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Everything you need to know to create an intentional community from scratch
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.
Acknowledgments
Foreword – By Patch Adams
INTRODUCTION: CREATING A LIFE TOGETHER
The Successful Ten Percent
What Are Intentional Communities and Ecovillages?
Cohousing Communities
Why Now?
What You'll Learn Here
Is this Information Really Necessary?
Is this Advice "Corporate"?
How to Use this Book
PART ONE: PLANTING THE SEEDS OF HEALTHY COMMUNITY
CHAPTER 1: THE SUCCESSFUL TEN PERCENT – AND WHY NINETY PERCENT FAIL
Lost Valley – How One Group Did It
What Works,What Doesn't Work?
The Successful Ten Percent
Why Ninety Percent Fail
"Structural Conflict" – And Six Ways to Reduce It
What Will it Cost?
How Long Does it Take?
How Many People do You Need?
CHAPTER 2: YOUR ROLE AS FOUNDER
What Kind of Person Founds a Community?
What Else You'll Need
"If Only I Had Known!"
CHAPTER 3: GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START
Don't Run Out and Buy Land – Yet
When You Already Own the Property
Organizing Your Group
Getting Real about Finances
Collecting Funds
Raising Money from Suppporters
Attracting and Integrating New Members
Creating "Community Glue"
Pioneers, Settlers, and the Flow of Members
CHAPTER 4: COMMUNITY VISION – WHAT IT IS,WHY YOU NEED IT
Sound a Clear Note
Elements of a Community's Vision
Your Vision Documents and Vision Statements
Do it First
CHAPTER 5: CREATING VISION DOCUMENTS
More Than One Vision?
A Sacred Time
"That's Not Community!" – Hidden Expectations and Structural Conflict
Exploring the Territory
Sharing from the Heart
Writing it Down
CHAPTER 6: POWER, DECISION-MAKING, AND GOVERNANCE
Power – The Ability to Influence
Focused Power,Widespread Power
How Consensus Works
What You Need to Make Consensus Work
"Pseudoconsensus" and Structural Conflict
Agreement Seeking – When You Don't Want to use Full Consensus
Multi-winner Voting
Community Governance – Spreading Power Widely
More than One Form of Decision Making?
What Decision-making Method Should You Use?
PART TWO: SPROUTING NEW COMMUNITY: TECHNIQUES & TOOLS
CHAPTER 7: AGREEMENTS & POLICIES: "GOOD DOCUMENTS MAKE GOOD FRIENDS"
Remembering Things Differently
Giving Yourselves Every Chance of Success
Your Community's Agreements and Policies
Abundant Dawn's Agreements
CHAPTER 8:MAKING IT REAL: ESTABLISHING YOUR LEGAL ENTITY
Why You Need a Legal Entity – Before Buying Your Property
Using a Lawyer
Finding the Right Lawyer
CHAPTER 9: THE GREAT LAND-BUYING ADVENTURE
Legal Barriers to Sustainable Development
Shopping for Counties – Zoning Regulations, Building Codes, Sustainable Homesteads, and Jobs
The Proactive Land Search
Friendly Loans from Friends and Family
Onerous Owner-financing (Better than None at All)
Do-it-Yourself Refinancing with a "Shoe Box Bank"
When One Person Buys the Property
Acquiring Fully Developed "Turn Key" Property – Confidence, Persistence, and Negotiation
If at First You Don't Succeed
CHAPTER 10: FINDING THE RIGHT PROPERTY
Choosing Your Site Criteria
How Much Land Do You Want?
Raw Land – Lower Initial Cost, Years of Effort
Developed Land – Electricity, Toilets, and Showers
Fully Developed Turn-key Property – Move Right In (With a Big Financial Bite)
Buying Property Like the Professionals Do
Conducting the Search – On Your Own or with a Real Estate Agent
Investigating Likely Properties
Taking Property Off the Market While You do Further Research
CHAPTER 11: NEIGHBORS AND ZONING
How Zoning Issues can Impact Community Plans
Zoning Issues and Your Property
Gambling with Former Use Permits
Seeking a Zoning Exception
Negotiating for What You Want
Zoning Exceptions, Neighbors, and Public Hearings
CHAPTER 12: FINANCING YOUR PROPERTY (LOANS YOU CAN LIVE WITH)
About "Renting Money" – What You Should Know
Private Financing
When One Member Buys the Property
Protecting Your Sole Owner with a Triple Net Lease
Owner Financing
Bank Financing
Drawing on the Cohousing Model
What about Grants and Donations?
Refinancing Your Property
CHAPTER 13: DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
Earthaven's Development Process
Listening to your Land
Creating your Site Plan Yourselves
Avoiding "Urban Refugee" Syndrome
Creating Privacy in the Midst of Community
Designing for Conviviality
CHAPTER 14: INTERNAL COMMUNITY FINANCES (CAN WE AFFORD TO LIVE THERE?)
Rural Communities —How Will your Members Make a Living?
The Risks of Community Businesses
Keeping Member Assessments Affordable
Joining Fees
Housing Arrangements
Site Lease Fees and the Debt Load
Labor Requirements
Building Equity
Can People Afford to Join You?
CHAPTER 15: LEGAL ENTITIES FOR OWNING PROPERTY
Checklist for Choosing a Legal Entity
How You'll Hold Title and Arrange Members' Use Rights
Organizational Flexibility
How You'll be Taxed
Overview: Corporations and Non-profit Corporations
Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs)
Homeowners Associations – Tax Advantages (and Disadvantages)
Condominium Associations
Housing Co-ops – Separate Ownership and Use Rights
Non-exempt Non-profit Corporations
CHAPTER 16: IF YOU'RE USING A TAX-EXEMPT NON-PROFIT
Advantages of a 501(c)3 – Donations, Tax Breaks, Limited Liability
Disadvantages of a 501(c)3 – Onerous Requirements, Irrecoverable Assets
Land-owning Entities and 501(c)3 Corporations – The Best of Both Worlds
How One Group Retained Control of its Board
Title-holding Corporations – Collecting Income from "Passive" Sources
Private Land Trusts – Protecting the Land
Community Land Trusts – An Irrevocable Decision
For "Common Treasury" Communities – 501(d) Non-profit Corporations
PART THREE: THRIVING IN COMMUNITY — ENRICHING THE SOIL
CHAPTER 17: COMMUNICATION, PROCESS, AND DEALING WITH CONFLICT: THE HEART OF HEALTHY COMMUNITY
The "Rock Polisher" Effect
Nourishing Sustainable Relationships
The Roots of Conflict: Emotionally-charged Needs
High Woundedness,High Willingness
Seven Kinds of Community Conflict We Wish We'd Left Behind
Twenty-four Common Sources of Community Conflict
The Fine Art of Offering Feedback
Receiving Feedback – Listening for Kernels of Truth
Threshing Meetings
Creating Specific Conflict Resolution Agreements
Helping Each Other Stay Accountable to the Group
A Graduated Series of Consequences
CHAPTER 18: SELECTING PEOPLE TO JOIN YOU
Select for Emotional Maturity —the "Narrow Door"
But is it Community?
Passive Victims, Outraged Victims
Membership Screening and the Law
Dealing Well with Saying "No"
How Can You Tell?
Questions, References, "Long Engagements"
APPENDIX 1: SAMPLE COMMUNITY VISION DOCUMENTS
APPENDIX 2: SAMPLE COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS
APPENDIX 3: SETTING UP AND MAINTAINING A 501(C)3 NON-PROFIT
RESOURCES
INDEX