Learn how to build and start your own intentional community with community expert and facilitator Yana Ludwig. This is a step-by-step course that guides you from ideation to practical implementation.
Explore the key traits of successful community founders, how to craft a good vision statement, and the social dynamics and skills required to build a healthy culture. You’ll also learn decision-making, conflict resolution, membership process design and recruitment, plus a foundational understanding of economics, income sharing, sustainability, property search, legal considerations and business planning.
Starting an intentional community is no small undertaking. Drawing on years of experience and having founded four communities herself, Yana leads you through the key questions and tested practices that lead to lasting success, and the common pitfalls to avoid along the way.
We have compiled books that will complement what you’ll learn in this course. As a course participant, you will automatically receive a discount of 15% off in our online store when you are logged into your account at check out.
You will have a space to connect with your classmates and ask questions.
Each module contains a video, audio and transcript on a course topic, resources and/or a homework assignment to help deepen your learning. For the best course experience, please complete the modules in order and click the “Mark Complete” button at the end of each module. This will ensure you receive your certificate of completion at the end of the course.
Register to get started now!
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May 6 – June 3, 2025
Each live course offered by the Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC) is a 5-week course taking place fully online. Live courses run on a calendar schedule throughout the year, and you can enroll directly into the course dates that work best with your schedule. We typically recommend devoting 3 hours a week to the course material to get the most from your experience.
We leave the course materials available for 3 weeks after the course closes. After this time, you will no longer be able to access the course content. This is to honor the intellectual property agreement we have with instructors.
We strongly encourage all learners to download any handouts and assignments before their course access expires. These tools serve as a permanent resource to remind you of what you have learned and help you take that back to your team or community. Videos cannot be downloaded or otherwise saved.
Each on-demand course offered by the Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC) is accessible online. You can register for the course whenever it fits with your schedule. We typically recommend devoting 2 hours a week to the course material to get the most from your experience.
After registering for a course, you will receive an order confirmation email. You will be setup in your course learning area within 1 business day (Monday-Friday) after registering. Please keep an eye on your inbox and spam folder for an email from events@ic.org with instructions on how to access your course’s learning area. The learning area will include a course calendar (for complementary events and monthly office hours) that you can sync with your personal calendar), a discussion space for students taking the course, videos and other resources, as well as homework assignments.
Each month, there will be an optional, 1-hour open office hour with the instructor (see the course calendar inside the course learning area). You’ll also be able to connect with other students in the discussion space.
The full course experience for our on-demand courses is available for 90 days after you have been enrolled in the course. This is to honor the intellectual property agreement we have with instructors.
We also strongly encourage all learners to download any handouts and assignments before their course access expires. These tools serve as a permanent resource to remind you of what you have learned and help you take back to your team or community. Videos cannot be downloaded or otherwise saved.
You may take multiple courses at the same time. However, we strongly advise that you only do so if you are able to commit to a minimum of 3hrs/week per course to ensure the most valuable learning experience. If that does not feel feasible, we recommend taking the courses separately and exploring future dates on our course calendar.
No worries! All classes will be recorded and available under the Class Materials section of the student learning area within 24 hours after each class ends. Please click on the class title to view the recording of that class, along with any class slides, handouts and homework assignments.
We no longer offer scholarships. However, we do offer sliding scale pricing. When registering for a course, you can select the price that works best for your budget.
Course participants are eligible for a refund prior to the start date of the live course and prior to being set up in the learning area of the on-demand course. As soon as the course has begun, FIC will not issue a refund. However, we can offer credit towards another course. Please contact us if you are in need of a refund.
A residential project: people live here as their primary home.
An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).
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