Networks + Organizations
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
How A Mystical Novel Spurred the Ecovillage Movement in Russia
Posted on September 15, 2016 byOver the years, many intentional communities have drawn on works of fiction for inspiration. They can serve as cultural touchstones, helping connect the communities in a particular region with a shared philosophy or way of life. Here in the Pacific Northwest, books like Ecotopia and The Fifth Sacred Thing sit on many communal bookshelves. The… Read More
A Free Documentary Series Shows You How To Live In A Tiny House Legally
Posted on September 8, 2016 byFor many tiny house enthusiasts, building the house itself isn’t the hard part. There are lots of resources out there for designing and constructing a tiny house, as well as companies that will build the whole thing for you. More and more people are coming to see tiny homes as a viable living option. These… Read More
The Diggers Started Their Own Back-to-the-Land Movement in 1649
Posted on August 18, 2016 by“In 1649/to St. George’s Hill/a ragged band they called the Diggers/came to show the people’s will.” So starts Leon Rosselson’s song, “The World Turned Upside Down,” which tells the story of a radical Protestant sect in Surrey, England, that became one of the earliest examples of the agrarian socialist movement. The group formed during a… Read More
How These Bike Festivals Bring Community To City Streets
Posted on August 11, 2016 byForty years ago, a group of Columbian bicycle activists started a tradition that would eventually spread to hundreds of cities around the world. Called Ciclovía, which means “cycleway” in Spanish, the event shuts down automobile traffic on over 70 miles of streets in Bogota every Sunday – creating space for up to 2 million bicyclists,… Read More
This TED Talk Shows How Ecovillages Can Bring About Global Change
Posted on August 4, 2016 byLast year, Kosha Joubert, President of the Global Ecovillage Network, delivered a powerful talk at TEDxGeneva on the impact of ecovillages around the globe. Joubert lived in South Africa as a child, spent time in Amsterdam as adult, and now lives at the Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland. After studying cultural anthropology, she says she felt… Read More
The Placemaking Movement is Turning Cities into Communities
Posted on July 8, 2016 byOver 15 years ago, a group of natural builders organized the first Village Building Convergence in Portland, OR. It’s partly the reason why the city is now dotted with colorful intersections, cob benches, and unconventional living spaces. According to the organizers, “We recognized that modern life and the structure of our cities often don’t create… Read More
Community As Sanctuary: How These Retreats Offer Refuge in Rural Places
Posted on July 7, 2016 bySome communities, like the Tonic Housing project in the U.K., were founded as a way to provide cohousing to LGBT elders in rapidly gentrifying cities. Others offer a refuge away from the city, a place where like-minded people can gather for retreats and other seasonal festivities. For decades, the Radical Faerie movement has been creating… Read More
Going Biking This Summer? Try Out This Network For A Shower and A Place to Stay
Posted on July 4, 2016 bySince 1993, the Warm Showers network has been connecting touring bicyclists with hosts willing to offer them a couch, shower, camping space, or other form of hospitality. Originally started as a listserv, it was developed into a full website in 2005, and currently has 86,000 active members and 36,000 active hosts around the world. The… Read More
NuMundo Hosts Southeast Bioregional Convergence in Asheville, July 9-10
Posted on June 27, 2016 byNuMundo wants to make it easier for travelers to connect with ecovillages and intentional communities around the world. Their site has dozens of listings in the U.S., Europe, South America, and more, many of which offer permaculture classes, natural building courses, and other hands-on, land-based experiences. NuMundo calls these locations “impact centers“: “An impact center… Read More
Try One of These Unique Alternatives to Airbnb
Posted on June 20, 2016 by3 Comments
Airbnb and other “sharing economy” sites have been getting some bad press lately, with many cities arguing that the platforms are driving up rent, contributing to housing scarcity, and turning residential neighborhoods into tourist districts. Some cities, like Berlin, have begun to regulate room- and home-sharing, while San Francisco and New York are struggling to… Read More
The Ephermisle Festival Imagines What A Floating City Might Look Like
Posted on June 16, 2016 bySince 2009, a small collection of sailboats, houseboats, rafts, and other watercraft have gathered each summer to create a floating city in California’s Sacramento River Delta. Called Ephemerisle, the week-long event was originally created by the Seasteading Institute as way to demonstrate how ocean-based communities might function. Now, it serves as a kind of Burning-Man-at-sea,… Read More
How These Co-op Bars Are Reinventing the Idea of a “Public House”
Posted on May 30, 2016 by“Have a pint – change the world,” is the motto of the Oregon Public House, a co-operatively owned, non-profit bar in Portland, OR. According to co-founder Ryan Saari, the city has no shortage of non-profit charities, but these organizations expend a large part of their energy on fundraising. The Oregon Public House was created as… Read More
Here’s How You Can Participate in Global Sharing Week June 5-11
Posted on May 26, 2016 byShareable.net and The People Who Share are collaborating on this year’s Global Sharing Week, which will take place from June 5-11, 2016. Originally launched as Global Sharing Day, the event has grown to the point where over 100 activities take place each year. This year’s listings include dozens of potlucks, neighborhood festivals, and other gatherings,… Read More
SimpleREV Brings Minimalism and Intentional Living to the Twin Cities
Posted on May 19, 2016 byIn October 2014, I attended the first annual SimpleREV conference in Minneapolis, MN. For two days, around 50 or so attendees shared stories about downsizing, living life with less “stuff,” building tiny houses, and more. For some, it was the first time they’d been around other people pursuing a less consumer-driven lifestyle, and the experience… Read More
How These Collaborative Networks Foster Inter-Community Connection
Posted on May 16, 2016 byAs interest in community living grows, it’s important that we make it easy and accessible for people to get involved with their local co-ops and coliving spaces. For many people, community dinners, art and music nights, and overnight stays are the ideal way to explore whether coliving is right for them. Sometimes, it can be… Read More
OuiShare Pushes for A Fairer Sharing Economy
Posted on May 5, 2016 byFor years, OuiShare has been one of the leading voices on the sharing economy in Europe, and has helped put the concept of collaborative consumption and peer-to-peer economies on the map. This year, it’s hosting a series of events, including the annual OuiShare Fest in Paris, and additional gatherings in Lille, Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro,… Read More
European Projects Explore Cohousing for LGBT Elders
Posted on May 2, 2016 byOver the past year, a U.K. group called Tonic Housing has been exploring ways to offer safe, affordable housing to older members of the LGBT community. Supported by several charitable foundations, Tonic hopes to build a housing complex called Tonic Centre in or near London: “There is currently no LGBT-specific housing for older people in the… Read More
NextGEN Hosts The Youth Ecovillage Summit in Quebec June 9-12
Posted on April 28, 2016 byNextGEN North America has opened registration for the third annual Youth Ecovillage Summit, which will take place in Quebec, Canada from June 9-12, 2016. The event will be hosted at La Cite Ecologique, an ecovillage two hours away from Montreal and Quebec City. According to NextGEN: “Over 30 years ago, La Cité Ecologique began as a… Read More
Job Openings at the New Economy Coalition (Plus Event Registration for Common Bound)
Posted on April 21, 2016 byOne of the great things about the growing interest in intentional living is how easily groups like FIC can connect and collaborate with related organizations. From neurodiverse cohousing networks to online permaculture classes, there are hundreds of groups out there with values that overlap with our own. This week, we bring you updates from the… Read More
Portland’s Village Building Convergence Returns June 3-12
Posted on April 21, 2016 byFor 16 years, the City Repair Project has been gathering annually for the Village Building Convergence, a 10-day event focusing on permaculture and placemaking in Portland, OR. Even residents who haven’t heard of the event have experienced its impact: its projects include “intersection repairs” that have created some of Portland’s most colorful and liveliest crossroads;… Read More
Three Tucson Communities Open Their Doors For National Cohousing Day
Posted on April 18, 2016 byNational Cohousing Open House Day is coming up in just over a week, and dozens of communities will be welcoming guests for tours and other free activities. You can check out the map at Cohousing.org to find a community near you. Please RSVP to the Facebook event and invite your friends so we can get… Read More
Millennials Are Embracing Cohousing – Of A Different Kind
Posted on April 14, 2016 byIt may have been only a matter of time before the millennial generation turned its attention to cohousing. As car and home ownership among young people has declined, and as the nuclear family is no longer the go-to living arrangement, it makes sense that college grads would look for ways share resources and living spaces… Read More
The Write A House Program Builds Artistic Community in Detroit
Posted on April 7, 2016 byLaunched in 2012, the Write a House program in Detroit has been creating a writers’ residency like no other. After buying up vacant homes, the organization renovates them – with the help of youths in vocational training – and invites a writer to move in. After two years of residency, the writer is given the… Read More
How a New Generation is Finding Education Abroad- Without A Tuition
Posted on December 10, 2015 byA generation in search of answers There’s long been a bug in the minds of the new generation- something doesn’t add up about the modern life path. We’ve heard it all before; spend some time in school, get a career helping some corporation produce and market some product or service, buy a house, start a… Read More
ICSA Conference 2016 Announcement
Posted on September 15, 2015 byAnnouncement from the ICSA! INTERNATIONAL COMMUNAL STUDIES ASSOCIATION The 12th International ICSA Conference will be held in Tamera, Portugal in July 2016 The official Tamera website for ICSA2016 is now operating: http://icsa.tamera.org/ Mail: icsa@tamera.org ICSA Office: rsoboly-t@bezeqint.net ICSA Website: www.communa.org.il/icsa
Support the Global Ecovillage Network Summit
Posted on May 12, 2015 bySupport the Global Ecovillage Network Summit From July 6-10th, hundreds of activists will gather at the Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland for the GEN+20 Summit. They will celebrate 20 years of uniting people around ecological solutions, and plan the next steps to spreading sustainability around the globe in these important times. “Since it’s founding in 1995,… Read More
Income Sharing Urban Communities
Posted on May 2, 2015 byIncome Sharing Urban Communities Point A is a group which has “an audacious proposal to form urban, income sharing, egalitarian, democratic, ambitious, engaged communes in the cities of the American East Coast.” So far these cities include Washington DC, Baltimore, New York City, and Richmond. That is a lot of adjectives! Here are some descriptions… Read More
Kindista helps you share with people nearby
Posted on March 16, 2015 by1 Comment
Kindista helps you share with people nearby Looking for a plot to garden in, or someone to landscape your yard? Wishing for a dog walker, or offering mural painting skills? Desiring a giant bookshelf, and have a file cabinet that you’d like someone to take? Kindista.org is an online network that helps you share offers,… Read More
Mass Mosaic helps people connect to share in abundance
Posted on February 13, 2015 byWouldn’t it be great if you could share your skills and what you have in abundance, and receive help from those who have what you are lacking? This is how a new network called Mass Mosaic helps people connect to share in abundance. “Your skills, things, interests, experiences, passions, and dreams make you unique. Each… Read More
