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Intentional Communities: Values, Governance, Membership, Ecovillages And Directory
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Published: October 19, 2007
Intentional communities, by definition, are “ecovillages, cohousing, residential land trust, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives, alternative communities and other projects where people strive together with a common vision,” according to ic.org. They are geared toward promoting a higher emphasis on social interaction. Intentional communities often share common values in terms of "social, political or a spiritual vision."
Largely, intentional communities find an alternative to the typically non self-sacrificing society. Their vision of co-living means shared responsibilities and resources that function with self governance.
Author and intentional community member Diane Leafe Christian, describes intentional communities as having a sense of connection and support in the company of good friends. Leafe Christian penned two books filled with indispensable information about intentional communities. "Finding Community" and "Creating a Life Together" are insightful guides on how to join a community and the organizational skills required in starting intentional communities. As the member of an ecovillage, Leafe Christian espouses the eco-friendly advantages of living in such.
Ecovillages are ecologically sustainable intentional communities that also share social and spiritual values. In 1991, Robert Gilman defined ecovillages as, "human-scale, full-featured settlement in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world in a way that is supportive of healthy development, and can be successfully continued into the indefinite future with multiple centres of initiative." Usually, ecovillages have a membership of 50-150 people. They aspire to combat wasteful consumerist lifestyles and the destruction of natural habitat by maintaining small communities. The communities provide a model of minimal ecological impact for the rest of society.These intentional communities typically dwell in urban and rural settings. One such community is the Earthaven ecovillage.
Earthaven was founded in 1994 in rural North Carolina on 320 acres of land. They are dedicated to caring for people and the Earth by learning and demonstrating a holistic, sustainable culture. As of 2004, the membership of Earthaven stood at 60 with the intention of reaching a membership of 150. Of those 60 members, 50 reside on the land. Their permaculture site includes roads, bridges, campgrounds, off-grid power systems, gardens and many homes - though much of the site is still under construction. Earthaven's governance is based on a consensus decision-making process with Council and committee structure. As with most intentional communities, members own their land and private loans of members helped to finance it. Earthaven members share in the costs of land by leasing homes from the intentional community. Their shared values allow for sustaining elegant simplicity. They are vegetarians and omnivores who raise livestock. Another ecological friendly venture is Earthaven's businesses, which include a general store, a trading post and plant nursery. Other ventures include a magazine called Communities, as well as website design.
Membership to Earthaven requires that "cooperative, emotionally mature people apply for membership." There are three categories of Earthaven's membership: full, supporting and provisional. The three levels are dependent on the applicant. A full membership allows for living on the land while undertaking a physical, financial and cultural responsibility to Earthaven. Active members are permitted to have full decision-making rights in governance issues. The support membership includes a partial membership that permits a member to pay dues and receive literature from Earthaven. They are given a temporary visit as a non-member resident of Earthaven. A provisional membership includes a six-month period of support membership where residents of the intentional community assess the members before allowing them full membership.
Ic.org is the source for community information. This online directory of intentional communities features listings of various communities. Some of the resources of this directory include an event calendar of various intentional communities, community classifieds and useful articles. Ic.org's goal is to promote intentional communities; log onto the site to find out more information and the listing of the intentional communities directory.
Sources:
"About Earthaven Membership." Earthaven. 2007. 17 Oct. 2007. http://www.earthaven.org/earthaven_membership.php.
Christian, Diane Leafe. "Home." Creating-A Life-Together. 2007. 17 Oct. 2007. http://creating-a-life-together.org/.
"Ecovillage." Wikipedia. 25 Sept. 2007. 17 Oct. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecovillage.
"Intentional Communities." Welcome. Intentional Communities. 2007. 17 Oct. 2007. http://www.ic.org.
"Intentional Community." Wikipedia. 24 Sept. 2007. 17 Oct. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/Intentional_community.
"What is Earthaven." Earthaven. 2007. 17 Oct. 2007. http://www.earthaven.org/what_is_earthaven.php.
Author and intentional community member Diane Leafe Christian, describes intentional communities as having a sense of connection and support in the company of good friends. Leafe Christian penned two books filled with indispensable information about intentional communities. "Finding Community" and "Creating a Life Together" are insightful guides on how to join a community and the organizational skills required in starting intentional communities. As the member of an ecovillage, Leafe Christian espouses the eco-friendly advantages of living in such.
Ecovillages are ecologically sustainable intentional communities that also share social and spiritual values. In 1991, Robert Gilman defined ecovillages as, "human-scale, full-featured settlement in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world in a way that is supportive of healthy development, and can be successfully continued into the indefinite future with multiple centres of initiative." Usually, ecovillages have a membership of 50-150 people. They aspire to combat wasteful consumerist lifestyles and the destruction of natural habitat by maintaining small communities. The communities provide a model of minimal ecological impact for the rest of society.These intentional communities typically dwell in urban and rural settings. One such community is the Earthaven ecovillage.
Earthaven was founded in 1994 in rural North Carolina on 320 acres of land. They are dedicated to caring for people and the Earth by learning and demonstrating a holistic, sustainable culture. As of 2004, the membership of Earthaven stood at 60 with the intention of reaching a membership of 150. Of those 60 members, 50 reside on the land. Their permaculture site includes roads, bridges, campgrounds, off-grid power systems, gardens and many homes - though much of the site is still under construction. Earthaven's governance is based on a consensus decision-making process with Council and committee structure. As with most intentional communities, members own their land and private loans of members helped to finance it. Earthaven members share in the costs of land by leasing homes from the intentional community. Their shared values allow for sustaining elegant simplicity. They are vegetarians and omnivores who raise livestock. Another ecological friendly venture is Earthaven's businesses, which include a general store, a trading post and plant nursery. Other ventures include a magazine called Communities, as well as website design.
Membership to Earthaven requires that "cooperative, emotionally mature people apply for membership." There are three categories of Earthaven's membership: full, supporting and provisional. The three levels are dependent on the applicant. A full membership allows for living on the land while undertaking a physical, financial and cultural responsibility to Earthaven. Active members are permitted to have full decision-making rights in governance issues. The support membership includes a partial membership that permits a member to pay dues and receive literature from Earthaven. They are given a temporary visit as a non-member resident of Earthaven. A provisional membership includes a six-month period of support membership where residents of the intentional community assess the members before allowing them full membership.
Ic.org is the source for community information. This online directory of intentional communities features listings of various communities. Some of the resources of this directory include an event calendar of various intentional communities, community classifieds and useful articles. Ic.org's goal is to promote intentional communities; log onto the site to find out more information and the listing of the intentional communities directory.
Sources:
"About Earthaven Membership." Earthaven. 2007. 17 Oct. 2007. http://www.earthaven.org/earthaven_membership.php.
Christian, Diane Leafe. "Home." Creating-A Life-Together. 2007. 17 Oct. 2007. http://creating-a-life-together.org/.
"Ecovillage." Wikipedia. 25 Sept. 2007. 17 Oct. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecovillage.
"Intentional Communities." Welcome. Intentional Communities. 2007. 17 Oct. 2007. http://www.ic.org.
"Intentional Community." Wikipedia. 24 Sept. 2007. 17 Oct. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/Intentional_community.
"What is Earthaven." Earthaven. 2007. 17 Oct. 2007. http://www.earthaven.org/what_is_earthaven.php.
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