An intentional community is a group of people who have chosen to live or work together in pursuit of a common ideal or vision. An ecovillage is a village-scale intentional community that intends to create, ecological, social, economic, and spiritual sustainability over several generations.
The 90s saw a revitalized surge of interest in intentional communities and ecovillages in North America: the number of intentional communities listed in the Communities Directory increased 60 percent between 1990 and 1995. But only 10 percent of the actual number of forming-community groups actually succeeded. Ninety percent failed, often in conflict and heartbreak. After visiting and interviewing founders of dozens of successful and failed communities, along with her own forming-community experiences, the author concluded that "the successful 10 percent" had all done the same five or six things right, and "the unsuccessful 90 percent" had made the same handful of mistakes. Recognizing that a wealth of wisdom were contained in these experiences, she set out to distill and capture them in one place.
Creating a Life Together is the only resource available that provides step-by-step, practical "how-to" information on how to launch and sustain a successful ecovillage or intentional community. Through anecdotes, stories, and cautionary tales about real communities, and by profiling seven successful communities in depth, the book examines "the successful 10 percent" and why 90 percent fail; the role of community founders; getting a group off to a good start; vision and vision documents; decision-making and governance; agreements; legal options; finding, financing, and developing land; structuring a community economy; selecting new members; and communication, process, and dealing well with conflict. Sample vision documents, community agreements, and visioning exercises are included, along with abundant resources for learning more.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 241-244) and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 335/.9
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 0865714711 9781550923162
- LCCN
- HM766
- LCCN Item number
- C57 2003eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaBVAU
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xx, 250 p.)
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)gtp00521047 (OCoLC)232159819 (CaOOCEL)404451
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- NLC
Table of Contents
- Cover 1
- Advance Praise 2
- Title Page 4
- Rights Page 5
- Dedication 6
- Table of Contents 7
- Acknowledgements 12
- Foreword 13
- Introduction 16
- Part One: Planting the Seeds of Healthy Community 22
- Chapter 1 23
- Chapter 2 35
- Chapter 3 41
- Chapter 4 56
- Chapter 5 63
- Chapter 6 76
- Part Two: Sprouting New Community 88
- Chapter 7 89
- Chapter 8 96
- Chapter 9 101
- Chapter 10 120
- Chapter 11 135
- Chapter 12 147
- Chapter 13 163
- Chapter 14 173
- Chapter 15 191
- Chapter 16 210
- Part Three: Thriving in Community 220
- Chapter 17 221
- Chapter 18 239
- Appendix 1 251
- Appendix 2 254
- Appendix 3 259
- Resources 262
- Index 266
- About the Author 272