How about a movement to rescue old dilapidated communes? I'm a second generation communitarian in a 50+ yr old semi-intentional community (irony intended) with a HUGE land base and a truckload of old phogies with mad skills and radical histories ready to kack. Yes, 10 years minimum for basic groundwork of relationships. Every decade gets more real.
Cool read, especially after meeting with the Neos.Life guy and as I launch Neoterra, a solarpunk universe written to inspire radical imagination. You should check it out on my profile, I think you’ll appreciate it!
You know, I had stopped reading fiction for years until just last week (a weird pact I'd made with myself that had to do with self-growth and irrational ambition). But reading we can immerse in that paints a picture of a utopian world is something we are all starved for! Subscribed xoxo
Thanks for your insights. Really valuable. What I am missing is a note not to destroy existing patches of nature. I had to think of this when I looked at the ‚la tierra‘ picture, which doesn’t look ecological but rather like a high class resort.
Being active in permaculture design as an ecologist I often saw that permaculturalists partly or completely removed existing plant structures only to replace them with food systems or cozy spots that have less than half the biodiversity.
So my point is: any Ecovillage should aspire to regenerate land and leave their hands off of the few valuable wild-nature spots. Those belong to other lifeforms and need to be preserved.
This is something I touch on, though not in here. The idea is not to acquire virgin land, clear it, and make a "regenerative" village. The most regenerative, or even sustainable way to build a village is to acquire existing infrastructure or degraded land, and add native plant species, replant trees, and renovate the existing structures.
The sad part is that most kinds of human activity near wild nature spots has ripple disturbance effects on wildlife. However, there is also anthropological history about beneficial relationships between humans and flora/fauna, and how right relations can be achieved.
I know la tierra looks like a resort, but have you read the deck or looked through the Village OS? The website renderings don't really do it justice for the amount of thought and design work that has gone into it.
Personally I am looking, and every now and then, sharing ways of embodying regenerative cultures. Which includes highlighting beneficial relationships of humans with other lifeforms. Ill look more into that :)
I haven't read more about la tierra. Only the picture you used evoked the above thought. Happy to hear they put thought into their project! And thanks for opening the space to share knowledge and have discussions here!
Anything you encounter or think about, I'm an open door and would love to discuss. Especially things like interspecies relationships and communication.
Yeah, I can see how la tierra comes off. I am currently being disillusioned as I write the next article about my favorite regenerative villages because when I look closely at some of my favorites, I have to ask, "Wait, what are they doing that is regenerative? They haven't even implemented basic sustainability technology yet."
Relying on social regeneration is okay, I suppose, but the project needs to have tangible ecological and economic improvements.
At The Sludge Hub we take this concept to the extreme. We exclusively occupy abandoned coal mines and the primary purpose (yes, before habitation or community building) is the regeneration of the site's ecosystem health.
Ours is built on an old dairy farm. Some of us are trying to restore the woods around the areas in which we live, but sometimes I think we've bit off more than we can chew. It takes hours of physical labor, but our youngest, heartiest adults are busy with jobs and childrearing. And restoration work is completely voluntary, so hosting a community dance counts as much as planting oaks. I'm not seeing the long term success of this place at the moment. Inspiring post though, just the same. We need to keep trying to work out the knots.
Love this read. Got me curious… Do you think it’s possible for a small town to do this? How would the process differ for a municipality to transform itself into a regenerative city (as opposed to starting an ecovillage from scratch)?
My understanding is that the transition town movement emerged from this question. I think there a lot of excellent work and really innovative projects have come sbout through this movement.
There is also of course a big downside to trying to work with an existing town in that it’s unlikely you’d find somewhere where everyone is on board with a regenerative vision.
Thanks! Now I know what term to use to look into it further. “Transition towns.” I wonder if it would be easier, in certain places, to slowly create a regenerative town but just avoid words like “regenerative” or “sustainable” and instead emphasize things everyone cares about like long-term economic stability, job security, and a beautiful and healthy place for kids to grow up with fresh air, healthy food, and safe water. All those things can only exist when we live in harmony with our habitat.
Yes I think you’re right. And some of the most successful transition projects have had a relatable issue, often local food, front and centre rather than more abstract big vision stuff. Founder Rob Hopkins has written several very good books on transition towns.
Lovely and practical read- thank you! The bit about it being easy to find a community to take you as a member / that eco-villages are eagerly looking for people to join did not match up with my experience. When I decided I was ready to start looking for a community to join, I came upon many roadblocks. I found that there are very few opportunities for somebody without capital to invest. The established and mature ecovillages that interested me often weren't taking new members, or are not in my country, leaving me with few options (unless I choose to immigrate). Lastly, many villages did not have a solid business plan built in, a cottage industry, or enough proximity to populated areas should people need to leave to find work occasionally. That means members (those who still need to work) have to rely on remote jobs, which not everybody wants to do or can do. Would love to hear your thoughts on this, thanks!
Saw your note on this today, awesome write-up! I’m going to check your other posts, but do you have any more resources regarding #6? Eco-village 3.0 + regional regenerative farming systems is where my attention is right now, and it seems aligned. Thank you!
Curious as to the nature of consumption in eco villages? Are people truly living locally and with minimal power use or generally eating shipped produce and taking long showers etc
I am so happy to have found you and this post. I’ve been looking into Eco villages for the last couple of years and that point 4 is the loudest to me. I cannot stand the bypassy, ungrounded vibe most of these villages give off. it’s been the same problem in the world school community for us as well. Where would me and my family feel emotionally and physically safe?? I want to build my own thing, but I don’t really. I just want collaboration around deeper values of equity justice and diversity of all kinds…race, class, gender, age, thought… It’s the only kind of community I would invest in because I would be able to trust it’s potential for real stability.
Lot of great stuff - wild you don’t mention food production - I spent awhile at Pachamama in Costa Rica - biggest issue was that they had no real food production so people trying to stretch their budgets were hungry. IMO these places aren’t real if they’re not producing a surplus of food or providing some real service to their wider community. If not it seems like places like Pachamama are places to hide from reality. There’s more to it than that and I still cherish the experiences I had there but for these places to be viable there must be a strong foundation.
Hi. Resonating with a lot that you share here. I have personal experience with having just liquidated our off grid home with intentional community and moved back on grid. It was a great iteration in the Great Experiment of re-villaging. The people element is so tricky to navigate. Looking forward to more insights!
I also think that many of the lessons from Diana Leafe Christian's excellent 2003 book Creating a Life Together are still very relevant today. Detailed summary and notes here:
As a solo mom and ecotherapist on 65 acres and looking to connect and contribute to other communities as I pass the torch as well. The decade commitment is true for this and so many arcs of lasting change. Really appreciated this read.
Of the list, it was wonderful. As a culture worker #7 sticks out for me. Where I have a question is maybe #4 w/ respect to maybe splitting this into two findings. Regard the positivity of biodiversity impact mentioned, I am very curious on quantifiable metrics. I was on a permaculture farm where people were “winging it” and it was stressing out the chickens… Personal observation here, but I am curious! For the other part of#4 I’d be curious if the existing farm networks nearby might have synergies to increase cross-cultural connections? 💜
Let’s build one together!! I really resonate with this. I have been researching community living for about the same timeline and yes, what you are saying really rings true!
How about a movement to rescue old dilapidated communes? I'm a second generation communitarian in a 50+ yr old semi-intentional community (irony intended) with a HUGE land base and a truckload of old phogies with mad skills and radical histories ready to kack. Yes, 10 years minimum for basic groundwork of relationships. Every decade gets more real.
Cool read, especially after meeting with the Neos.Life guy and as I launch Neoterra, a solarpunk universe written to inspire radical imagination. You should check it out on my profile, I think you’ll appreciate it!
You know, I had stopped reading fiction for years until just last week (a weird pact I'd made with myself that had to do with self-growth and irrational ambition). But reading we can immerse in that paints a picture of a utopian world is something we are all starved for! Subscribed xoxo
Thank you! I am not a huge fiction reader either, no pact, just haven't been into it since I was a kid. Working on Neoterra has been a blast though!
Thank you for subscribing and your support!
Thanks for your insights. Really valuable. What I am missing is a note not to destroy existing patches of nature. I had to think of this when I looked at the ‚la tierra‘ picture, which doesn’t look ecological but rather like a high class resort.
Being active in permaculture design as an ecologist I often saw that permaculturalists partly or completely removed existing plant structures only to replace them with food systems or cozy spots that have less than half the biodiversity.
So my point is: any Ecovillage should aspire to regenerate land and leave their hands off of the few valuable wild-nature spots. Those belong to other lifeforms and need to be preserved.
You're spot on.
This is something I touch on, though not in here. The idea is not to acquire virgin land, clear it, and make a "regenerative" village. The most regenerative, or even sustainable way to build a village is to acquire existing infrastructure or degraded land, and add native plant species, replant trees, and renovate the existing structures.
The sad part is that most kinds of human activity near wild nature spots has ripple disturbance effects on wildlife. However, there is also anthropological history about beneficial relationships between humans and flora/fauna, and how right relations can be achieved.
I know la tierra looks like a resort, but have you read the deck or looked through the Village OS? The website renderings don't really do it justice for the amount of thought and design work that has gone into it.
Yeah, those approaches are a good way.
Personally I am looking, and every now and then, sharing ways of embodying regenerative cultures. Which includes highlighting beneficial relationships of humans with other lifeforms. Ill look more into that :)
I haven't read more about la tierra. Only the picture you used evoked the above thought. Happy to hear they put thought into their project! And thanks for opening the space to share knowledge and have discussions here!
Anything you encounter or think about, I'm an open door and would love to discuss. Especially things like interspecies relationships and communication.
Yeah, I can see how la tierra comes off. I am currently being disillusioned as I write the next article about my favorite regenerative villages because when I look closely at some of my favorites, I have to ask, "Wait, what are they doing that is regenerative? They haven't even implemented basic sustainability technology yet."
Relying on social regeneration is okay, I suppose, but the project needs to have tangible ecological and economic improvements.
At The Sludge Hub we take this concept to the extreme. We exclusively occupy abandoned coal mines and the primary purpose (yes, before habitation or community building) is the regeneration of the site's ecosystem health.
www.sludgehub.org
Ours is built on an old dairy farm. Some of us are trying to restore the woods around the areas in which we live, but sometimes I think we've bit off more than we can chew. It takes hours of physical labor, but our youngest, heartiest adults are busy with jobs and childrearing. And restoration work is completely voluntary, so hosting a community dance counts as much as planting oaks. I'm not seeing the long term success of this place at the moment. Inspiring post though, just the same. We need to keep trying to work out the knots.
Awesome post :) What are the 10 villages you deeply admire and why?
Ooh great idea for a separate post! I'll write that this week and tag you in the comments
Me too pls 🙏
Following for this and looking for spaces to contribute to as someone with experience too!
I'd love to know too, please:)
Love this read. Got me curious… Do you think it’s possible for a small town to do this? How would the process differ for a municipality to transform itself into a regenerative city (as opposed to starting an ecovillage from scratch)?
My understanding is that the transition town movement emerged from this question. I think there a lot of excellent work and really innovative projects have come sbout through this movement.
There is also of course a big downside to trying to work with an existing town in that it’s unlikely you’d find somewhere where everyone is on board with a regenerative vision.
Thanks! Now I know what term to use to look into it further. “Transition towns.” I wonder if it would be easier, in certain places, to slowly create a regenerative town but just avoid words like “regenerative” or “sustainable” and instead emphasize things everyone cares about like long-term economic stability, job security, and a beautiful and healthy place for kids to grow up with fresh air, healthy food, and safe water. All those things can only exist when we live in harmony with our habitat.
Yes I think you’re right. And some of the most successful transition projects have had a relatable issue, often local food, front and centre rather than more abstract big vision stuff. Founder Rob Hopkins has written several very good books on transition towns.
Lovely and practical read- thank you! The bit about it being easy to find a community to take you as a member / that eco-villages are eagerly looking for people to join did not match up with my experience. When I decided I was ready to start looking for a community to join, I came upon many roadblocks. I found that there are very few opportunities for somebody without capital to invest. The established and mature ecovillages that interested me often weren't taking new members, or are not in my country, leaving me with few options (unless I choose to immigrate). Lastly, many villages did not have a solid business plan built in, a cottage industry, or enough proximity to populated areas should people need to leave to find work occasionally. That means members (those who still need to work) have to rely on remote jobs, which not everybody wants to do or can do. Would love to hear your thoughts on this, thanks!
Saw your note on this today, awesome write-up! I’m going to check your other posts, but do you have any more resources regarding #6? Eco-village 3.0 + regional regenerative farming systems is where my attention is right now, and it seems aligned. Thank you!
Curious as to the nature of consumption in eco villages? Are people truly living locally and with minimal power use or generally eating shipped produce and taking long showers etc
I am so happy to have found you and this post. I’ve been looking into Eco villages for the last couple of years and that point 4 is the loudest to me. I cannot stand the bypassy, ungrounded vibe most of these villages give off. it’s been the same problem in the world school community for us as well. Where would me and my family feel emotionally and physically safe?? I want to build my own thing, but I don’t really. I just want collaboration around deeper values of equity justice and diversity of all kinds…race, class, gender, age, thought… It’s the only kind of community I would invest in because I would be able to trust it’s potential for real stability.
Lesson #0 - Only the wealthy and integrated and compliant are allowed to participate.
Lot of great stuff - wild you don’t mention food production - I spent awhile at Pachamama in Costa Rica - biggest issue was that they had no real food production so people trying to stretch their budgets were hungry. IMO these places aren’t real if they’re not producing a surplus of food or providing some real service to their wider community. If not it seems like places like Pachamama are places to hide from reality. There’s more to it than that and I still cherish the experiences I had there but for these places to be viable there must be a strong foundation.
Hi. Resonating with a lot that you share here. I have personal experience with having just liquidated our off grid home with intentional community and moved back on grid. It was a great iteration in the Great Experiment of re-villaging. The people element is so tricky to navigate. Looking forward to more insights!
Great post. At Life Itself we've been focusing on the idea of conscious coliving and conscious villages: https://lifeitself.org/conscious-coliving.
I also think that many of the lessons from Diana Leafe Christian's excellent 2003 book Creating a Life Together are still very relevant today. Detailed summary and notes here:
https://lifeitself.org/blog/2021/05/14/notes-on-creating-a-life-together-by-diana-leafe-christian
As a solo mom and ecotherapist on 65 acres and looking to connect and contribute to other communities as I pass the torch as well. The decade commitment is true for this and so many arcs of lasting change. Really appreciated this read.
Of the list, it was wonderful. As a culture worker #7 sticks out for me. Where I have a question is maybe #4 w/ respect to maybe splitting this into two findings. Regard the positivity of biodiversity impact mentioned, I am very curious on quantifiable metrics. I was on a permaculture farm where people were “winging it” and it was stressing out the chickens… Personal observation here, but I am curious! For the other part of#4 I’d be curious if the existing farm networks nearby might have synergies to increase cross-cultural connections? 💜
Let’s build one together!! I really resonate with this. I have been researching community living for about the same timeline and yes, what you are saying really rings true!