Business Ventures, #163 Contents

Issue #163 • Summer 2014

Business Ventures: Theme Articles

Business. Busy-ness. Coincidence? By Christopher Kindig

Improving our relationships to work, money, and entrepreneurship can dramatically enhance our sense of community and quality of life.

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange Wrestles with Growth By Irena Hollowell

For an income-sharing group in Virginia, economic success presents challenges and opportunities.

Dancing Rabbit’s Exchange Local Money System: The Promise of Local Currencies and Interest-Free Financing By Nathan Brown

Place-specific currencies can provide critical financing to the small businesses that keep local communities connected and thriving.

Cooperation and Competition in the Ecovillage By Sam Makita

Earning a living based on responsible competition involves both sharing what we have and asking for what we deserve.

The Entrepreneurial Dilemma By Laird Schaub

Integrating entrepreneurial energy into cooperative communities often proves both difficult and necessary.

Vision, Money, and Sustainability: Bringing in Renters while Building the Dream By Jane Moran

In the quest for sustainability, long-term goals can yield to short-term needs and opportunities, fertilizing new growth in unpredictable ways.

The Dirty Business of Growing a Cohousing Community Farm By Sandy Thomson

A farm is not a clod of dirt; it is more like mud that slips through your hands, gets on your boots, and is tracked all through the community.

● Interns: The Spice of Life

● Community Vision and Values

● Interpersonal Agreements

● Core Identity

Sharing Spaces, Sharing Values: Entrepreneurship at Dragon’s Nest Cooperative Homestead By Mary Murphy

“Founder’s joy” can wear off very quickly in the chaos of financial instability and unclear agreements.

Jugglers in the Jungle: Innovation, Special Use Permits, Neighbor Issues, and the Ultimate Work/Life Balance Routine By Dena Smith

On Hawaii’s Big Island, Bellyacres residents navigate through multiple obstacles to pursue sustainable livelihood.

Asking for Money By Laird Schaub

Value-centered fundraising is not about money so much as it is about relationships.

Can You Export Your Mission Business to Another Country? By Tim Bock

Jesus People USA uses its business experience to help friends in Romania fulfill their own mission.

Is Windward Egalitarian? Well, Sort Of … By Lindsay Hagamen and Walt Patrick

Rather than striving for equality of income, Windward focuses on creating diverse opportunities for building financial independence.

Trade School Indy: Bartering a Night School for Everyone By Shawndra Miller

In Indianapolis, education about everything from law and beekeeping to belly dancing and cuddling can be had without the exchange of a single cent.

Designing Like Villagers By Mark Lakeman

Seeing their city as a living ecology, members of a design-activist group work to improve it, whether they are paid or not.

Voices

Publisher’s Note: Dancing with Stars By Laird Schaub

Notes from the Editor: Business Ventures By Chris Roth

Starting a Community: With or Without a Recipe? By Paul Brooks

Consent Decision-Making and Community Vision, Mission, and Aim: How Sociocracy Can Help Communities, Part III By Diana Leafe Christian

Review: The Great Experiment: everyday life in senior cohousing in Denmark By Ariane Kelleris

Review: Fred’s Last Song By Laird Schaub

Review: Out to Change the World: The Evolution of The Farm Community By Diana Leafe Christian

Creating Cooperative Culture: Digging into Community: A reflection from Tamarack’s 1000 Conversations Initiative By Derek Alton