Classes in this course are suitable for:Community Newcomers | Community Starters

Course description and syllabus

Social health, equity, and belonging should be central themes rather than a side note in your community creation. The How to Start an Intentional Community course will cover these important themes to pave realistic pathway for getting your community off the ground. Discover the key traits of community founders, learn how to craft a solid vision statement, and get an understanding of the social dynamics and skills development for building a healthy culture. You’ll learn how to choose and design decision-making, conflict resolution, and membership processes, and gather some key tips on recruitment. We’ll also talk about economic structures (including income sharing) and financial sustainability, property search, legal considerations and business planning basics.

You need to put in a lot of work to start an intentional community. With her years of community building experience, instructor Yana Ludwig will guide you through key questions on why (and why not) to start one, and how to create one that lasts. She’ll share 15 spectrums that help define what kind of community you’re creating, with a wide range of examples of each type. You’ll also gain insight into why some intentional communities fail so you can avoid those pitfalls when creating your own.

Live classes are hosted on Zoom. All classes are recorded and available on our learning platform within 24 hours after each class ends and through 30 days after the last class.

Classes and topics in the How to Start an Intentional Community syllabus include:

Individual classes starting at US $20

August 21: Understanding your “Why” for Starting a Community

• why create a community…and why not to
• traits of founders
• considerations for the core group
• real talk about founders syndrome

August 28: Visioning for Effective & Inclusive Community

• four keys to good visioning
• spectrums for intentional communities
• intro to cooperative culture

September 4: The Intersection of Culture, Power & Governance in Community

• overview of cooperative culture
• culture, vision, membership and decision-making
• privilege and justice in community
• power flows in decision-making
• why consensus and how to choose

September 11: Creating a Membership & Recruitment Process for Your Community

• membership process, including how it ends
• social skills to screen for and how
• the chicken & egg issue with founders
• recruitment basics

September 18: Barriers & Benefits of Legal and Economic Structures

• why legal and economic questions are deeply dissatisfying
• economic structures
• labor systems
• community finances & business planning

September 25: Landing your Dream: Property Searches & Community Design

• legal structure basics
• land and the importance of search criteria
• basics of community design

All How to Start an Intentional Community classes are held on Wednesdays from 8:30-10am Pacific / 9:30-11am Mountain / 10:30am-12pm Central / 11:30am-1pm Eastern. You can view your local time here.

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October 2:Q&A Session

• Ask any additional questions & Get personalized help
• Networking
• Bonus material on minimal needs before you move in together & 7 things intentional communities fight about

The Q&A session is optional and will take place from 8:30-9:30am Pacific / 9:30-10:30am Mountain / 10:30-11:30am Central / 11:30am-12:30pm Eastern. You must register for the full course to attend the Q&A session.

Your instructor

Testimonials

You might also be interested in

• Finding Co-Founders and Creating Cooperative Culture (Inside Community Podcast episode with Yana Ludwig)
• Vision and Values (Inside Community Podcast episode with Dave Henson)
• Finding Your Land (Inside Community Podcast episode with Jonah Mesritz)
• Legal Basics for Forming Communities course
• Designing a Community Membership Process course
• Understanding Diversity in Community course
• Consensus for Communities course
• Sociocracy for Communities course