![]() |
|||
Home | Calendar | Green Jobs | Post an Event or Job | Links | Search | About | Contact | Donate |
The
Community Page
Ecovillages, Intentional
Community, Cohousing, Cooperatives, Healthy & Livable
Communities,
Group Process & Creating Community Anywhere! A People &
Planet Gateway & Guide.
This is an introduction, overview and directory of links to a wide variety of ideas and projects that help create stronger, healthier community. We start by looking at a number of alternative and experimental forms of community, including ecovillages, cohousing, intentional community, cooperatives, related topics and links. We then look at a variety of creative ways that you can find or create stronger community where you live today (without moving or joining an alternative community). We include resources on how to go about this, and the interpersonal issues and group process that can be involved. We also look at the "Healthy Community" approach, and how it can lead to a better lifestyle and a more sustainable world. This page includes definitions & examples; related events; organizations; publications; listings; links; how to find or create a community, more. Contents |
![]() (A) Introduction What is "Intentional Community"? "Intentional community" is a general term that represents a wide variety of living alternatives. They range from the highly unusual, to quite conservative arrangements of potential mainstream interest. An intentional community is a group of people who have chosen to live or work together in pursuit of a common goal or vision. Thousands exist today, rural or urban, communal or individualistic, spiritual or secular, big or small. They can be based around any number of themes, such as economic cooperation, equality, environmental sustainability, education, health, participative government, personal growth, social activism, spirituality, voluntary simplicity. "I.C." includes ecovillages, cohousing, land trusts, communes, student co-ops, urban housing cooperatives & other related projects and dreams. Intentional
Community Myths | Intentional
Community FAQ Are intentional communities cults? dispelling the myths Ecovillages Ecovillages are sustainable communities and neighbourhoods, urban and rural, committed to living in an ecologically, economically, culturally and spiritually sound way. The physical and living arrangements vary widely, from loosely strung networks to much more cooperative or communal agreements. Many offer fascinating opportunities for visitors, volunteers and interns. Examples include the Ecovillage at Ithaca in upstate New York and the Whole Village just northwest of Toronto, Canada. Subscribe to the Ecovillages in Canada updates list. Lists of Ecovillages in Canada and beyond:
Cohousing In a cohousing neighbourhood, each family or individual owns their own private home, but some facilities and resources are shared. This varies, but could include a gathering or dining area, a playground or playroom, daycare, vegetable garden, office equipment, workshop, etc. Terra Firma (2) in Ottawa, Ontario and the Ecovillage at Ithaca in upstate New York are two examples. Cohousing Canada: www.cohousing.ca
| more
| Cohousing
Ontario Co-operative Housing Co-operative housing are cooperatively owned and managed housing developments. Residents share the responsibilities and control of their homes. They are often government-sponsored. Some have a high sense of community and sharing, others much less so. Among other things, this depends on the physical design of the development, and whether there are well-designed common spaces, indoor and outdoor. Also known as "housing cooperatives", "co-op housing", or "housing co-ops". What
is co-op housing? | Co-op
housing bookstore Co-op Houses A "co-op house" is often a shared, rented house, but in some cases, it is co-operatively owned by the occupants. In either case, the intent is to find like-minded persons with whom to live. If someone moves out, the existing residents seek and select a new housemate (rather than the landlord doing this, as often happens in student housing and rooming houses). This generally leads to a much more stable and pleasant situation. Most co-op houses have at least some degree of community, perhaps sharing meals, cooperatively maintaining the house, etc. Some co-op houses in the US and Canada can be found amongst the other intentional communities listed in Communities Directory or Reachbook. Many others can be found through rental listings in local and alternative media such as Toronto's Now Magazine; or by checking the bulletin boards and newsletters of local community centres, special interest groups (environmental, vegetarian, activist, etc.), health food stores, food co-ops, vegetarian restaurants, etc. Not to be confused with "Cooperative Housing" developments (see above). Communes In this context, communes are small, often rural communities which feature a higher degree of sharing than found in most western towns or cities. Its members are likely to share property and/or their work and income. Some people use the word "intentional community" interchangably with "commune", but this is not correct. Intentional community is a broader concept (an "umbrella" term) that includes communes as well as a variety of other situations and arrangements, such as cohousing. What is a
Commune? How to Visit an Intentional Community Cooperatives A cooperative is a business that is owned and controlled by its members. There are many kinds of co-ops, in addition to housing: food co-ops, credit unions, worker's co-ops, agricultural co-ops, etc. Even though you can't live in a food co-op, it can help provide a strong sense of community and social networking. Legally, a "cooperative" is a legal arrangement that serves as an alternative to for-profit incorporation. Co-operative housing is one example (see above). More loosely, the term cooperative can also refer to a smaller or temporary project, with no legal structure, but that is operated in a cooperative spirit. However, this could become risky to the participants if any substantial money became involved. What is a
co-op? What are the advantages? Collectives Collective has a variety of definitions, ranging from informal team work, to legal cooperative agreements (see above). It can refer to a project, enterprise or living situation. The general idea is working together towards some goal or vision, with at least some degree of sharing (of skills, resources, decision making and/or profits). (B) Create Community Anywhere Healthy Community Extended, Recurring or Temporary For most people, moving into an "intentional community" is not an immediate option many are not particularly interested in the concept. But we all need community, if we are to thrive as individuals and as a society. In today's urbanized environment, dominated by cars, mass media, and rat-race lifestyles, community can be hard to find. Here are a number of places to start.
Healthy, Livable Communities For some, living in an intentional community has benefits not available elsewhere. But for the foreseeable future, most people will continue to live in more conventional arrangements. So the question for the rest of us is: How can we make our cities, towns and neighbourhoods happier and healthier places to live? How To Build Community (poster,
t-shirt, notecard, post card) (read
or buy online) (C) Community & Group Process For all kinds of groups and organizations, your approach to communication and decision-making determines whether you will succeed or fail. It also determines whether community and friendship will form. There are fun, easy and powerful techniques that can be used in everything from small groups to large projects and organizations. Some of these techniques need to be experienced, while others can be learned independently. Here are some links to get you started: Meeting & Group Process www.ic.org/nica/Process/meeting.html
Leadership, Teamwork, Human Resource &
Volunteer Management Consensus definitions,
links
& resources Open Space Techniques (one way to create inspired meetings, events and organizations) www.openspaceworld.org/english/openspace.html (2) Conversation Cafes, a
form of Talking Circle - how to do one Talking Circles & Talking Stick Circles en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_circle Study Circles (not the same as talking circles) www.studycircles.org & learning circles Discussion Techniques olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/discussion/ How to Build Community (poster, t-shirt, notecard, post card) (read or buy online) Working Together for Social & Environmental Change www.planetfriendly.net/active.html Throw Away Your TV www.adbusters.org/metas/psycho/tvturnoff/ www.tvturnoff.org www.whitedot.org www.turnoffyourtv.com/tv.links.html http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Activism/Anti-Media/ www.dmoz.org/Society/Activism/Anti-Media/ (D) A few Intentional Communities Here are just a very few examples of residential, intentional community. Each one is very different from the others resist the temptation to stereotype. Please note that as this page is not regularly maintained, these listings may be out of date, see the other sections for links to many more... Please note that the communities listed below are people's homes not tourist attractions. If you contact them, please be respectful and considerate. They may or may not be interested in visitors or new residents at this time. For an article on how to visit a community, see: www.ic.org/pnp/cdir/1995/06kinkade.html Canada The Whole
Village, Caledon, north of Toronto
(cohousing, ecovillage) Toronto Catholic Workers, Parkdale,
Toronto. (intentional community, co-op houses) Common Ground Cohousing Group, Ottawa. Common Ground intends to build a 30,000 sq. ft. cohousing community of 20-30 member-owned units with shared common house and green space close to Ottawa's downtown. We are a diverse mix of people who want to live in a safe, comfortable, supportive, accessible and consensus-based community. If possible, we will include a few affordable rental units and environmentally friendly components where our budget permits. www.coground.ca Canadian Communities
Listings & Directories USA & Beyond: Ecovillage at Ithaca, Ithaca,
New York. (ecovillage, cohousing) Twin Oaks, Louisa,
Virginia. (intentional community, commune, ecovillage) Dancing Rabbit, northeast
Missouri. (ecovillage, intentional community) www.dancingrabbit.org Gaviotas, Colombia, South
America (ecovillage) Listings of ecovillages & other communities around the world: Communities, Ecovillages & Cohousing
Worldwide Listings & Directories (E) Events & Gatherings Upcoming Upcoming intentional community
and ecovillage event calendars: Annual / bi-annual / semi-annual
Ongoing
(F) Organizations & websites Ecovillage, Intentional Community, Cohousing: 1. Ecovillage Network of Canada. A network of forming and existing ecovillages and interested persons in Canada. Annual gathering (planned August 2002, in Ontario) http://enc.ecovillage.org tycoed@attcanada.ca . E-mail discussion group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ecovillage/ Member of the Global Ecovillage Network www.ecovillage.org http://gen.ecovillage.org 2. Fellowship for Intentional Community www.ic.org Links to hundreds of communities around North America: http://directory.ic.org . Communities forming, seeking new members, people seeking community, etc: http://reach.ic.org . Printed "Communities Directory" with descriptions of over six hundred communities, plus related articles and resource directory: http://directory.ic.org (can be purchased or viewed at some libraries). The Fellowship offers a variety of publications, referrals, support services, sharing opportunities for a wide range of intentional communities, cohousing groups, ecovillages, community networks, support org's. They host "Communities Conference" every September at Twin Oaks in Virginia ( www.twinoaks.org ) and the "Art of Community" semi-annually at various locations around the USA. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/growingplace 3. Canadian Cohousing Network www.cohousing.ca Vancouver: 604-878-3311 , Toronto: 416-738-0850. Collaborative Housing Society of Ontario www.cohousing.ca/cohsng6/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cohousingontario/ (Dorothy Mazeau 905-857-8738 dmazeau@look.ca) Newsletter ($15/yr) incl. list of cohousing groups in Ont. 4. The CoHousing Network www.cohousing.org (USA). Publishes the CoHousing Journal. Also, operates the e-mail discussion group Cohousing-L ( www.cohousing.org/resources/cohousing_l.html ). 5. Cooperative Housing Federation of Toronto www.coophousing.com 416-465-1309 Cooperative Housing Federation of Canada www.chfc.ca Other related sites: 6. Healthy, Sustainable, Walkable Communities This
sites are about making your town or city more healthy and
sustainable (not exactly about "intentional
community"). 7. National Cooperative Business Association www.ncba.org . Food co-ops in Canada: www.onfc.ca (Ontario Natural Food Co-op). What is a co-op? www.umich.edu/~nasco/coop.html Links: http://dmoz.org/Business/Cooperatives/ 8. World-Wide Orientation to Organic Farms & Gardens (WWOOF) An amazing diversity of organic farms, gardens and businesses have opportunities from a few days to a few months where you can work in exchange for accomodation, organic home-cooked meals, learning and fun. Locations across Canada and around the world. Working/learning opportunities vary from organic farming & gardening, to cooking, carpentry, business admin, creative work, childcare, solar power, sustainable living skills. Everything is negotiated between you and the host. From solar-powered to strawbale homes, from herbs to orchards to rare-breed cattle, from swimming holes to gourmet cooking the variety is endless. Year-round; all ages. Membership is $30/year; this gets you a fascinating booklet describing over 400 organic farms, gardens & businesses across Canada. Also known as Willing Workers On Organic Farms. Canada: www.wwoof.ca wwoofcan@shaw.ca John Vanden Heuvel, WWOOF Canada, 4429 Carlson Road, Nelson, BC, Canada, VIL 6X3. Tel. 250-354-4417 (please call Mon-Fri 9am-5pm Pacific Time). USA: www.wwoof.org/joinDet.asp , www.wwoof.org/wpusa.html , www.wwoofusa.com , www.smallfarm.org/newoof/companions.html , www.organicvolunteers.org , www.wwoofca.org Worldwide: www.wwoof.org , www.wwoof.org/how2join.asp Article: www.emagazine.com/september-october_2000/0900gl_travel.html See also: www.planetfriendly.net/organic.html For more, see: (G) E-mail lists, discussions & newsletters Here are a few lists of which I'm aware, in Canada and the US... Ecovillage Network of Canada http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ecovillage/ ecovillage-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Organizers' list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ENC-exec/ Cohousing Ontario http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cohousingontario/ cohousingontario-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ccn-east@cohousing.ca Intentional Community "Reachbook" For people looking for community; communities forming; communities looking for people ...as well as a place to post about resources or just to say hi. Based in the US but also includes Canadian listings. Searchable web-based postings (not an e-mail list) http://reach.ic.org (a project of www.ic.org) EcoBalance Mailing List. Discuss self-sufficient, sustainable community. www.ic.org/in/ecobalance.html or http://csf.Colorado.EDU/mail/ecobalance/ Whole-Village Updates http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WV-Updates/ WV-Updates-subscribe@yahoogroups.com (based near Toronto, Ontario) Cohousing-L www.cohousing.org/resources/cohousing_l.html www.cohousing.org People- & Planet-Friendly www.planetfriendly.net (includes many events & announcements of interest to ecovillagers & cohousing folks in Canada). (To send a posting to one of the Yahoo-hosted lists, just remove the "-subscribe" from the e-mail address). E-mail Tips & Strategies: www.planetfriendly.net/emailtips.html (including how to use lists effectively) (H) Books & publications 1. Making a Place for Community: Local Democracy in a Global Era, by Thad Williamson, David Imbroscio, Gar Alperovitz, David Thad Williamson, Benjamin Barber, 2003. www.yesmagazine.org/Reviews/williamson.htm (links to reviews and booksellers) 2. Communities Directory - A Guide to Cooperative Living. Descriptive listings of over 500 North American and 50 overseas communities; plus 250 resources & services; and 31 articles. Available by mail-order from the Fellowship for Intentional Community. www.ic.org , http://directory.ic.org , http://store.ic.org/products/communities-directory.html Telephone: 540-894-5798. Orders (US/Canada): 1-800-462-8240. In Toronto, available at the Metro Toronto Reference Library and Omega Bookstore. In Canada, try also Jillian Hovey's Sustainable Living Books, 416-410-7581 www.sustainablelivingbooks.com . The Communities Directory is one of my favorite books. It is... an invitation to a much deeper kind of wealth and economy, asking only for your joyful effort." Patch Adams, Gesundheit Institute 3. Community Bookshelf (mail order). "Books on community, co-ops and other aspects of alternative lifestyles and politics". Online and mail-order. http://store.ic.org/community-bookshelf.html Telephone: 540-894-5798. Orders (US/Canada): 800-462-8240 4. Communities Magazine (quarterly). Available at progressive bookstores, health food stores, food co-ops, etc., or by subscription. Published by the Fellowship for Intentional Community www.ic.org . http://fic.ic.org/cmag/ Write to Communities, 138 Twin Oaks Road, Louisa, VA 23093, USA, or call: 540-894-5798. Alternative bookstores in Toronto and Canada: www.planetfriendly.net/voices.html#bookstores 5. Cohousing Journal www.cohousing.org www.cohousing.org/services/journal/ 6. Cohousing, A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves (book). Kathryn McCamant & Charles Durrett, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley CA, USA 1994. (links) 7. Creating Community Anywhere (book). Carolyn R. Shaffer (Putnam, NY, 1993) (links) 8. Circles of Strength - Community Alternatives to Alienation (book). Edited by Helen Forsey (New Society Publishers, Philadelphia, PA, 1993) http://store.ic.org/products/circles-of-strength.html www.life.ca/nl/writers/forsey.html Other related periodicals, magazines, newsletters Newsletters of various organizations For many more magazines on related topics,
see: (I) How to find or create an intentional community Where to start? There are many more existing & forming communities than those that can be found in any list or directory. Ask around your neighbourhood, town or city. Read the bulletin boards in local health food stores, food co-ops, environmental stores, vegetarian restaurants, progressive bookstores, etc. Ask about co-op/shared houses and other cooperatives. Read the rental listings in your local alternative/arts newspaper (e.g. Toronto's Now Magazine). Get a copy of Communities Directory and/or Communities Magazine. Check out the Reachbook listings of communities forming and seeking new members. Join the Fellowship for Intentional Community and the Ecovillage Network of Canada. Subscribe to alternative publications and e-mail newsletters. Join or create a local food-buying coop, another co-op or local currency system. Communities, Ecovillages & Cohousing
Worldwide Listings & Directories Resources for getting started (forming an intentional community) How to Visit a Community www.ic.org/pnp/cdir/1995/06kinkade.html
To learn more about ecovillages, intentional community and cohousing, see www.ecovillage.org , www.ic.org and www.cohousing.org . See also the section on "Creating Community Anywhere", above. (J) Other related pages on this site Eco-Centres & Places (in Canada and across North America) www.planetfriendly.net/learn Cooperatives & Cooperation www.planetfriendly.net/business.html#co-op Alternative Voices (alt. media, websites, e-mail & community) www.planetfriendly.net/voices.html Everything Organic (gateway to local
and organic food, gardening, agriculture,
business..) Sustainable Living Directory www.planetfriendly.net/living.html Progressive Calendars (event
calendars & directories) www.planetfriendly.net/calendars.html Green Job Links (green, ethical jobs & volunteering) www.planetfriendly.net/greenjobs.html The People- & Planet-Friendly Directory (contains
links to all the above & more) Peter Blanchard (contact) |
People & Planet | GoodWork Canada | Planetfriendly.net
an inspiring diversity
of ideas, opportunities and things to do