Further Thoughts on a Community’s Changes
Posted on December 7, 2010 byThis companion piece to Elderhood, In and Out of Community gives further reflections from community members.
Getting Elder All the Time
Posted on December 7, 2010 byCommunity can be balm for the discomforts of aging, just as elders’ wisdom and caring can soothe the growing pains of youth.
Poor Minutes Lead to Wasted Hours
Posted on December 7, 2010 byAuthor: Laird Schaub Published in Communities Magazine Issue #149 Good records of what happened at meetings are important for a variety of reasons: ● Informing members who missed the meeting… Read More
Remembering Jane Owen
Posted on December 7, 2010 byIn reviving and restoring the site of two historical intentional communities, a town’s benefactor revitalized its sense of present-day community as she continued to dream, create, grow, and give.
And I Listen
Posted on December 7, 2010 by2 Comments
Howling, shouting, cries of despair, and The Pierced One greet a parent on her first visit to her daughter’s adopted community. Luckily, through lots of talking and listening, things improve.
On Becoming Elders
Posted on December 7, 2010 byFor many baby boomers, taking on the mantle of eldership means transforming the sometimes rambunctious, in-your-face, empowerment-obsessed energy they worked so hard to sustain.
Elderhood, In and Out of Community
Posted on December 7, 2010 by2 Comments
A disenchanted community founder leaves her group, and finds that her rural hometown farming community and international travel and service better match her vision of honorable elderhood.
It Takes a Community to Grow an Elder
Posted on December 7, 2010 by5 Comments
After confronting an identity crisis worthy of adolescence, a 65-year-old finds a new home in community and discovers that elderhood is a blessing, not a curse.
Eco-commune movement in Russia
Posted on November 17, 2010 byRussia: Beyond the Headlines, an international newspaper focused on Russian news, politics and culture, recently posted an article on the growth of homesteading communities, referred to as “eco-communes” in rural… Read More
Huffington Post profiles a Christian community with a social agenda
Posted on September 26, 2010 byThis article discusses the impact that a group of young Christians are hoping to produce by building community in a violent neighborhood in Gresham, Oregon. This work is tied to… Read More
New York Times showcases emerging collectives in Brooklyn
Posted on September 21, 2010 byAn article in the Fashion & Style section of the Times this week credits urban agriculture, social media and a flourishing arts community as bolstering the trend toward sharing, bartering… Read More
Call in the Experts?
Posted on September 7, 2010 byAuthor: Beatrice Briggs Published in Communities Magazine Issue #148 Q. Our group is very divided. We need to make major decisions regarding finances, organizational structures, and policies, at a time… Read More
The Community that Dines Together, Aligns Together
Posted on September 7, 2010 byAuthor: Valerie Renwick-Porter Published in Communities Magazine Issue #148 Ah yes, the community meal table. Communal dining can be a glorious bonding experience, as members recreate the feeling of an… Read More
Power and Powerlessness in Community
Posted on September 7, 2010 byA community member transcends a feeling of powerlessness when he inadvertently comes up with a brilliant idea about how to organize cooking groups, and others join him in implementing it.
Balancing Powers
Posted on September 7, 2010 by1 Comment
In a healthy community, leadership and followship are equally important roles, each with vital skill sets that can assure effective teamwork.
Power and Disempowerment on the Ecobus
Posted on September 7, 2010 by7 Comments
Some saw this radical environmental education program as a “cult,” others as an intensely focused experience of challenge and growth. Had participants lost their individuality, or gained a new sense of self?
More Perspectives on Leadership and Followship
Posted on September 7, 2010 by1 Comment
The author identifies additional leadership skills, cautions against blind followship, and reflects on the many types of power in cooperative groups.
Being “Overthrown”—A Celebration
Posted on September 7, 2010 byThe founder of Enright Ridge Urban Ecovillage describes what it’s like to be criticized, marginalized, stripped of leadership responsibilities, and given the opportunity to explore a new role.
LA Ecovillage Video on Yes! Magazine Website
Posted on August 15, 2010 byYes! Magazine has a video of Los Angeles Ecovillage on their website. Los Angeles’ Eco-Village from Streetfilms on Vimeo. “Urban ecovillages work with surrounding neighborhoods and the city at large… Read More
Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage’s Cob House in Yes!
Posted on August 14, 2010 byYes! magazine has an article and slideshow on one of Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage‘s cob houses. The article is on the cover of the upcoming issue of Yes! on Resilency. The… Read More
Egalitarian Community in Ethiopia
Posted on July 30, 2010 byA recent article from newsdesk.org looks at the progressive Awra Amba community in Ethiopia. Sixty-three-year-old Zumra Nuru, a longtime promoter of gender equality and religious freedom, founded the society in… Read More
The Independent looks at ‘Modern Communes’
Posted on July 14, 2010 byA recent article in Britain’s Independent describes the successes of Lammas Eco-village, Brithdir Mawr and Steward Wood communities in the UK. If reassurance were needed that life in a commune… Read More
Profile of Mackenzie Heights Collective in Vancouver
Posted on July 14, 2010 byBritish Columbia’s independent online magazine, The Tyee, posted a lengthy article a couple months ago on the advantages of collective living, profiling the Mackenzie Heights Collective. Currently housing five adults… Read More
Cooking Co-ops in the NY Times
Posted on June 25, 2010 byThe New York Times did a nice feature on cooking co-ops. A cooking co-op, or dinner swap, is simply an agreement by two or more individuals or households to provide… Read More
Harvard Magazine Features Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm
Posted on June 21, 2010 byHarvard Magazine has a nice feature on Nubanusit Farm and Neighborhood, a cohousing community in New Hampshire. They tore up the parking lot and put up a communal paradise. Or… Read More
Open Meetings: Worth the Risk?
Posted on June 7, 2010 byAuthor: Beatrice Briggs Published in Communities Magazine Issue #147 Q: Our group is committed to education and to sharing our lives in community openly with others. We frequently host visitors,… Read More
Education for Sustainability
Posted on June 7, 2010 byAuthor: Chris Roth Published in Communities Magazine Issue #147 I’m listening to the rain fall on the roof of Karma, the passive solar residence at Sandhill Farm where I’m staying… Read More
How to Add Zest to Your Sustainability Education Program
Posted on June 7, 2010 by2 Comments
A permaculture teachers hits upon a gold mine of effective methods for enlivening her teaching—by drawing from the principles of permaculture itself.
Seeing the Good in the World
Posted on June 7, 2010 byAfter several years teaching about community in the abstract, an anthropologist and environmental studies teacher finds that direct student engagement with intentional communities provides the spark needed for personal inspiration, connection, and the potential for social transformation.
To Learn Sustainability Is To Learn Community
Posted on June 7, 2010 by1 Comment
Strained by difficult economic and ecological conditions, farmers Claudio and Fernando discover new avenues toward prosperity and land restoration through alliances with a peace community dedicated to regional renewal.
