The Modern Village: A Book That Is Waiting To Be Written

This article is less of an announcement and more of a promise.

A mantra I’ve adopted from Lexi Merritt’s publication for creatives,

Trying In Public

, is to try, well, publicly.

Put your successes and failures on display. To the inevitable someone, you will be cringe.

But in a lifetime where I can command a robot to write this sentence for me, we crave the achingly authentic, unpredictable, un-algorithmic realness and rawness of a human experience relatable to our own.

So I’m compelled to share with you my plans for a book titled, “The Modern Village”.

I’ve felt the the ping to write this book for about 3 months now.

There’s an amazing tectonic collision happening right now between the original ecovillage frameworks and the post-modern approach that integrates with biomimetic technology. I believe it’s creating something new and even better.

And it deserves to be written about.

Perhaps the book should really be called “The Post-Modern Village”, but the keeping the title uncomplicated feels right.

The book will incorporate ancient futurism, proposing a holistic definition for what a regenerative village is (a highly contested topic), mapping trends in the space, and taking inventory of the frameworks used to design and plan villages.

A catalogue of solutions currently available will be listed in the topics of:

• Community Dynamics: Governance models, conflict resolution, and fostering resilience.

• Economic Models: Funding, local economies, and circular practices.

• Technological Integration: Smart systems, renewable energy, and modern off-grid living.

• Cultural and Spiritual Aspects: Honoring diversity, rituals, and shared values in village life.

And the book would not be complete without the challenges in the space I’ve written about, like eco-gentrification and inequitable access to land.

I’ll wrap up the text with data-driven predictions on where the village movement is headed.

My work with the Global Ecovillage Network, especially as we make updates to equip the org for the future, has me reflecting on the need for modern village resources.

I’m also open to feedback. What should this book absolutely need to include to fully capture the modern regenerative village movement? Please leave comments.

I’ve known authors to publicly write about their books with their audience and crowd-edit the final piece to be something even more glorious than what it would have been originally.

I’m not saying that I’ll be posting full chapters here on Substack, but I will be testing ideas and topics here first.

In sharing this with you, I’m inviting in some advice, accountability, and encouragement. I’ve written two books of poetry, but poetry books are like abstract art compared to the still-life of a full-length book.

Rather than self-publish, I’ve also decided that I want to work with a publisher to do this. I’m open to suggestions for different publishing houses that focus on social impact literature.

credit: Holos, Costa Rica

This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter, and I’d love for you to be part of the journey. Over the coming months, I’ll share updates on the book’s progress, invite your feedback, and maybe even feature some of your questions or experiences in its pages.

Together, we can amplify the vision of regenerative villages and bring these ideas to the forefront of global conversations about the future of living. Thank you for your support and enthusiasm as I embark on this meaningful project—I can’t wait to take you along for the ride!

Deep thanks again for being a supporter of this publication. You mean a lot to me and you are the reason I keep writing.