Group Process
Common Fire’s Top Ten Hard-Earned Tips for Community Success
Posted on April 11, 2016 by1 Comment
The sometimes triumphant, sometimes traumatic experiences of the three Common Fire communities yield wisdom relevant to anyone working to create a community.
Nobody Likes Bosses
Posted on November 1, 2015 byEven an anti-authoritarian household needs agreements—but who and how to enforce them is another question.
Hot Topic, Raw Emotion, and the Spice of Life: Chewing over Food Choice in Community
Posted on June 24, 2015 byAt La’akea, members’ various approaches to food reflect the quest for emotional as well as physical sustainability.
Radical Governance Changes in Two North American Ecovillages
Posted on October 31, 2014 by1 Comment
Earthaven and Dancing Rabbit embrace their groups’ evolution and growth with innovative new governance and decision-making methods.
Burlington Cohousing’s Excellent Solar Adventures
Posted on January 14, 2014 byWhen community members want to place “private” panels on “public” roofs, don’t expect clear sailing.
Living the Questions
Posted on September 7, 2012 byBelfast Cohousing & Ecovillage grapples with obstacles to create a visionary housing project in rural Maine.
Busting the Myth that Consensus-with-Unanimity Is Good for Communities
Posted on June 7, 2012 by5 Comments
How can a diverse group best make decisions? After many years advocating it, the author concludes that consensus is not the answer.
Busting the Myth, or Changing the Terms?
Posted on June 7, 2012 byWant a “problem” person to behave differently? Give a different response.
“Busting the Myth”
Posted on June 7, 2012 byWhen assessing why a community is struggling to make decisions, we need to ask first how they handle conflict resolution, group-process training, and entrenched patterns.
Diversity Issues in Los Angeles Eco-Village
Posted on June 7, 2012 by3 Comments
A longtime ecovillage activist moves beyond denial to recognize the institutional racism affecting not only her society and her community, but her own way of thinking.
The Paralysis of Racism in Social Change Groups
Posted on June 7, 2012 byWhen a member of a minority population claims racism, how does a group committed to racial nondiscrimination respond?
Spirit in the Woods
Posted on March 7, 2012 byAt New View Cohousing, practicing consensus, navigating illness, and simply
sharing lives are continuing spiritual exercises.
Sharing the Path
Posted on March 7, 2012 byEven “non-spiritual” groups can benefit through a multitude of simple practices that deepen participants’ connections with themselves, one another, and the sacred.
Sociocracy
Posted on December 7, 2011 byLost Valley Educational Center avoids collapse and reinvigorates itself by applying a new approach to governance combining the best of diverse models.
Social Permaculture
Posted on December 7, 2011 by1 Comment
While expert at understanding ecological connections, permaculturalists often founder in relating with one another. Applying permaculture principles to group dynamics can help us work together more effectively.
Unto the Second Generation
Posted on September 7, 2011 by12 Comments
When a cohousing group’s honeymoon ends, and economic stress dictates selling units to any willing buyers, can a community’s core values and connections endure?
The Relationship of Relationships to the Group
Posted on June 7, 2011 by2 Comments
Relationships don’t exist in a vacuum. Through a culture of communication and support, communities can create the healthy container which relationships need in order to flourish.
Shadow Sides of NVC and Co-Counseling
Posted on March 7, 2011 by1 Comment
To make best use of nonviolent communication and co-counseling, avoid these traps.
Hand in Hand, Heart to Heart
Posted on March 7, 2011 byWith loving help from others, the old emotional distresses that can sabotage both our mental health and our relationships in community can be cleared and permanently resolved.
Poor Minutes Lead to Wasted Hours
Posted on December 7, 2010 byAuthor: Laird Schaub Published in Communities Magazine Issue #149 Good records of what happened at meetings are important for a variety of reasons: ● Informing members who missed the meeting… Read More
And I Listen
Posted on December 7, 2010 by2 Comments
Howling, shouting, cries of despair, and The Pierced One greet a parent on her first visit to her daughter’s adopted community. Luckily, through lots of talking and listening, things improve.
Call in the Experts?
Posted on September 7, 2010 byAuthor: Beatrice Briggs Published in Communities Magazine Issue #148 Q. Our group is very divided. We need to make major decisions regarding finances, organizational structures, and policies, at a time… Read More
Power and Powerlessness in Community
Posted on September 7, 2010 byA community member transcends a feeling of powerlessness when he inadvertently comes up with a brilliant idea about how to organize cooking groups, and others join him in implementing it.
Balancing Powers
Posted on September 7, 2010 by1 Comment
In a healthy community, leadership and followship are equally important roles, each with vital skill sets that can assure effective teamwork.
Power and Disempowerment on the Ecobus
Posted on September 7, 2010 by7 Comments
Some saw this radical environmental education program as a “cult,” others as an intensely focused experience of challenge and growth. Had participants lost their individuality, or gained a new sense of self?
More Perspectives on Leadership and Followship
Posted on September 7, 2010 by1 Comment
The author identifies additional leadership skills, cautions against blind followship, and reflects on the many types of power in cooperative groups.
Being “Overthrown”—A Celebration
Posted on September 7, 2010 byThe founder of Enright Ridge Urban Ecovillage describes what it’s like to be criticized, marginalized, stripped of leadership responsibilities, and given the opportunity to explore a new role.
Open Meetings: Worth the Risk?
Posted on June 7, 2010 byAuthor: Beatrice Briggs Published in Communities Magazine Issue #147 Q: Our group is committed to education and to sharing our lives in community openly with others. We frequently host visitors,… Read More
Parenting in Community
Posted on March 7, 2010 by1 Comment
Though “baby having” had not been a consensus decision, a small community embraces a newborn, survives his infancy, and bonds like any other family: doing each other’s dishes, snuggling on the couch, and fighting over who gets a shower before the hot water runs out.
Network for a New Culture Camps
Posted on March 7, 2009 byParticipants in NFNC’s Summer Camps explore intimacy, transparency, freedom of choice, personal responsibility, sexuality, and new ways of being, teaching, and learning.
