Community News Round Up
Posted on May 2, 2008 byA lot of news about communities comes my way and its hard to pick and choose what to highlight on Community Buzz. Today, nothing stood out so I figured I’d do a round up of some news thats been languishing on my list but didn’t seem quite enough for its own story. Ithaca has a… Read More
Colleges Go Green With On-Campus Ecovillages
Posted on April 29, 2008 byColleges and Universities around the country are wanting to improve their ecological impact while also providing students opportunities to learn about sustainable living. Some are taking the ecovillage model and integrating it into their campus planning and student residences. The University of Maine is exploring ecovillages with the notion of turning some of its less… Read More
Ecovillages Help Study Abroad Programs Focus on Sustainability
Posted on April 28, 2008 byThe Yale Daily News has an article on how study-abroad programs are beginning to focus on sustainability and highlights Living Routes which takes students to ecovillages around the world. The sudden interest at Yale in trying to make study-abroad activities sustainable – both environmentally and culturally – mirrors a similar move within the study-abroad field… Read More
Raid on Texas Fundamentalist Mormon Community
Posted on April 26, 2008 by1 Comment
By now, most have heard about the raid by Texas Rangers on the Fundamentalist Mormon community in west Texas. During the raid, 437 children were removed from the community compound based on concerns of child abuse and neglect, primarily based on the concern that underage girls were being forced to marry older men against their… Read More
Kibbutzim to be Rebranded as Ecovillages
Posted on April 25, 2008 byIsrael’s Kibbutzim have a media campaign in the works that highlights the ecological benefits of their communal groups according to the Guardian. The campaign, focusing on 140 sites in the north and south of the country, aims to tout the benefits of kibbutz living for a hip, new eco-aware generation. Re-branded for the 21st century,… Read More
Ron Paul Supporters to Form Libertarian Community
Posted on April 24, 2008 bySome of the followers of presidential candidate Ron Paul are planning to start a libertarian community in West Texas according to the Lone Star Times. This month has seen the first meeting of the shareholders in a fledgling community development planned in rural Texas, to be comprised exclusively of Paul’s supporters. It is to be… Read More
NPR Story on Spiritual Organic 60s Commune
Posted on April 23, 2008 byNPR recently did a three part series on a spiritual community from the 60s called The Source. The Source originated as one of the first natural foods restaurant and grew into a spiritual commune with an ex-marine turned charismatic leader called Father Yod. Founded by ex-Marine Jim Baker nearly four decades ago, the restaurant quickly… Read More
Climate Change Solutions: Investing in Green Building and Ecovillages
Posted on April 22, 2008 byA recent article in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix highlights a study claiming the best climate change solution is to invest in green building. The article sites the Rivergreen Ecovillage in Saskatoon as an example of such green building design put into practice. The most cost-effective climate change solution The article sites a study by Architecture2030… Read More
Arcosanti and Ecovillages in the Washington Post
Posted on April 21, 2008 by1 Comment
In honor of Earth Day, the Washington Post ran an article on Arcosanti with a sidebar on ecovillages as a green vacation destination. Arcosanti was started in the 1970s by Italian architect Paolo Soleri, a spitfire who seeks an alternative to a car-dominant, hyper-consumerist society. With his so-called urban laboratory, Soleri, 88, hopes to eliminate… Read More
Communes and Co-ops for Seniors
Posted on April 17, 2008 by1 Comment
Baby boomers are looking at moving into shared living and communal living according to the article Boomers go back to the commune in retirement on BankRate.com. Normally when a headline has the words ‘commune’ and ‘boomers’ in it they usually mean cohousing but this article is really about income-sharing communal groups. FIC’s directory lists about… Read More
Cohousing Helps Prevent Global Warming by Reducing Carbon Footprint
Posted on April 16, 2008 by1 Comment
Cohousing can help residents reduce their carbon footprint and help prevent global warming according to a paper from the University College London. Those living in cohousing consume nearly 60 per cent less energy in the home, and operate car-sharing and recycling schemes that greatly reduce the pollution from travel and landfill. Having facilities such as… Read More
Community, Economy, and Utopia at Forbes.com
Posted on April 12, 2008 by1 Comment
Forbes.com has a special feature section on Utopia which has a great article on intentional communities. The article gives an overview on the US movement with a focus on communities in New York and specifically the Ithaca area. The article includes Photo slideshow of communities around the world including Ecovillage at Ithaca, The Farm, Zegg,… Read More
Cubes and Crayons Provides Coworking for Parents
Posted on April 7, 2008 by1 Comment
The San Francisco Chronicle profiled a new Coworking facility in Menlo Park that offers both short term office space and professional childcare. Coworking, a cafe-like community/collaboration space for developers, writers and independents, has been a growing phenomenon but this may be the first place to offer such a kid friendly environment. “For new moms getting… Read More
Historic Communities in the News
Posted on April 2, 2008 by1 Comment
In the late 1700s and early 1800s the Harmony Society built three communities in Pennsylvania and Indiana attracting thousands of members and lasted for decades. The Harmonists are still making news in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review which recently ran a story on the historic commune. And Mary Ann Landis, director of Old Economy Village, says she… Read More
First Official UK Ecovillage Seeks Permits
Posted on April 1, 2008 byLammas Ecovillage in Wales is seeking approval for their ecovillage under new UK government rules to allow a new form of rural mixed use development. Theirs would be the first ecovillage approved under these new rules which allow a mix a residential, agricultural, and commercial enterprises on much more affordable rural land. Lammas has been… Read More
Cohousing Creates Permaculture Urban Forest
Posted on March 27, 2008 byManzanita Village Cohousing Community received a grant from the Arizona State Land Department to help expand its permaculture urban forest on its site in Prescott Arizona. The community will be holding a workshop in April to install water catchment systems for their common house which will irrigate the urban forest. The community’s 12.5 acre site… Read More
Ecovillage Bed and Breakfast
Posted on March 26, 2008 byThe Wild Goose Bed and Breakfast got some publicity for ecovillages on the Ithaca, NY local news. The bed and breakfast is located in the Ecovillage at Ithaca community just outside of town and draws customers interested in a green lifestyle. “I don’t have to turn on the heat once the sun’s shining in ’till… Read More
Ecology, Economy, and Cohousing in the Boston Globe
Posted on March 25, 2008 by1 Comment
The Boston Globe has a great article on how ecology and economy are driving Cohousing to grow as a movement. Interest in these types of neighborhoods is growing as more people look to build stronger communities, cope with increasing economic pressures, and live with others who share their concerns about the environment. “Many cohousing communities… Read More
Cross between a Commune and a Golf Community?
Posted on March 24, 2008 byABC News in DC did a short video spot on Catoctin Creek Village out in Loudon County, VA and compared the rural cohousing community to both a 60s commune and a golf community. Not the most flattering or accurate description of community but I guess there is no such thing as bad publicity. The commune… Read More
Cohousing: Building Seattle Green
Posted on March 24, 2008 byThe Seattle Post-Intelligencer has an interview with Coho/US Executive Directory Craig Ragland of Songaia Cohousing. Ragland gives the basics of cohousing touching on its appeal to the mainstream and its ecological possibilities: Part of what makes cohousing attractive is that it specifically attempts to create a model that is close enough to the mainstream. It… Read More
Cohousing – Community Means Healthier Living
Posted on March 11, 2008 byYour Health Connection has created a series of three videos on cohousing and how it can help enhance people’s health. The site generaly focuses on health care and and medical issues but did a special report on cohousing as a healthier lifestyle. Videos include interviews with folks from Frog Song Cohousing in Cotati, CA and… Read More
What’s Masculine, What’s Feminine, and What Am I?
Posted on March 7, 2008 byMollie Curry hoists a chainsaw and finds herself entangled in a perplexing webs of sticky questions. Here she attempts to untangle the threads, both within herself and within her community.
Building a Business in Community
Posted on March 7, 2008 byThere wasn’t much chance that her lifelong dream of owning a bookstore would come true in her rural Missouri community. So Alline Anderson set off down the exciting and terrifying path of launching the Milkweed Mercantile–creating jobs, providing a market for community products, and offering a warm place for visitors to put up their feet.
The Power Balance
Posted on March 7, 2008 byWhat can you do if some people in your group seem to have more power than others? Our consensus trainers and group process experts respond.
Sunset Magazine Profiles Portland Co-housing Couple
Posted on March 3, 2008 byIn an article titled “Green in Portland,” Sunset profiles three couples, one of them living in a co-housing development. Portland is famous for its natural beauty, it’s commitment to environmental values and its sheer liveabilty. “Clearly,this town is doing something right. And it all boils down to one simple idea: In Portland, people work together… Read More
LA Ecovillage Threatened
Posted on February 23, 2008 byLast week The New Statesman, a British current affairs magazine, carried a story about the LA Ecovillage in its online edition. The blogger, Johnathon Dawson, usually writes about life at Findhorn, an ecovillage in Scotland. I want to devote my blog this week to an extraordinary development unfolding in a poor, multi-ethnic, working-class neighbourhood some… Read More
Community at the Office: Coworking in the New York Times
Posted on February 20, 2008 byCoworking has hit the mainstream with an article in the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. From the Chronicle: In co-working, a group of freelancers or other solo entrepreneurs share one big office space with perks that they might not get at home, such as conference rooms, espresso machines and opportunities for socializing.… Read More
Energy Conservation Techniques Make Green Home Building Affordable at Abundance Ecovillage
Posted on February 19, 2008 byAbundance Ecovillage in Fairfield, IA made the local news with a wonderful piece on their growing ecologically focused community. The piece focused primarily on the ecological aspects: solar and wind power, energy conservation, rain water catchment, waste water treatment, food production, etc. Co-founder Lonnie Gamble started the project after several people approached him about how… Read More
Cohousing Not Just for Boomers
Posted on February 18, 2008 byThe big media splash in cohousing these days is about Senior or Elder Cohousing, and some might say cohousing’s core constituency is among the boomer generation. But recent posts on Trendcentral and Treehugger are noting that cohousing also has appeal for Gen X and Gen Y. A lifestyle trend that first started back in 1960s… Read More
