spiritual growth and ready to live in a more focused and intimate heart-centered lifestyle. Might that be you or someone you know? The fundamentals are simple. Spirit. We listen personally and collectively together most mornings, usually starting with a musical offering, a prayer, or a short reading, followed by about 40 minutes of what we call “sacred silence.” Heart Circles. About once a week we gather to share and listen. We are informed by authentic and compassionate communication practices. Nature. The land itself—an 80-acre oasis of field and forest perched above the wild and scenic South Yuba River—calls for our stewardship in the gardens, orchard, greenhouses, and general care. In turn, nature feeds us abundantly, both literally and spiritually. Interbeing. We join with others to share inspiration and connection as we host monthly gatherings of song, story and prayer that draws from the larger community in addition to other events we share with our closer neighbors. As we attend to these fundamentals, Grace flows to and through us—often in “Wild” or unexpected ways. Grace catalyzes through us, but is not something we possess. Because we all are connected, we feel that Grace actively transforms n
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4 weeks ago

Build Your Future in Rural Portugal — Business Partnerships & Sustainable Living

Mellow Cogumelo is seeking 2–4 motivated individuals or couples interested in helping develop two food businesses and a small, cooperative rural community on 30 hectares of off-grid land in southwest Portugal.We’re looking for long-term partners, not short-term volunteers or visitors interested only in learning mushroom cultivation. This is an opportunity to help shape a project with substantial facilities and equipment already in place. TWO BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Artisan Neapolitan PizzaOur mobile pizza operation includes an equipped professional kitchen, pizza trailer, and wood-fired oven. We’re particularly interested in someone with pizza-making experience who would enjoy developing and eventually managing this business.Specialty Gourmet MushroomsOur mushroom facility includes a dedicated laboratory, production equipment, and controlled growing environments. Mushroom cultivation or farming experience is welcome, but initiative, practical skills, attention to detail, and a willingness to learn are just as valuable. MORE THAN A BUSINESS Our wider vision is a small rural community built on independence, cooperation, mutual respect, and care for the land.Future projects include vegetable gardens, orchards, regenerative agriculture, and further improvements to our off-grid infrastructure.This is rural living, with its rewards and challenges. The property is reached by approximately 2 km of dirt road. We generate our own electricity and manage our water systems.We maintain a non-smoking, drug-free environment. Reliable transportation, or a realistic plan for it, is important. HOW IT COULD WORK We hope to meet people who want to create lasting livelihoods by gradually taking greater responsibility for developing and operating the businesses.We envision operating partnerships with increasing profit participation, based on mutually agreed responsibilities, milestones, and business performance.These are developing commercial opportunities; immediate income cannot be guaranteed. Financial and working arrangements would be discussed individually and established through appropriate agreements.On-site accommodation may be possible as part of an agreed arrangement. WHO WE HOPE TO MEET Practical, dependable, independent-minded people who like hands-on work and want to contribute to something for the long term.Experience in food service, cultivation, agriculture, construction, mechanics, or business development is welcome. Shared values and commitment are most important.If this speaks to you, please tell us about your background, skills, and what you’re hoping to build over the next few years.Learn more on our Join Our Team page at mellowcogumelo.com.
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