Intentional Communities

Intentional communities

Community lies at the heart of every system from the global level down to that of the family. Self-reliance, cooperative input and cooperative benefit are the essence of community. Intentional communities, at their best, can effectively demonstrate the value of cooperation.

Intentional communities come in a variety of forms. They can be rural communes, ecovillages, co-housing estates or simply a housing co-operative within a block of flats. Their size can range from as small as an extended family up to that of a small town, like Auroville in India or Arcosanti in the US.

The importance of intentional communities needs to be recognised more widely. Our gross levels of over consumption in the developed world are dragging us all rapidly towards a crisis where our extravagant lifestyles will no longer be maintainable. Many intentional communities offer us a realistic alternative. They show us a way which is based upon working together, self-sufficiency, living more simply and in harmony with our natural environment. If we ignore the example that they set, we do so at our own peril.

Finding out about intentional communities

Intentional communities span the world. You can get a taste of their philosophies, environments and differences by exploring the sites listed below.

The Fellowship for Intentional Community is the leading body in this area. Their site contains a List of Intentional Communities. Diggers and Dreamers is a British intentional communities site containing useful information.

For information about ecovillage activity in Australia, go to the Global Ecovillage Network’s Oceania and Asia site.

Cohousing and the UK Co-housing Network are two good access points for learning about this area.

Another interesting site is the International Communes Desk. It includes information on kibbutzim, as does the Kibbutzim Site.

Housing co-operatives have the potential to constitute intentional communities. ARCH is the peak resourcing agency for housing co-operatives in NSW and the Confederation of Co-operative Housing operates in the UK.

Communities and community-building links is one of the Subjects to be found in Jay’s Leftist & “Progressive” Internet Resources Directory. It links to supporting organisations and to individual communities.

Resources for intentional community building

The main websites, which are listed above, contain a wealth of useful general background information about intentional communities. The following sites offer some tools that communities can use to develop and strengthen themselves.

Global Circle has an extensive range of links and resources for self-sufficiency and sustainable living.

The Sustainable Communities Network provides a number of resources designed to help each intentional community fit into the broader society.

Ecovillage training is available at Findhorn and through the Global Ecovillage Network’s Living and Learning Centres.

A selection of communities

The best way to get a sense of what it is like to live in an intentional community is to visit a few individual community websites.

Crystal Waters is an Australian ecovillage.

Auroville is a township of 1,700 people living in South India – an experiment in human unity..

Twin Oaks and the Eco Village at Ithica are two examples of American communities.

The Community Project in the UK illustrates the co-housing alternative.