Author: Sky Blue
Envisioning Community in 2047
Posted on December 7, 2017 byMa’ikwe Ludwig has played various roles with the FIC over the last 20 years. Full bio below. The FIC celebrated it’s 30th anniversary this year. A lot has happened in the last 30 years. What about the next 30? It is generally way more fun for me to contemplate the future than dwell on the… Read More
This is not a dress rehearsal – 30th Birthday, Day 28
Posted on November 28, 2017 byWhy am I asking you to give to the Foundation for Intentional Community? Sky Blue, Executive Director, FIC For more 30th blog posts click here. The last 30 years have been practice. This is not a dress rehearsal; places everyone! Humanity is facing unprecedented danger, mostly self-inflicted. What is being learned in intentional communities is applicable… Read More
The Peripatetic Communitarian – 30th Birthday, Day 24
Posted on November 24, 2017 byIt was 10 years ago this fall, just after the FIC tribe had gathered for its semi-annual organizational meeting in Austin TX, that we received the news we dreaded, and which we knew was coming: our dear friend Geoph Kozeny had succumbed to pancreatic cancer. It was fitting that so many of us who benefitted… Read More
Conservation Land Trusts and Intentional Communities – 30th Birthday, Day 23
Posted on November 24, 2017 byCarrie Rasmussen is the Development Director for the FIC. For more 30th blog posts click here. As a former executive director of a regional land conservation trust, I recently came to the Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC) and the intentional communities movement with a willingness to learn more about what shared living, economies and decision making are… Read More
Bridging social and cultural divides one community at a time – 30th Birthday, Day 22
Posted on November 23, 2017 by3 Comments
Alan O’Hashi is a Board member of the Cohousing Association of the US. For more 30th blog posts click here. What’s been on my mind lately is how intentional communities can help bridge socio-economic divides. Over the years, I have learned that my influence is pretty much confined to communities and organizations that are closest to… Read More
A long strange trip – 30th Birthday, Day 21
Posted on November 21, 2017 byMarty Klaif has served on the FIC Board for almost 20 years. For more 30th blog posts click here. As a typically confused mid-twenty-something year old, I became aware of the concept of intentional community while doing self directed historical research into political movements. I found Charles Fourier, Robert Owen, and Josiah Warren among many others who… Read More
Exploring Full Potentiality – 30th Birthday, Day 20
Posted on November 21, 2017 byNébesna Fortin is a member of NextGEN North America among other affiliations, and serves on the Council for the Global Ecovillage Network of North America. For more 30th blog posts click here. I grew up in an ecovillage in Canada called La Cité Écologique. This project was born out of a child’s dream. At the age of… Read More
My Pathway to the FIC – 30th Birthday, Day 19
Posted on November 19, 2017 byKim Scheidt has been the FIC accountant since 2006. Full bio below. For more 30th blog posts click here. This year the Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC) celebrates its 30th anniversary. It is hard for me to believe that I have been involved as a FIC staff member for the past 11 of those years. Time… Read More
The Directory Goes Online – 30th Birthday, Day 18
Posted on November 18, 2017 byTony Sirna is a former Board member, ic.org webmaster, and founding member of Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. For more 30th blog posts click here. When I took over the FIC web site in 2004 it had already been an amazing resource for a decade. Similarly the Communities Directory had completed it’s third edition and sold tens of… Read More
Providing resources that sustain the organization – 30th Birthday, Day 16
Posted on November 16, 2017 by1 Comment
Kim Kanney is the current Manager of Communities Bookstore. Full bio below. We work hard to curate a rich collection of materials useful to community building, sustainable living, and more. In addition to being one of our core services, Bookstore is also an important income source for the FIC and supports our work. For more 30th blog posts click… Read More
Visions of Utopia – 30th Birthday, Day 17
Posted on November 16, 2017 byTo celebrate Visions of Utopia, for the rest of the month you can view them free online. Use promos “Visions1” and “Visions2” for the free rental, available at https://vimeo.com/communitybookstore The Fellowship’s first forays into the world of information dissemination were focused on print. After first getting under way in 1987, we produced our first edition of Communities… Read More
Teaching Feminism by Example – 30th Birthday, Day 15
Posted on November 16, 2017 byThis article, first published in Communities issue #162, is one example of how the FIC cares about educating the public on social justice issues and ending oppression. Kim Scheidt works part-time for the Foundation for Intentional Community in addition to her other jobs as homesteading feminist and half-time mom. For more 30th blog posts click here. By… Read More
The Shared Life – 30th Birthday, Day 14
Posted on November 15, 2017 bySusan Patrice has lived in and helped start a number of communities, and has been involved in various projects and support roles with the FIC. For more 30th blog posts click here. Living in Intentional Communities radically changed my life. That is not hyperbole, it really did. And of course, I, like so many others,… Read More
What is an intentional community? – 30th Birthday, Day 13
Posted on November 13, 2017 byThe descriptions below were collected and compiled in the early ’90’s by Dan Questenberry. The origin story of the term intentional community can be found at the bottom. Bios for each of the contributors have been left largely as they were when this was first published. Full bio for Dan below. For more 30th blog… Read More
Commitment to a Better World – 30th Birthday, Day 12
Posted on November 12, 2017 byFor more 30th blog posts click here. Deborah Altus lives in Lawrence, Kansas. She is a professor at Washburn University, a board member of the International Communal Studies Association, and former member of the editorial review board for the FIC. In the 1980s, I lived in a housing co-op (Sunflower House) inspired by B. F. Skinner’s… Read More
Structures and Cultures of Cooperation – 30th Birthday, Day 11
Posted on November 11, 2017 byTree Bressen served on the FIC Board from ’97 – ’03 and got her first “training” as a group process consultant living at Acorn Community, VA. She is one of the creators of the Group Works deck. Full bio below. For more 30th blog posts click here. I’ve been a group process consultant for the better… Read More
Together Resilient: Building Community and Climate Disruption – The Community Builders Forum – Webinar #4
Posted on November 11, 2017 byWhat to look forward to in this webinar: What are the underlying causes of climate change? And what can we do about it? Drawing on her new book, Ma’ikwe Ludwig will talk about community-building from two angles: how it can help us reduce our carbon footprints, and how it can create pockets where we are… Read More
Why I Study Intentional Communities – 30th Birthday, Day 10
Posted on November 10, 2017 byZach Rubin studies movements and social, and recently helped with a study on decision-making in established intentional communities. We’re thrilled to have this kind of research, showing from a scientific perspective what many of us have long experienced to be the benefits of living in community. Full bio below. For more 30th blog posts click here.… Read More
We remember when we fought the FIC to create a website for them – 30th Birthday, Day 9
Posted on November 8, 2017 by2 Comments
Elph, Jillian, and Michael were the creators of the FIC’s website. For other 30th blog posts click here. ‘Gators patrolled the misty waters below the boardwalks of Miccosukee Land Coop as we walked in the moonlight, hands ever so slightly brushing. It was October 1994 and excitement abounded amongst the cypress trees cradling the land that… Read More
FIC’s First Communities Directory – 30th Birthday, Day 8
Posted on November 8, 2017 byLaird Schaub served as the Executive Director of the FIC from when there was such a position till 2016. Full bio below. For other 30th blog posts click here. When a collection of die-hard community veterans gathered at Stelle, IL to coalesce into the Foundation for Intentional Community in May, 1987, we were breaking new ground.… Read More
Intentional community as a career path? It’s possible – 30th Birthday, Day 7
Posted on November 6, 2017 byDiana Leafe Christian is the author of Creating a Life Together and Finding Community, two of the most important books available to community builders and seekers. She also served as the editor of Communities magazine for 14 years. She started her journey with the FIC at the 1993 Celebration of Community. Attended by over 800… Read More
30 years of something even better than volleyball – 30th Birthday, Day 6
Posted on November 6, 2017 by2 Comments
Chris Roth is the Editor of Communities magazine, which the FIC began publishing in 1992. Full bio below. For more 30th blog posts click here. My interaction with the Foundation for Intentional Community started informally, when I was a member at End of the Road House/Aprovecho Research Center outside Cottage Grove, Oregon in 1986. On a… Read More
What’s in a name? From communes to cohousing – 30th Birthday, Day 5
Posted on November 4, 2017 byThe early relationship between the FIC and the Cohousing Association of the US was rocky, with people in both groups being dismissive and judgemental of the different models each organization was focused on. Fortunately, we’ve moved past that and the two organizations enjoy a close, collaborative relationship. These two pieces touch on how we’ve bridged… Read More
Who doesn’t want more community? – 30th Birthday, Day 4
Posted on November 3, 2017 by1 Comment
Laird Schaub served as the Executive Director of the FIC from when there was such a position till 2016. Full bio below. For other 30th blog posts click here. For the last three decades, if you had a question about community living, you could call the Foundation for Intentional Community and get an answer. Before… Read More
Your Tour Powered by the FIC – 30th Birthday, Day 3
Posted on November 2, 2017 by1 Comment
Alyson Ewald is a former Board member of the FIC. Full bio below. For more 30th blog posts click here. This morning I gave a tour of our homestead at Red Earth Farms to a dozen people who were visiting the neighboring ecovillage. As they asked questions about scything, fruit trees, renewable energy, and reclaimed… Read More
The Origins of the FIC – 30th Birthday, Day 2
Posted on November 1, 2017 by1 Comment
Harvey Baker has been involved with the FIC since the beginning, having served on the Board for 29 of our 30 years, and continues to be one of our most wise and innovative thinkers. He is also a co-founder of Dunmire Hollow Community, TN (1974). Full bio below. For more 30th blog posts click here.… Read More
Movement at a Crossroads – 30th Birthday, Day 1
Posted on October 31, 2017 by2 Comments
Sky Blue is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Intentional Community. For more 30th blog posts click here. It’s been quite a year. From the rise of white nationalism, to hurricanes and fires, to threats of nuclear war, to NFL protests, and a seemingly endless stream of high profile sexual assault and harassment cases,… Read More
Intentional Communities: How do we grow this movement fast?
Posted on October 19, 2017 byIt’s been quite a year. This is a synthesis of what I’ve been hearing and what I’ve been thinking about intentional communities, or whatever you want to call them. There’s a lot of interest in replicable, scalable models and best practices. People seem to be feeling more of an imperative to have an impact on… Read More
Landing Your Community – The Community Builders Forum – Webinar #3
Posted on October 18, 2017 byThe Community Builders Forum – Webinar 3 – Landing your Community The practical and spiritual aspects of real estate for intentional communities We host monthly webinars, which members can participate in live. These webinars cover a wide range of topics of interest and importance to intentional communities and their allies. Recordings of past episodes can be… Read More
Our Commitment to Social Justice
Posted on September 18, 2017 by1 Comment
Intentional communities are intrinsically idealistic. They’re based on a radical analysis of social problems and are an attempt to address them. They represent a personal desire to live in a way that feels more satisfying, but also the desire for a better society for all people. They are a recognition that some of the essentials… Read More