How a New Generation is Finding Education Abroad- Without A Tuition

Placeholder image for Foundation for Intentional Community website.
Christopher Kindig
  • December 10, 2015
  • Economics & Law

A generation in search of answers

There’s long been a bug in the minds of the new generation- something doesn’t add up about the modern life path. We’ve heard it all before; spend some time in school, get a career helping some corporation produce and market some product or service, buy a house, start a family, die.

But this is the age of globalization, of the Internet- we grew up knowing that wasn’t all there was, yet still seem to be told repeatedly that it is. So some of us tried to go that route, some of us succeeded, and some of us failed miserably.

Whatever path we took, a lot of us found a large world outside of us, and it is a world in crisis. The disconnect of government and economy from the Earth has broken the cycle of life and sustainability, the oceans are warming, the forests are in decline, and many species are going extinct before our eyes.

Many of us were looking for answers, but didn’t know where to turn to get started actually helping solve those problems.

An unexpected problem

When I began looking into these problems and what to do about them, I discovered, as many others do, that the issue isn’t that nobody else cares, it’s that so many of the people working on the solutions have broken from the traditional path as well.

Solutions abound in the form of communities, projects, and educational centers- but there was no single place to discover them.

There aren’t big corporate sponsorships for eco-communities, environmental projects, and grassroots initiatives. They exist somewhere far under the radar, just above the underground. Sure, you can do some digging and find out about one or two, but there was no way to visualize the extent of what was really happening unseen all around the world.

That’s when I discovered NuMundo, and realized I was not alone with this problem.

And the more people I talked to, the more NuMundo’s solution seemed to be in high demand.

A network of solutions

There’s no end to the places willing and eager to train new environmentalists, new eco-community members, or just better people. But off-grid, rugged, down-to-earth people often make the worst marketers, and so many of these communities thrived with 20, 30, or 100 people for years or decades, never getting more than a passing glance from the mainstream society.

Some of these communities prefer the obscurity, but a great many were looking for opportunities to network closer with their brethren, and engage with more people searching for alternative ways of life.

NuMundo struck out in 2013 with the goal to make it easier for the traveling, knowledge-hungry nomad to connect with those who were looking for help, or looking to share their knowledge.

In just a few short years, they managed to generate monthly web traffic upwards of 30,000 users- bringing massive exposure to the dozens of communities they had hand-picked for cooperation.

Suddenly travelers, burgeoning environmentalists, and the curious were able to find opportunities that had so far remained obscure and hidden.

A wave of transformation was beginning- a network of solutions was born.

The value in grassroots education

When you step foot onto any one of NuMundo’s verified Impact Centers, it’s not like walking into a college, or a job. There’s no corporate culture to ingest, and codes of conduct are simple and intuitive.

Friendly faces greet you, excited to show off the tangible results of their work. A traveler is enriched with the energy of hearing passionate people discuss ambitious goals. The education is nothing a text-book could reproduce, but rather something tactile and experiential.

Suddenly you’re learning skills you never thought you might need, but seeing how they play out right before your eyes. You discover the ways a community can really come together, how people can live in tandem with their environments, how the world can be flipped on its head.

These communities are experts in permaculture techniques, land remediation, yoga and personal development, and embrace ecology and sustainability in their daily living. The skills which are becoming increasingly critical in a shifting world can’t be learned in a text book- they have to be learned here in the dirt.

Each Impact Center is as much an experimental potential future for society, and a school- propagating and studying the ideas that could produce a better world.

All the while you spend with one, you begin to discover things about yourself. Old dogma and assumptions are challenged left and right, your mind becomes freer as you assume a posture of curiosity and inquisitiveness.

There’s no test, no grades, and no tuition.

This is the world NuMundo seeks to build– one in which people can discover new opportunities alongside learning about themselves.

A vision in need of help

With a serious lack of connection between projects that are promoting this lifestyle, NuMundo is giving the possibility for people who want to learn and create this change to find their tribe. As it continues to develop and grow, it will be easier and easier for all of us to find each other and create change on a much larger scale.

NuMundo has done an incredible amount of work since 2013 getting their network started. Between connecting with communities across several countries, developing a beautiful web platform, and running the marketing initiatives necessary to get their vision in front of people’s eyes- it’s been a full time job for a wide team of dedicated entrepreneurs.

Now they need as much help as they can get. They have the opportunity to grow their network at an incredible rate, and really open up a world of possibilities to travelers for education, experience, and personal development, but those goals cost money.

Click here to find out how to help NuMundo succeed, and how you can get connected to their vision!

Written by Daniel Arsenault, founder of Electric In The Forest.

Comments

Featured Blogs

Keep the conversation going with these pieces

Sam Makita
Sat Sep 2013
  • Living in community
  • Relationships
The “public vs. home” debate brings lessons of moral relativism, humility, and tolerance for differing tastes.
Devon Bonady
Fri Jun 2013
  • Living in community
  • Relationships
Communities and their members can change and drift apart, but the lessons and tools gained in community endure.
Codicts Team
Tue Jul 2013
Are you signed up for the Communities Conference event? Aug 30th weekend is approaching, see details here: http://www.communitiesconference.org/
Christopher Kindig
Mon Sep 2018
  • Living in community
  • Relationships
Enjoy the very first episode of Planet Community! This episode is focused on Dancing Rabbit, in Rutledge, Missouri, which you can learn more about here: https://www.ic.org/directory/dancing-rabbit-ecovillage/ Read more about the series, and contribute to the tour, here: https://www.ic.org/pl…
Molly
Wed Feb 2008
  • New to community
Coworking has hit the mainstream with an article in the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. From the Chronicle: In co-working, a group of freelancers or other solo entrepreneurs share one big office space with perks that they might not get at home, such as conference rooms, espresso mac…
Dianne G. Brause
Tue Dec 2010
  • Living in community
  • Relationships
A disenchanted community founder leaves her group, and finds that her rural hometown farming community and international travel and service better match her vision of honorable elderhood.
Sky Blue
Sat Nov 2015
Editor’s note: Earlier this year as we began planning the overhaul of the online Communities Directory and the publication of the 7th print edition, we learned that our Directory Manager was going to be leaving us. It was unfortunate timing, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It led us …
Deseree Fontenot
Thu Mar 2018
  • Living in community
  • Economics & Law
The co-organizer of the People of Color Sustainable Housing Network shares strategies for deepening your community’s work on issues of race, class, and privilege.
Heather M. Barnes
Sat Jul 2015
  • New to community
At the Global Village, schoolchildren get a taste of impoverished peoples’ struggles to feed themselves.
Sky Blue
Thu Nov 2017
Alan O’Hashi is a Board member of the Cohousing Association of the US. For more 30th blog posts click here. Documenting the Women’s March in Cheyenne, Wyoming was a big eye opener for me. What’s been on my mind l…

Insights & Stories from the Communities Movement

Subscribe to our newsletter for fresh stories and community updates delivered to your inbox.

Join the Communiversity Community

Get unlimited access to courses, exclusive member events, and a supportive network of community builders

Unlimited Learning

Access all courses, books, and premium content

Community Network

Member-only workshops and community builders

Exclusive Events

Member-only workshops and gatherings

Update to a Public Profile

  • Log in
  • Go to your profile page
  • Toggle on the "Add my profile to the directory"
  • Save your profile

Information

Communities

A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

Organizations

An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).

Plus Community Membership

  • Find people with Profile Match
  • Access to your community listing statistics
  • Create Discussion Groups
  • Access to our affiliate program
  • Member badge on your community profile
I am an official member of this community
Disclaimer
I affirm that my information is accurate and I am authorized to manage this listing
Foundation for Intentional Community FIC Member badge logo.

Free Plan

Free Membership
Free

Intentional Advertising

  • Subtotal

    {{ currencyFormat( pricing_summary.total_amount ) }}

Icon representing community connections and collaboration for intentional communities.

Plus Membership

  • Find communities with Profile Match
  • View detailed reviews about communities
  • Create free listings in Needs & Offers
  • Plus Member resources in CommUniversity
  • View communities detailed reviews
  • Plus Member badge on your profile