Available now: new Communities Directory book!
Posted on August 20, 2016 byCommunity Bookstore Featured Communities Directory Book New 7th Print Edition by Kim Kanney, Community Bookstore Manager Communities Directory Print Book New 7th edition, August 2016 Available and shipping $35 We are so grateful for our supportive community that contributed to our kickstarter campaign last fall. Together, we exceeded our goal and created an updated seventh edition… 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
Service and Activism, #172 Contents
Posted on August 18, 2016 byOur Fall issue explores Service and Activism in intentional communities. Authors share their stories of living and working in both service- and activist-oriented groups, including Camphill communities, Innisfree Village, Gesundheit!, Konohana Family, Magic, Black Bulga, and more. How do service and activism build community, both within a group and in the larger world? How can communitarians contribute to the well-being of the planet and its people? We also explore how long-standing, mission-focused communities—including Harbin Hot Springs, ZEGG, and EcoVillage at Ithaca—have evolved over time, and the latest research about happiness in community.
This Alaska Community Took Its Own Approach To Treating Mental Illness
Posted on August 15, 2016 by2 Comments
The philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti once said, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” It’s a quote often repeated by alternative healers and counter-cultural thinkers. In the 1980s, four families from Boston – who suffered from depression, schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses – put that philosophy to the… Read More
What does it take to go back to the land?
Posted on August 13, 2016 byCommunity Bookstore Featured Two New Films by Kim Kanney, Community Bookstore Manager What does it take to go back to the land? Perhaps you have explored the answer in your own unique way. And now FIC has two new films available at our bookstore that offer another possible answer. Independent film-maker, Helen Iles, has spent… 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 Ciclovía, 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
This TED Talk Shows How Ecovillages Can Bring About Global Change
Posted on August 4, 2016 byLast year, Kosha Joubert, President of the Global Ecovillage Network, delivered a powerful talk at TEDxGeneva on the impact of ecovillages around the globe. Joubert lived in South Africa as a child, spent time in Amsterdam as adult, and now lives at the Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland. After studying cultural anthropology, she says she felt… Read More
The Community Land Trust That Arose Out of the Civil Rights Movement
Posted on August 1, 2016 bySo many of the community structures that we write about here at FIC – such as community land trusts – have a long, but often overlooked, history. That’s why it’s important for writers, filmmakers, and historians to document stories of intentional communities over time. A new documentary, Arc of Justice, does just that. Made by… Read More
Cloughjordan Ecovillage: Modeling the Transition to a Low-Carbon Society
Posted on August 1, 2016 byIrish ecovillagers achieve the smallest ecological footprints recorded in their country.
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
53 Ways of The Peripatetic Communitarian
Posted on July 23, 2016 byCommunity Bookstore Feature Best of Communities ― The Cream of Our Crop The Peripatetic Communitarian: The Best of Geoph Kozeny by Kim Kanney, Community Bookstore Manager Best of Communities Volume XV The Peripatetic Communitarian: The Best of Geoph Kozeny A special selection of articles from Communities: Life in Cooperative Culture $10 Digital, $15 Print The Foundation… Read More
How This French Philosopher Inspired An Early Version of Cohousing
Posted on July 23, 2016 by1 Comment
Although not as famous as some of his contemporaries, the French thinker Charles Fourier was one of the early visionaries of the intentional community movement. A utopian socialist, he proposed that society should be organized into Phalansteres, or “grand hotels,” each housing several hundred to several thousand people. At the peak of his popularity, he… Read More
The First YIMBY Conference Says Yes In My Backyard
Posted on July 21, 2016 byMany U.S. cities are in the middle of a housing crisis. Some, like San Francisco, have been struggling with it for years, while others, like Portland and Seattle, hope to avoid following the same trajectory. There are many factors at play, including high rates of migration to urban areas, and the impact of peer-to-peer homesharing… Read More
True Sustainability: Indigenous Pathways
Posted on July 21, 2016 byAt Maitreya Mountain Village, mainstream pragmatism meets radical idealism.
A New Movement Is Rethinking Our Relationship With The Earth
Posted on July 18, 2016 byLast month, I had the chance to visit the Windward Education and Research Center, an intentional community in rural Washington, for an event called the EcoSex Convergence. Over 5 days, 150 participants explored topics related to environmentalism, spirituality, sexuality, and more. The event’s guests of honor were Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens, who combine academic… Read More
Case Study: How One Community Handles Maintenance Expenses
Posted on July 14, 2016 byHere at Foster Village, my community in SE Portland, we share access to three houses on adjoining plots of land. Although we have plans for collective ownership, for now the houses are owned individually, but most of our expenses are shared. This means we have to think creatively about maintenance agreements. Each member contributes an… Read More
This 1800s Commune Tried Free Love and Income-Sharing Long Before It Was A Thing
Posted on July 11, 2016 byMany of the intentional communities that we hear about are recent ones: the back-to-the-land communes of the 1970s, the student co-ops and cohousing spaces being formed today. That’s why it’s especially fascinating to get a glimpse into a commune from a different era – as I did recently in a book called “Oneida: From Free… Read More
Creating Carbon-Negative Communities: Ecovillages and the UN’s New Sustainable Development Goals
Posted on July 11, 2016 byDiverse ecovillages are modeling how to create more just, equitable, and sustainable human societies.
The Placemaking Movement is Turning Cities into Communities
Posted on July 8, 2016 byOver 15 years ago, a group of natural builders organized the first Village Building Convergence in Portland, OR. It’s partly the reason why the city is now dotted with colorful intersections, cob benches, and unconventional living spaces. According to the organizers, “We recognized that modern life and the structure of our cities often don’t create… Read More
Community As Sanctuary: How These Retreats Offer Refuge in Rural Places
Posted on July 7, 2016 bySome communities, like the Tonic Housing project in the U.K., were founded as a way to provide cohousing to LGBT elders in rapidly gentrifying cities. Others offer a refuge away from the city, a place where like-minded people can gather for retreats and other seasonal festivities. For decades, the Radical Faerie movement has been creating… Read More
Going Biking This Summer? Try Out This Network For A Shower and A Place to Stay
Posted on July 4, 2016 bySince 1993, the Warm Showers network has been connecting touring bicyclists with hosts willing to offer them a couch, shower, camping space, or other form of hospitality. Originally started as a listserv, it was developed into a full website in 2005, and currently has 86,000 active members and 36,000 active hosts around the world. The… Read More
The Bridge to a Greener World
Posted on July 1, 2016 byThis Australian community’s bridge is a lot more than just a bridge.
Power Shift Hosts 4 Regional Events for Young Climate Activists
Posted on June 30, 2016 byThe Energy Action Coalition, the “Hub of the Youth Climate Movement,” has hosted four Power Shift convergences for young climate activists since 2007. This year, the event is expanding into four regional convergences taking place in Philadelphia, Detroit, Orlando, and the West Coast: “Power Shift brings young climate leaders together as a movement—building the organizing… Read More
NuMundo Hosts Southeast Bioregional Convergence in Asheville, July 9-10
Posted on June 27, 2016 byNuMundo wants to make it easier for travelers to connect with ecovillages and intentional communities around the world. Their site has dozens of listings in the U.S., Europe, South America, and more, many of which offer permaculture classes, natural building courses, and other hands-on, land-based experiences. NuMundo calls these locations “impact centers“: “An impact center… Read More
One of These 7 Finalists Will Be the First “Smart City” in the U.S.
Posted on June 23, 2016 byLast year, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced its “Smart City Challenge,” a contest that will award one mid-sized city with $50 million in funding to improve its transportation networks. The USDOT hopes the selected city will become a role model for implementing safer, more energy-efficient technology. Out of 78 entries, the USDOT has narrowed… Read More
Want an Ecovillage? Stay Put!
Posted on June 21, 2016 byHow can we care for a place if we’re not there, day after day, year after year, paying attention?
Challenges and Lessons of Community
Posted on June 20, 2016 byCommunity Bookstore Feature Best of Communities ― The Cream of Our Crop Challenges and Lessons of Community by Kim Kanney, Community Bookstore Manager Best of Communities Volume XIV Challenges and Lessons of Community A special selection of articles from Communities: Life in Cooperative Culture $10 Digital, $15 Print The Foundation for Intentional Community is pleased to… Read More
Try One of These Unique Alternatives to Airbnb
Posted on June 20, 2016 by3 Comments
Airbnb and other “sharing economy” sites have been getting some bad press lately, with many cities arguing that the platforms are driving up rent, contributing to housing scarcity, and turning residential neighborhoods into tourist districts. Some cities, like Berlin, have begun to regulate room- and home-sharing, while San Francisco and New York are struggling to… Read More
The FIC loves events!
Posted on June 17, 2016 by2 Comments
The FIC Loves Events by Kim Kanney It’s always a pleasure to network and share experiences with people both within the communities movement, and at events of related movements. In 2016 we will have a presence on both coasts and many places in between. Explore the list below to see where we will be near you!… Read More
