Author: Saul Of-Hearts
Interactive Documentary “One Shared House” Packs a Punch
Posted on January 2, 2017 byIt’s not often that we hear the story of an intentional community told by someone who grew up in one. And it’s even less common for that story to be told through a beautifully designed 10-minute interactive documentary. At OneSharedHouse.com, Irene Pereyra tells the story of Kollontai, a cohousing experiment in Amsterdam in the 1980s.… Read More
The P6 Project Uses the Principles of Cooperatives to Promote Local Business
Posted on December 29, 2016 byThis is a guest post by Erin Hancock of the Co-operative Management Education program at St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. **** Graduates of “Cooperative MBA” work on P6 project to create equitable relationships between farms and retailers If you’re familiar with the principles of cooperative organizations, you may know that Principle Six is… Read More
Take Part In The People’s State of the Union This January
Posted on December 26, 2016 byBeginning in 2015, the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture has led a project called the People’s State of the Union, to coincide with the president’s annual address to the nation. Taking the perspective that democracy is “a conversation, not a monologue,” the PSOTU is a chance for communities to come together and share the hopes and challenges… Read More
Taking the Systems View: climate change as a driver of SDG implementation
Posted on December 22, 2016 byThis is a guest post by Dr. Daniel Christian Wahl, Head of Innovation at Gaia Education, which is based out of Findhorn Ecovillage. Once the doors closed on yet another United Nations climate gathering – this time in Marrakech – Paula Caballero, director of the climate program at the World Resource Institute, summed up a growing insight… Read More
Digital Security For Your Intentional Community
Posted on December 19, 2016 byFor some high-profile communities, visibility is a good thing. The Dancing Rabbit ecovillage in Rutledge, Missouri, depends on workshops and other business endeavors to support itself. Many communities maintain a social media presence as a way to attract new members and promote co-operative living on a global scale. But some communities have good reason for wanting to… Read More
This Year, We’ll Need Community More Than Ever
Posted on December 15, 2016 byI woke up on Election Day ready to get the whole thing over with. My life was already in a state of transition: the eco-village I’d lived in for two years was on the of cusp of disbanding. The new collective house I was moving into into had a lot of things to get in order:… Read More
How This Toronto Nonprofit Encourages Collaborative Consumption
Posted on December 12, 2016 byFor years, the news media has been looking to Silicon Valley as the epicenter of the new “sharing economy.” Maybe it should be looking to Toronto instead. Over the past few years, the Institute for a Resource Based Economy has been expanding the concept of collaborative consumption throughout the city, helping Ontarians reduce waste and make the… Read More
Orange Splot LLC Is Creating New Community Housing in Portland
Posted on December 8, 2016 byPortland, Oregon, is known for being ahead of the curve when it comes to alternative housing and co-operative living. From the Tiny House Hotel to the Columbia Ecovillage cohousing community, there are dozens of locations in the city where you can see these innovative projects in action. One housing developer, Orange Splot, LLC, is leading the charge, with… Read More
How Homeowners Can Be More Intentional Landlords
Posted on December 5, 2016 byNext month, I’ll be moving into a house owned by a “community landlord.” Rather than simply renting out rooms in the house, the homeowner (who no longer lives on the property), specifically sought out a group of people who wanted to build community there. Three of us will be the primary tenants who set the vision and… Read More
The Class Cultures Toolkit Can Help You Host More Inclusive Meetings and Events
Posted on December 1, 2016 byTalking about class can be difficult – especially in intentional communities that include people from a variety of backgrounds. It can be a challenge to balance the needs of members from different classes: residents with stable jobs and incomes; property owners; activists who choose to live frugally; those with families to support. Some concerns –… Read More
Help Kickstart This Composting Toilet Research Project!
Posted on November 28, 2016 byIntentional communities can be the perfect testing ground for new sustainability practices – whether it’s an innovative greywater system or an aquaponics garden. At my community in Portland, we use our own composting toilet system, specifically intended to be safe and smell-free in a busy urban environment. Instead of flushing clean water down the train dozens of times each day, we… Read More
The Untold Story of Utopian Communes In America
Posted on November 24, 2016 byIt was a time of great change and social experimentation. Groups of like-minded people pooled their money to buy property in what one writer called a kind of “socialist land mania.” Another philosopher said that it was impossible to find a well-read man without “a draft of a new community in his waistcoat pocket.“ Residents from these communities traveled… Read More
The Damanhur Community In Italy Has Its Own Currency and Constitution
Posted on November 21, 2016 byThe community of Damanhur in northern Italy is known for the Temples of Humankind, a 5-story series of underground chambers built by residents of the community as a spiritual gathering place. Begun in 1978, they were discovered by authorities in the 1990s, and nearly shut down. Now, they’re open to the public and have become… Read More
Arcosanti Combines Architecture and Ecology in The Arizona Desert
Posted on November 17, 2016 byAbout 70 miles north of Phoenix, high in the Arizona desert, a blocky, concrete series of buildings rises out of the hillside. It looks like a cross between a futuristic museum and a desert village on Tatooine. But this isn’t your typical example of post-modernism. It’s an experiment in “arcology,” a style of design that… Read More
The First Seasteading Community May Be Closer To Reality Than We Thought
Posted on November 17, 2016 by1 Comment
In June, I wrote a blog post about the Ephemerisle Festival, a gathering on the Sacramento River Delta that imagines what a floating city might look like. The festival hopes to educate people about “seasteading,” which refers to long-term communities at sea, away from the interference of national governments, where residents can practice self-reliance and self-governance. At the time,… Read More
This Binational City Would Make Borders A Thing of the Past
Posted on November 14, 2016 byArchitect Fernando Romero has a plan for a binational city stretching over the U.S. and Mexican border. The project was on display last month at the London Design Biennale 2016. The designers call it “the first integrated masterplan for a binational city conducive to both sides of the border, employing tools of enterprise such as special economic zones… Read More
A New Book Combines Zen and Permaculture to Educate and Inspire
Posted on November 10, 2016 byStefan Geyer, a London resident active in the U.K. permaculture community, is releasing a new book called “Zen in the Art of Permaculture Design.” It’s not a guidebook to specific permaculture practices, but a reflective look at the ways permaculture principles can inspire change in our lives and communities. According to the book’s copy, “Permaculture is… Read More
Buy, Eat, and Live Local With Help From BALLE’s New Toolkits
Posted on November 7, 2016 byWhether it’s eating local, supporting worker-owned businesses, or taking money out of Wall Street banks, the “localist” movement is on the rise. While the dominance of mega-corporations like Wal-Mart and Amazon may seem complete, small businesses make up half of the U.S. GDP and create over three times as many jobs. The Business Alliance for Local Living… Read More
The Micro-Nation of Liberland Could Be The World’s Biggest Planned Community
Posted on November 3, 2016 byPicture a country built from scratch: a city-state with open borders, where paying taxes is optional and there are no laws other than “live and let live.” At just three square miles, cars will be unnecessary; the open-air cityscape will allow for algae-powered residences and vertical farms. Private property, drug use, and sexuality will be free from interference by… Read More
How Does Your Community Create Space for Romantic Partnerships?
Posted on October 31, 2016 by1 Comment
In the popular imagination, intentional communities have a reputation for being free-for-alls when it comes to love and relationships. But in reality, that’s rarely the case, and many communities have guiding principles around how members are expected to relate to each other romantically. Gender dynamics, power imbalances, and more, can all come into play when living… Read More
The Jewish Intentional Community Conference Takes Place December 1-4
Posted on October 27, 2016 byThe FIC’s Intentional Communities Directory includes communities that range from the spiritual to the secular. If you want to find a religiously affiliated (or unaffiliated) community, there’s a good chance you’ll find one there that aligns with your values. For those looking for a community centered around the Jewish faith, you can check out… Read More
These Apps Connect Excess Food With People Who Need It
Posted on October 24, 2016 byNearly $500 billion worth of food gets thrown away in the U.S. each year – while nearly 50 million Americans go hungry. A new app hopes to use peer-to-peer technology to connect people throwing away food with those who need it. We’ve seen the sharing economy dabble in foodsharing before. Platforms like Feastly and Josephine let… Read More
How Seed Saver Networks Are Protecting The Planet’s Biodiversity
Posted on October 20, 2016 byAs more farmers and gardeners take an interest in permaculture, seed savers’ networks are becoming a vital way to preserve heirloom varieties and protect our planet’s biodiversity. Although not as visible as the farmers’ markets that line our neighborhood sidewalks on Sundays, they’re an integral part of the farm-to-table movement. Seed savers and seed libraries… Read More
The Boat-to-Fork Movement Promotes Local and Sustainable Seafood
Posted on October 17, 2016 byMany of us are familiar with the farm-to-table movement: we might shop at our neighborhood farmers market, or even subscribe to a CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) model as a way to support local farms. But what about other products, like seafood? Can we find ways to eat fish locally and sustainably? A network called Local Catch… Read More
How These Communal Residences Help Artists Thrive
Posted on October 13, 2016 bySome intentional communities focus on organic gardening and permaculture. Others are all about activism and social change. Some exist primarily for the art. That’s the intention behind the Los Angeles Brewery, which, despite its name, doesn’t actually brew any beer. The Brewery describes itself as “one of the oldest and largest artist colonies in the world.” Founded… Read More
This Peer-to-Peer Credit Exchange Could Be Great For Intentional Communities
Posted on October 10, 2016 byFor a while, peer-to-peer lending platforms were going to be the next big thing. Instead of borrowing from big banks, we could borrow from each other, on platforms like Lending Club and Prosper. But pretty soon big banks starting getting involved, and the loans weren’t really so “peer-to-peer” after all. Investors started using them as a way… Read More
These Tools Can Help Your Community Make Better Decisions
Posted on October 6, 2016 by1 Comment
One of the biggest hurdles an intentional community can face is figuring out how to make decisions. There are dozens of decision-making strategies to choose from, from consensus to sociocracy. But in today’s busy world, simply gathering around the table together as a community can be a challenge. At my community, meeting attendance takes a dive during the… Read More
Shared Earth Connects Gardeners With Unused Land In Their Neighborhood
Posted on October 3, 2016 byFor years, projects like Fallen Fruit and the Urban Farm Collective have been making it easier for people to access the excess produce and gardening space in their neighborhoods. A new project called Shared Earth brings the concept to a wider market, using the latest peer-to-peer technology to connect gardeners with unused lawns and gardens… Read More
A New Site Called Simbi Lets You Barter Your Skills, Lessons, and More
Posted on September 29, 2016 byA lot has been written about how the “sharing economy” isn’t really about “sharing” – many of the companies that use the term are more about renting, buying and selling, or even just working. A new site called Simbi wants to change that, offering a platform where users can exchange services for Simbi credits (short… Read More
A New Game Called “Rise Up” Explores Cooperative Social Movements
Posted on September 26, 2016 byThe Toolbox for Education and Social Action (TESA) is launching a Kickstarter for a new board game on September 27th. Called “Rise Up: The Game of People and Power,” the game is a great way to spend time with friends, while exploring social movements and learning to cooperate to achieve shared objectives. According to TESA, “The game weaves… Read More
