All Blog Posts


Intentional Community

Posted on January 22, 2013 by

What is an Intentional Community? Intentional Community is the radical notion that how we live ought to be based on our values. Strange that this is “radical” but the truth… Read More


Cycling toward Sustainable Community

Posted on December 7, 2012 by
1 Comment

After 6,500 miles of pedaling and 100 community visits, a couple documents the promise of intentional community and cooperative living.


New Beginnings at Oakleigh Meadow Cohousing

Posted on December 7, 2012 by

A forming cohousing group experiences its share of bumps, but comes together to move forward.


Greening Your ’Hood

Posted on December 7, 2012 by

Kibbutzes, ecovillages, cohousing communities, and pocket neighborhoods offer us opportunities to make a new start.


Journeying on the Ark

Posted on December 7, 2012 by

Questioning her community’s philosophy and practices, a live-in caregiver ends her involvement there in order to focus on greater self-expression and self-care.


Community for a Minute

Posted on December 7, 2012 by
1 Comment

Children in outdoor programs face—and often overcome—three major obstacles to learning and growth.


Gratitude, Loss, Rebirth, and Community

Posted on December 7, 2012 by

Endings and beginnings grow from one another and make personal and group renewal possible.


The Bookends of Community

Posted on December 7, 2012 by

Marking endings and beginnings with ritual can add intentionality, understanding, and connection to our lives.


Crossing over the Threshold

Posted on December 7, 2012 by
1 Comment

An older generation learns to let go as a younger generation steps forward.


The Hermitage Now and To Come

Posted on December 7, 2012 by

Two community founders recognize that it’s time to hand over the reins and move on.


My Advice to Others Planning to Start an Ecovillage

Posted on September 7, 2012 by
4 Comments

An ecovillage founder offers 10 guidelines for success, including “Start with people.”


Vision and Reality in Ecotopia

Posted on September 7, 2012 by

Innovative ecovillagers turn challenges into opportunities.


Living the Questions

Posted on September 7, 2012 by

Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage grapples with obstacles to create a visionary housing project in rural Maine.


Dandelion Village

Posted on September 7, 2012 by

Aspiring communitarians rally support and navigate the legal hoops to establish an ecovillage in Bloomington, Indiana.


Coming of Age

Posted on September 7, 2012 by
1 Comment

In Ithaca, New York, a pioneering project continues to break new ground in ecological design, education, and community.


Creating eCohousing

Posted on September 7, 2012 by
1 Comment

The Yarrow Ecovillage uses the cohousing model to create ecological buildings that meet their occupants’ needs.


Aspiring to the Working Class

Posted on September 7, 2012 by
2 Comments

By learning necessary physical skills, these ecovillagers transcend the limitations of their middle-class educations.


Ecovillage Infrastructure

Posted on September 7, 2012 by
1 Comment

Water supply, human waste treatment, zoning regulations, legal structure, homeownership models, and other core technical issues are essential in ecovillage planning.


An Ecovillage Future

Posted on September 7, 2012 by
1 Comment

For the health of our species and the planet, we need ecovillages.


Busting the Myth that Consensus-with-Unanimity Is Good for Communities

Posted on June 7, 2012 by
5 Comments

How can a diverse group best make decisions? After many years advocating it, the author concludes that consensus is not the answer.


Busting the Myth, or Changing the Terms?

Posted on June 7, 2012 by

Want a “problem” person to behave differently? Give a different response.


“Busting the Myth”

Posted on June 7, 2012 by

When assessing why a community is struggling to make decisions, we need to ask first how they handle conflict resolution, group-process training, and entrenched patterns.


The Art and Ethics of Visitor Programs

Posted on June 7, 2012 by
2 Comments

To create a thriving, diverse community, we need to learn how to host and integrate new people in ways that support them as multi-dimensional human beings.


Real Diversity Is Internal

Posted on June 7, 2012 by
3 Comments

What happens if, despite all outer appearances, one finds one’s worldview radically different from the mainstream?


The Limits of Diversity

Posted on June 7, 2012 by
1 Comment

If we are truly committed to diversity, we need to stop labeling people who hold religious ideas unlike our own as “cultists,” and start practicing the tolerance we preach.


Diversity Issues in Los Angeles Eco-Village

Posted on June 7, 2012 by
3 Comments

A longtime ecovillage activist moves beyond denial to recognize the institutional racism affecting not only her society and her community, but her own way of thinking.


The Paralysis of Racism in Social Change Groups

Posted on June 7, 2012 by

When a member of a minority population claims racism, how does a group committed to racial nondiscrimination respond?


The Lighter Side of Community

Posted on June 7, 2012 by
4 Comments

This Hollywood movie offers both surprising insight and fond parody while taking viewers far from the beaten path, into the world of intentional community.


The Church of Fermentation

Posted on March 7, 2012 by

In a world in which food choices
and dietary preferences can
become quasi-religions,
lactic-acid fermentation wins
a new convert.


Spirit in the Woods

Posted on March 7, 2012 by

At New View Cohousing, practicing consensus, navigating illness, and simply
sharing lives are continuing spiritual exercises.