Intentional Communities Respond

Intentional communities offer alternatives to the standard- and often ineffective societal responses. How well do they do?

§ Stress: Modern life is a pressure packed affair with too many projects, too many deadlines and too little time for family or oneself. The bottom line, in my view, is that most stress is caused by lack of vision, mission, clarity and boundary-setting.

Many intentional communities strive to create a life that is harmonious with nature and other people. Some communities invest significant time creating and implementing clear vision and mission statements to guide their members. EarthHaven Eco-village in Black Mountain, NC is one example. http://www.earthaven.org/vision/vision.htm

· Boredom: Many intentional communities include giving children a healthy place to play, learn, and grow in their mission statements; they are places where children are honored and not bored. Here are just a few examples.
o “Our approach to childcare is that it is parent-centered and integrated into the daily life of the community. On a practical level, this means working and taking care of your child at the same time, which may seem like a lot of extra work for parents. We feel that the kind of parents who thrive at Acorn as it is now relish the thought of working with their child and having kids contribute appropriately by age. Children can be found helping in the garden, gathering eggs, learning about tools, or doing various community chores alongside the adults of our group. We think this is a healthy approach to life for both adults and children.” Acorn Community, Mineral ,VA. http://www.ic.org/acorn/children.html

o The Farm in Summertown, TN has extensive experience with children, many of whom have contributed what they enjoyed at The Farm to the world at large. http://www.thefarm.org/lifestyle/index.html.
o The Farm also runs a program called Kids to the Country (KTC) where children who are “at risk” are given opportunities for healing and growth. http://www.plenty.org/KTC.htm
o The Farm also has an extensive midwifery program. “For over 25 years, The Farm Midwifery Center has provided a very special service for mothers, babies and their families. Women are treated with love and respect, empowering them to fulfill their desire for natural childbirth in a sane and safe home setting. The holistic approach provided by The Farm Midwives addresses not only physical but also emotional, spiritual, sexual and cultural aspects of each individual. We believe that childbearing is a significant event for every family and that every mother has the right to a safe and satisfying experience.” http://www.farmcatalog.com/birth.htm

Gregg Levoy, speaking of adult boredom says, “If you’re bored, it means you’re not in contact with deeper processes that are happening, and in my case that deeper process was that I was very excited about the prospect of beginning to study physics and its connections with psychology, and wanted to start right there on vacation. Which I did.” Levoy, Gregg: CALLINGS: Finding and Following an Authentic Life, Three Rivers Press/Random House, 1997

· Poverty: Olive Branch Community in Washington, DC describes itself thusly; “We are a racially mixed, spiritually based, intentional community respectful of the prophets of eastern and western, religious traditions. Although we are predominantly, formerly homeless and frequently provide hospitality, we are not a shelter. We are non-hierarchical and operate through a consensus decision-making process. As a matter of faith, we live entirely from small donations and are not beholden to any government, religious institution, grantor or board of directors other than those we have by necessity created. We operate two houses - One in the heart of inner city Washington D.C. that has responsibility for a soup kitchen at Metro Center and homeless, housing advocacy; and another in southeast that attempts to build intentional community in a neighborhood ravished by poverty and neglect.” Olive Branch Community in Washington, DC. http://www.olivebranchcommunity.org

Member communities of The Federation of Egalitarian Community attempt to end poverty through the following principles:
o holding land, labor, income, and other resources in common
o assuming responsibility for the needs of its members, receiving the products of their labor, and distributing these and all other goods equally, or according to need.
o practicing non-violence
o using a form of decision making in which members have an equal opportunity to participate, either through consensus, direct vote, or right of appeal or overrule.
o working to establish the equality of all people and does not permit discrimination on the basis of race, class, creed, ethnic origin, age, sex or sexual orientation.
o acting to conserve natural resources for present and future generations while striving to continually improve ecological awareness and practice.
o creating processes for group communication and participation and provides an environment which supports people's development.
(View the Federation of Egalitarian Community Web site at http://www.thefec.org.)

· Energy: Through sharing utilities and some resources, community members can live well while using much less energy per person than the average American. Ganas, an urban community in Staten Island, New York utilizes both technology (water saving devices, efficient light bulbs, etc.) and encouragement to reduce energy usage. They do this through their in-house newsletter and community-wide meetings. Ganas also runs several retail stores dedicated to recycling used goods. www.ganas.org

· Land Use: Most communities attempt to live more lightly on the earth. Many have extensive gardens and/or open space. Some co-housing communities have watersheds and wetlands as part of their community, such as Milalgro in Tucson,AZ. What makes these different from the typical subdivision that might have such features is that communities like Milagro place a very high value on land restoration for it’s own sake as part of their community values.
http://www.milagrocohousing.org

· Job Satisfaction: Many communities have businesses located within the community. These enterprises might be owned by individual members, a group of members, or the community itself. These enterprises are an integral part of community life. Communities use processes for conflict resolution and personal growth to make them exciting and fulfilling places to work.

· Corporate Culture: Intentional communities have a significant advantage over more traditional enterprises in that the entire project is a social experiment which encourages “out of the box“ thinking. Community businesses face the same real-world pressures of economics and culture faced by all businesses and must make compromises and adjustments.

· Workplace Anger: Many intentional communities integrate communication processes into daily life and work. These processes release anger in healing and creative ways. Heart of Now (as practiced by Lost Valley Community in Dexter, OR) is one example. This practice makes one present with the whole self (emotions, thoughts, body, and the connection to everyone and everything from which dreams and visions spring). Presence with self allows presence with others and with the situations and circumstances of life free of the limitations that hold one back. All possibilities are available; one is free to create as one wants it to be. http://www.lostvalley.org/hon