Episode 10: Navigating Conflict and Restoring Connection with Alyson Ewald
Posted on May 20, 2022 byNavigating Conflict and Restoring Connection with Alyson Ewald Inside Community Podcast — Ep. 010 Conflict is inevitable. Alyson Ewald shares how to have a good fight and transform harm into connection, through personal and effective conflict systems. In this episode Set up a conflict system (8 minutes) How to have a ‘good fight’ (15 minutes)… Read More
Skillfull Facilitation for Any Situation with Laird Schaub
Posted on May 6, 2022 bySkillful Facilitation for Any Situation with Laird Schaub Inside Community Podcast — Ep. 009 Moving groups through tough decisions can be tricky, if not impossible, without a skilled and well-trained facilitator to hold folks through the process. Laird Schaub joins us today to talk about the how’s and why’s of excellent facilitation. You’ll learn from… Read More
Income Sharing & Innovating Economy with Sky Blue
Posted on April 22, 2022 byIncome Sharing & Innovating Economy with Sky Blue Inside Community Podcast — Ep. 008 In this episode, I’m joined by Sky Blue to discuss income sharing and innovating economic models by living in community. We examine some of the ways communities and collaborative culture endeavors are reimagining the way they design and live into their… Read More
Governance & Decision Making with Diana Leafe Christian
Posted on April 8, 2022 byGovernance & Decision Making with Diana Leafe Christian Inside Community Podcast — Ep. 007 When it comes to deciding who gets to make decisions and how decisions get made, the communities movement has done a lot to innovate more equitable and transparent strategies. In today’s conversation with Diana Leafe Christian, we talk about the importance… Read More
Facilitation and Politics with Yana Ludwig
Posted on March 28, 2022 byFacilitation and Politics with Yana Ludwig Inside Community Podcast — Episode 004 [Part II] This is a bonus conversation from episode 004 on Finding Co-Founders and Creating Cooperative Culture. Enjoy! Yana Ludwig is cooperative culture pioneer, group process trainer, consultant, and anti-oppression activist who has lived in community for 25 years. She is the former… Read More
Finding Your Land with Jonah Mesritz
Posted on March 26, 2022 byFinding Your Land with Jonah Mesritz Inside Community Podcast — Ep. 006 Sometimes the community dream only starts to “feel real” when the time finally comes for forming groups to purchase land. Putting down a large sum of money and taking that responsibility on with other people often brings up a load of fear and… Read More
Demystifying Legal Frameworks with Clifford Paulin & Jonah Mesritz
Posted on March 12, 2022 byDemystifying Legal Frameworks with Clifford Paulin & Jonah Mesritz Inside Community Podcast — Ep. 005 Do legal structures and documents make your head spin? Fear not! In this episode we’re diving into the financial and legal issues all communities face (but many dread looking at) with two expert guides. Solid agreements are essential for creating… Read More
Finding Co-Founders and Creating Cooperative Culture with Yana Ludwig
Posted on February 26, 2022 byFinding Co-Founders and Creating Cooperative Culture with Yana Ludwig Inside Community Podcast — Ep. 004 [Part I] Thinking of starting an intentional community? The first step is finding “your people” — the fellow founders you will join with to build community. This is no easy task! Timing, personality, finances, vision, and values are but a few… Read More
Becoming a Steward of the Commons with Lee Warren
Posted on February 11, 2022 byBecoming a Steward of the Commons with Lee Warren Inside Community Podcast — Ep. 003 There are many communities out there looking for capable and eager new members to become a part of their project and help build their vision. Today we are going to focus on how you might best approach those communities, how… Read More
Vision and Values with Dave Henson
Posted on January 28, 2022 byThis episode explores the topic of Mission, Vision, and Values in community. These guiding principles and founding documents help communities determine who they are and what they do. In many ways, this is the “intention” part of intentional community. Joining me on a deep dive into this topic is Dave Henson.
Why me? Why now? The Introduction
Posted on January 13, 2022 byWhy me? Why now? The Introduction Inside Community Podcast — Ep. 000 In this episode, I take a moment to introduce myself, tell you a little bit about my journey creating and living in community, and why this podcast felt so important for me to create now. Follow the show and see inspiring images and… Read More
What is Community? Fantasy vs. Reality
Posted on January 13, 2022 byHello friends and welcome to the Inside Community Podcast where I bring you along for an inside look at what it takes to create and sustain community. In this episode we are going to take a look at what we actually mean when we say “community.”
Timeline of Intentional Communities
Posted on October 8, 2021 byContent below was originally published by Peace News and author Lauren Kelley. This is not in any way intended to be a definitive statement – more a pointer to some of the more significant developments in the theory and practice of community. Intentional Communities Timeline 6th Century BCE through the 1900s 6th Century BCE: Pythagoras… Read More
It’s a wrap! — Greeting and 2020 Update from FIC Core Team
Posted on November 18, 2020 byFriends and supporters, We put together the video above as our way of saying hello, showing appreciation for your support, and giving some updates on how 2020 was for FIC. Have a watch and enjoy! Much more information is available in our 2020 Annual Report. This report is the culmination of a year of unexpected… Read More
New! 🌟Intentional Community t-shirts, hoodies, masks and more!
Posted on November 13, 2020 byAll new t-shirts, tanks, hoodies, bags and masks so you can show the world how much you love intentional community. Happy shopping ya’ll! Get a jump start on your holiday shopping with gifts made for community lovers. Plus! When you shop with us, your purchase supports our non-profit in carrying out our mission to grow intentional… Read More
BIPOC Intentional Communities Fund: show your support!
Posted on August 18, 2020 by14 Comments
Dear friends and supporters, We have a big announcement to share with all of you… The Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC) is now contributing 10% of all donations to the BIPOC Intentional Communities Fund. Our mission is to cultivate radically safe and inclusive communities for black, indigenous, and people of color by providing inspiration, solidarity,… Read More
How have intentional communities fared through the pandemic?
Posted on July 8, 2020 by1 Comment
New research shows how intentional communities have responded to the coronavirus crisis. With people’s lives upended across the globe, we can’t help but wonder, how would we have responded to the coronavirus crisis if we all lived in intentional communities — ecovillages, cohousing and the like — instead of our conventional neighborhoods? And how have… Read More
Examining White Supremacy Culture in Intentional Community
Posted on July 4, 2020 byWhen white people ask the question, why aren’t there more POC living in intentional communities, one of the answers some speculate is that “they find community in other ways.” I think there are a few things that idea gets wrong. It assumes that controlling land for the purposes of community building is something POC aren’t… Read More
Black Lives Matter
Posted on June 13, 2020 byWe at FIC are grieved and outraged by the recent police killing of George Floyd, one incident in an ongoing pattern of police abuse towards black people and people of color across the United States. We stand in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and the groundswell of peaceful protests around the world. We support demands for accountability and justice. We… Read More
Fifty Shades of Community
Posted on April 5, 2020 byWhat’s the difference between a cult and a community? How, when seeking community, can you avoid hooking up with a cult? I can’t answer these questions with certainty or authority—but I can offer some relevant insights, drawn in part from my involvement, over the past twenty years, with a cult, a community, and something in… Read More
Thank you Clearly Canadian
Posted on March 30, 2020 byClearly Canadian answered the call! Thanks to our new Communities Directory Sustainer we have been able to start shifting our website to a more reliable server, ensuring that community seekers can continue to access our online Communities Directory for much needed connection and inspiration. Thank you Clearly Canadian! To find out how you can become… Read More
COVID-19 Resources
Posted on March 17, 2020 byHere you will find COVID-19 resources submitted to us by intentional communities across the US, including examples of Community Safety Protocols. Please use the information to stay healthy and keep your community safe. We’ll keep updating this page regularly during the coming weeks. Got advice? Send your links our way! Contact us. General Resources COVID19 Emergency… Read More
Loneliness is an Epidemic, Community is the Antidote
Posted on December 3, 2019 by2 Comments
I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve been pretty lonely lately. Here I am, Executive Director of the Foundation for Intentional Community, and while technically I am living in a community, my current transitional and transitory lifestyle, including working remotely, is leaving me isolated a lot of the time. It feels terrible, and it’s hard… Read More
On Community: A Graduated Series of Consequences and the “Community Eye”
Posted on November 26, 2019 byJust knowing the community has this process in place deters people from breaking agreements. People don’t want to get a knock at the door by one fellow community member, much less three or four.
Raising Troubled Children in Cohousing
Posted on November 19, 2019 byWhen the antisocial behavior of adopted boys at Takoma Village Cohousing begins to impact the larger community, their parents find open communication essential in identifying a path forward.
Discovering the communities of Quebec, on bicycle!
Posted on November 12, 2019 byWritten by Thumbs. Originally published on November 11, 2019 at communelifeblog A RURAL PENINSULA IN QUEBEC IS A HIDDEN GEM OF THE COMMUNITIES MOVEMENT Gaspésie Quebec is the Olympic Peninsula of the East Coast; a mountainous peninsula, with a rugged coastline, spotted with small towns fueled by fishing and logging, with a vibrant indigenous culture,… Read More
Whatever Happened to the Renaissance Community?
Posted on November 12, 2019 byDespite the lethal combination of power, ego, and spirituality that brought the Renaissance Community to an end, most of its ex-members cherish their time there as a growth experience that made them better people.
In the Shadow of the Guru
Posted on November 5, 2019 byReferring to himself as “the biggest asshole” in the county, a group’s spiritual teacher “told us if we could work with him and learn from him, we could deal with anyone in any situation.”
Missed Opportunity at the Goat Ranch
Posted on October 29, 2019 byTed and Sally were truthful when they said they had no idea what they were doing, either running the business or establishing a community. They didn’t, much to the dismay of their departing managers and volunteers.
Founder’s Syndrome
Posted on October 22, 2019 byThe original founder, visionary, and main public point person for Bellyacres for over a quarter of a century laments that some members came to consider him “the root of all present, past, and future problems in the organization.”
