Inspiration
Are you curious about intentional community?
Posted on May 21, 2019 byIntentional communities go by many names: ecovillage, commune, co-housing, housing co-ops and more. If you’ve spent time at one, you probably noticed that intentional community feels different than normal living. Some describe the feeling as a sense of greater freedom and belonging, room to experiment and be different, space to practice communication and collaboration skills,… Read More
Best Films for Inspiration🌱🌎🤸🏾‍♀️
Posted on March 19, 2019 byFrom urban cohousing to rural commune, journey throughout European ecovillages or bicycle across the United States. Get started on these documentary films today for the BEST inspiration on creating sustainable community. Voices of Cohousing: Building Small Villages in the City One of today’s biggest paradoxes is that half of the world’s population lives in urban… Read More
4 Building Blocks of Community
Posted on February 25, 2019 byStart a Village “If you don’t like the way things are, Start a Village!” This was the essential message that Stephen Brooks delivered at his enthusiastic TEDx talk at Black Rock City. What does a guy at Burning Man know about community? Stephen shares inspiration through his travels, studies of permaculture, and teaching, how he… Read More
Starhawk Recognized for 2019 Kozeny Communitarian Award
Posted on February 6, 2019 byThe Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC) recognizes Starhawk as the 2019 recipient of the Kozeny Communitarian Award, honoring of the indomitable spirit of Geoph Kozeny (1949-2007), who devoted his adult life to creating community in the world. Starhawk is a well-known author and an internationally recognized activist and practitioner in the fields of permaculture, eco-feminism, and Earth-based… Read More
Accepting nominations for 2020 Kozeny Communitarian Award
Posted on January 7, 2019 byThe Foundation for Intentional Community announces that nominations are now open for the 2020 Kozeny Communitarian Award. This honors the indomitable spirit of Geoph Kozeny, who devoted his adult life to creating community in the world. This Award is intended to celebrate the accomplishments of a person or organization in one or more of the… Read More
Planet Community – Episode 3 – Enright Ridge Urban Ecovillage
Posted on December 31, 2018 byWe have to transform our cities! Over 50% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and it’s only increasing. Models for sustainable, equitable, urban community must be developed. In this episode of Planet Community we look at Enright Ridge Urban Ecovillage in Cincinnati, OH.  How do we move past the consumerism and concrete… Read More
What it Takes to Create Community Connection
Posted on December 3, 2018 byCommon Conceptions of Community How can we create community connection — including more support, belonging, smiles, and growth — in our lives? Bianca Heyming gave a TED talk based on her experiences, affectionately called ‘Intentional Communities – 50% Less Hippie Than You’d Expect.’Â She first comedically explores people’s misconceptions about living in an… Read More
The Revolution will be Podcasted
Posted on November 5, 2018 byAre you Listening? We’re searching for hope, we’re fighting for change, we’re learning new tactics and strategies, and we’re uniting to make a difference together. Activists, journalists, citizens, and revolutionaries are creating podcasts to discuss issues that concern us all, and the innovative ways that people are addressing them. Podcasts to the Rescue Podcasts are… Read More
Cohousing is… Quotes from Cohousers
Posted on September 17, 2018 byQuotes from Cohousers Cohousing is… “… a challenging task, with pitfalls (and perseverance), with laughter and hugs (or nods and drawing into oneself), with food and nurturing (or caution and health concerns), with a good measure of comfort and, especially, community.” “… after parenting, the single greatest personal growth opportunity.” “… a collaborative way of… Read More
What does it mean to live like a village?
Posted on August 13, 2018 by1 Comment
What is a Village? “In the simplest terms, it is the intersection and interconnection of people and place” explains Jamaica Stevens, author, event producer, and community activist. “How do we create a culture shift towards communities of celebration, cooperation, resilience, and respect?” Jamaica set about sharing some answers to these questions in her culture-shifting ReInhabiting the… Read More
Call it Your Community
Posted on July 25, 2018 byHumanity thrives when people work together. An “Intentional Community” shows what happens when people take this premise to the next level — by living together in a village of their own making which reflects their shared values. Intentional Communities come in many shapes and sizes, and go by many names. This includes cohousing, ecovillages, cooperative… Read More
It Takes a Village to Organize a Mind
Posted on July 19, 2018 byI studied psychology in high school and college, and still find it imminently relevant today. I am fascinated when evolutionary psychology can offer insight into the roots of why we tick the way we do. What is our more original “programming” — or the baseline that we are set to be impressed into by the… Read More
The Virtue of Sharing
Posted on July 11, 2018 byHow Important is Sharing to the Future? This ‘Future Tense’ podcast ‘The Virtue of Sharing‘ covered the remarkable nature of sharing, and it’s critical importance to a thriving human culture, and our well-being. Edwina Stott interviewed our friend Tom Llewellyn from Shareable.net, a non-profit “obsessed” with sharing. They just released a new FREE guide:Â Sharing Cities:… Read More
MTV Features Intentional Community on “True Life: I’m Joining A Commune”
Posted on January 19, 2017 byA recent episode of MTV’s “True Life” features two stories about community living. In one, 23-year-old Took Edalow attempts to start a commune with several friends on Staten Island. Another follows Emet, 26, as he leaves home and moves into a community called the Garden of Eden in Arlington, Texas. Edalow is an artist with years… Read More
Bridge Meadows Brings Foster Children Into Intentional Community
Posted on January 12, 2017 by1 Comment
For many intentional communities and cohousing projects, being “intergenerational” is a core value and long-term goal. Parents envision themselves raising children with the support of other community members. Elderly residents want to share meals and social activities in their old age. But for some families – such as foster children and their adoptive parents –… Read More
Interactive Documentary “One Shared House” Packs a Punch
Posted on January 2, 2017 byIt’s not often that we hear the story of an intentional community told by someone who grew up in one. And it’s even less common for that story to be told through a beautifully designed 10-minute interactive documentary. At OneSharedHouse.com, Irene Pereyra tells the story of Kollontai, a cohousing experiment in Amsterdam in the 1980s.… Read More
Take Part In The People’s State of the Union This January
Posted on December 26, 2016 byBeginning in 2015, the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture has led a project called the People’s State of the Union, to coincide with the president’s annual address to the nation. Taking the perspective that democracy is “a conversation, not a monologue,” the PSOTU is a chance for communities to come together and share the hopes and challenges… Read More
This Year, We’ll Need Community More Than Ever
Posted on December 15, 2016 byI woke up on Election Day ready to get the whole thing over with. My life was already in a state of transition: the eco-village I’d lived in for two years was on the of cusp of disbanding. The new collective house I was moving into into had a lot of things to get in order:… Read More
The Untold Story of Utopian Communes In America
Posted on November 24, 2016 byIt was a time of great change and social experimentation. Groups of like-minded people pooled their money to buy property in what one writer called a kind of “socialist land mania.” Another philosopher said that it was impossible to find a well-read man without “a draft of a new community in his waistcoat pocket.“ Residents from these communities traveled… Read More
This Binational City Would Make Borders A Thing of the Past
Posted on November 14, 2016 byArchitect Fernando Romero has a plan for a binational city stretching over the U.S. and Mexican border. The project was on display last month at the London Design Biennale 2016. The designers call it “the first integrated masterplan for a binational city conducive to both sides of the border, employing tools of enterprise such as special economic zones… Read More
A New Book Combines Zen and Permaculture to Educate and Inspire
Posted on November 10, 2016 byStefan Geyer, a London resident active in the U.K. permaculture community, is releasing a new book called “Zen in the Art of Permaculture Design.” It’s not a guidebook to specific permaculture practices, but a reflective look at the ways permaculture principles can inspire change in our lives and communities. According to the book’s copy, “Permaculture is… Read More
These Apps Connect Excess Food With People Who Need It
Posted on October 24, 2016 byNearly $500 billion worth of food gets thrown away in the U.S. each year – while nearly 50 million Americans go hungry. A new app hopes to use peer-to-peer technology to connect people throwing away food with those who need it. We’ve seen the sharing economy dabble in foodsharing before. Platforms like Feastly and Josephine let… Read More
This Women-Only Village In Kenya Is Challenging Traditional Gender Roles
Posted on September 22, 2016 byFor over 20 years, a small community in Kenya has been embarking on a rare experiment: a community without men, where women are the homeowners and breadwinners. Around 50 women and 200 children live in Umoja, a small village several hundred miles north of Nairobi, in the dry grasslands of the Samburu region. According to… Read More
How A Mystical Novel Spurred the Ecovillage Movement in Russia
Posted on September 15, 2016 byOver the years, many intentional communities have drawn on works of fiction for inspiration. They can serve as cultural touchstones, helping connect the communities in a particular region with a shared philosophy or way of life. Here in the Pacific Northwest, books like Ecotopia and The Fifth Sacred Thing sit on many communal bookshelves. The… Read More
The Diggers Started Their Own Back-to-the-Land Movement in 1649
Posted on August 18, 2016 by“In 1649/to St. George’s Hill/a ragged band they called the Diggers/came to show the people’s will.” So starts Leon Rosselson’s song, “The World Turned Upside Down,” which tells the story of a radical Protestant sect in Surrey, England, that became one of the earliest examples of the agrarian socialist movement. The group formed during a… Read More
How These Bike Festivals Bring Community To City Streets
Posted on August 11, 2016 byForty years ago, a group of Columbian bicycle activists started a tradition that would eventually spread to hundreds of cities around the world. Called CiclovĂa, which means “cycleway” in Spanish, the event shuts down automobile traffic on over 70 miles of streets in Bogota every Sunday – creating space for up to 2 million bicyclists,… Read More
A New Book Takes A Close Look At Plants and Animals In The Human Habitat
Posted on August 8, 2016 byWhen Nathanael Johnson began taking his two-year-old daughter on nature walks in Berkeley, CA, he realized that he didn’t know the names of half the trees, bugs, and other creatures she pointed to. Even the most common urban animals – pigeons and squirrels – were a mystery to him. How did they manage to become… Read More
A New Movie Tells The Story of A Danish Couple As They Start An Intentional Community
Posted on July 28, 2016 byA new movie called “The Commune” follows Erik and Anna, a Danish couple living in Copenhagen in the 1970s, as they invite an assortment of friends and acquaintances to move into a home they inherited: “We should live with fantastic people, shouldn’t we?” Anna asks her husband. He agrees to try it out, and they… Read More
Do You Know Your Watershed?
Posted on June 10, 2016 byLast month, I took part in Oregon State University’s online permaculture class, taught by Andrew Millison. While permaculture design certificates can cost upwards of $750, this class was free, open to the public, and available to access from anywhere. It was pretty inspiring to see people from all over the world engaging in the discussions – some of… Read More
