- What should we call you?
I’m wavesculptor with that or similar logo in several online places, inc Twitter. Trev, mildly masculine if you must put a handle on gender. - Where are you living? Do you live in an intentional community now?
Mountains of Portugal, near Fundao, approx 40N, 7W; not in intentional com now but have been and now wanting to recreate, specifically and locally - What are your experiences in community?
mainly in the 90s. Several years at Redfield, UK, several long visits to others in Aus, NZ and USA, mainly seeking out those with eco credentials and/or alt intimate relationship models. - Special talents
I’m a bit of a polymath: worked in electronics R&D, and as a writer, studied to be a medical researcher, became a sculptor - eco-constructor, took up piano at the ridiculous age of 50 … now just someone still fit at 65 with a set of skills in off-grid living and horticulture. Enjoy languages, can muddle through in order of prof at Spanish, French, Portuguese, German. Perfectionism has given way to pragmatism. - Interests
Anything of actual use in “my” world! Currently pushing horticulture and eBikes. Not too literally, usually. - Why are you here?
Try to find those on the East side of the Pond who might be interested in a seriously low carbon living project who are fun and mature enough to live with. Who other people take seriously but who laugh at themselves. Quite anti-capitalist, mainly because of the resource, climate and biodiversity destruction due to the big sell.
Hi @wavesculptor, as far as I know Bundagen is still going fine, I haven’t been there for about 15 years, but we occasionally get people traveling up the coast who stopped off there on the way.
Hello Lachlann and Lorelei,
If one does not fit in with mainstream society, living within it is a constant battle for sanity.
It is easy to lose oneself in such a circumstance.
Living the way that I do is easy on the pocketbook but that is because one has to rely on themselves for nearly everything.
There are good reasons why the majority of the worlds population lives in cities and that rural-urban gap keeps widening.
Convenience, safety, efficiency.
Nonetheless I do believe that safety net will not be around for long and it is not easy to predict the course of such things.
Developing self-sufficiency skills and practicing sustainability has never been more important.
It is a bit intimidating to be on ones own but the more you do it, the more you want to do.
Getting started is the big first step.
I just put up my first video on YouTube.
This is the result of my main project this summer.
I have never raised ducks or geese before so it was a big learning curve.
I got them as day old chicks on May 30.
I had to teach myself how to build a dam so they would have a pond.
You can check out the results here:
https://youtu.be/i72tCkZF2mo
Cheers,
Brad
Greetings,
Call me Atma short for Atma Rajdev
NY, not in an international community
Special talent for being in the right place at the right time.
I’m interested in many things.
I just wanted to introduce myself, that way I don’t com off as Mr. Elusive
and unapproachable
Hi, any other plant based, spiritual, straight, soul beings in here? Or is everyone else part of the konspirasi and hoax? Looking to liv and help out in a similar minded eko village, off grid if possible. Kurrentli in the northeast ‘usa’ and don’t relate to any ‘nationalities’ or ‘kontries’.
Would you like to attend a meeting at Willowhaven? We are based in WA and looking to buy land this year. Maybe you should check us out! Email me at WHSLT@outlook.com for details. <3
Hi
I’m Aaron
Searching for a place that will accept me. Preferably in Oregon.
I have industrial skills such as metal working, fabrication and most of all automotive diagnosis and repair. Been learning and working in the industry for 25 years.
It’s not that I’m not a farmer or grower, I like all that stuff too. I have a lot of tools and equipment pertaining to my line of work.
I want to trade my skills for a safe place to live. My passion is helping people and being honest in doing so. I want to do the right thing for humanity and the earth.
It’s really hard to find a community that will allow me to move in with my tools and equipment so that I can trade my skills for my basic needs.
So today, I found this website in hopes that something will come up that will help me help others in this oppressive state of predatory capitalism.
A little about me:
I’m a feminist who despises the capitalist ideas of unlimited supply at the expense/ death of the poor and the planet.
I believe in the original dream where every being every thing has spirit.
Music is a lot of fun to listen to and make. I have a banjo, guitar, flute and dobro.
My pronouns are he/him
I am not special and my ideas are not more important than anyone else’s ideas.
Greetings,
Melissa, I use she/they pronouns and currently reside on indigenous Lands of the Lenape(Aka Philadelphia, PA, US)
Seeking intentional communities of black and brown people who are taken aligned actions toward being stewards of the land and big on autonomous sovereign beings and radical self care and responsibility. My background is in software engineering However I’m moving into the space of coop development and collective healing. I’m a raw vegan enthusiast, a student of Kemetic sciences, an unschooling mom of two and disruptor of culture norms that no longer serve our families and planet. I’m here to pursue my goals and dreams for our highest and greatest good and look forward to connecting with those who date to dream big
Asé
@TheConsciousTechPivot
@TheMelissaExperience
Hello everyone,
My name is Jeremiah.
I currently live in NM, the Land of Enchantment. Currently, I do not live in an IC.
I have no experience with ICs. I have been reading intentional community websites and information posted on the FEC website.
I am a quick study and I can juggle lol. I have worked in the IT field and medical field.
I love to hike. I enjoy summiting the local peaks in my area of Santa Fe in northern NM. We have some great mountains out this way. I spend my time hiking and camping as much as I can. Occasionally I can be found doing some snowboarding or x-country skiing. I like to kayak the small mellow lakes we have in this area. I enjoy the gym (although I haven’t been since COVID started) and I enjoy just being active in general on my time away from work.
I am here because I am searching. I enjoy working hard. I enjoy my life. But, sometimes I feel like I am a cog in a machine. I am looking for real connections. Real interactions. Work that is for the common good and not just for money. Sometimes I feel like I am simply a vector for one person/group to give me money for my time just so that I can turn around and give that money to another person/group. It does not satisfy my soul. IDK. I am searching.
Have a great day everyone. Time for me to get started on my work day.
Hi Aaron, I really resonated with your post, and hope you find what you’re looking for on your side of the Atlantic. I’m in a very similar situation over in Portugal. If you back track through to my profile here, you’ll find some more words and pics. In small and new communities there may be a bit of “fear” around people who have such niche skills, expecting everyone to be a bit a certain way. But musicians tend to sit well! There was a guitar teacher here a while back, trying to figure out if he could fit himself in a community anywhere and still ply his trade. Profile - FakeNameForTheInternet - FIC Forum
I’m sure in places like Twin Oaks you’d be welcomed, but I’ve no idea of their current membership req’s.
Let me know how you’re doing on your quest. Best., Trev.
Hey Trevor
Thanks for the reply. I’m not in a huge rush which is nice, because I don’t want to jump into a place where it could go wrong. I did find a dischord channel that is a group of ppl forming a new community. It’s cool. A lot of ppl still drive and still need things fixed, so I’m sure something good will come along.
Aaron
OLa, aniwun in the northist (new ingland) area?
Howdy y’all
-
What should we call you?
Orion/Ryan
Star is fine too, but it’s more of my teacher name than anything. -
Where are you living? Do you live in an intentional community now?
California. No, I’ve been living with a family friend for about a year now. -
What are your experiences in community?
I’ve lived in a isolated, rural village with a population of 1,000 or so my entire life. I know just about everyone and they know me and my family. -
Special talents
• mountain man
• artistic! Dragons are my ultimate muses.
• Jack-of-all-trades kinda guy, more akin to a artisan
• very funny, I enjoy making people laugh
• biologist, life is very fascinating to me
• animal whisperer, I’m very good with any type of creature and love al forms of life
• geeky, I enjoy many forms of media, Transformers, Wings of Fire, Halo, are some of my favorite fandoms -
Interests
- art/creating
- botany
- science (biology)
- ranching/farming
- Why are you here?
Well, living in such a tiny community is not the best sometimes, especially since said community is turning against you because you oppose to their beliefs and your standing your ground.
I can no longer live here despite loving the environment and some people. I cannot be oppressed any longer or else I will eventually lose my mind and off myself.
So I am currently here to seek my new home (by next year’s summer).
I know that communes may have a bad rep but I do not mind being within a communal environment and would like to improve my people skills. (And it’s cheaper than an apartment.)
I do not currently have the means (a drivers license and a credit score) to leave but would like to plan ahead for once and I have these two to drag along.
I’m currently creating a commune that is planting roots this summer - idk if you want to be involved in that or not? It may not be the ready housing you are looking for. We’re queer/bipoc led and focused on disability & financial accessibility.
Howdy!
I appreciate the offer but you are correct and would prefer a more stable (ready) residential home for me and my felines.
Hope your community goes well!
- Orion
Hi Catherine – I see you posted this a while ago but I’m looking for follow community-people in Connecticut so I thought I’d reach out! We’re starting a small community in Hamden on 7 acres, and if that sounds interesting at all here’s our thread with more info! Help cofound a forest understory farm community
Hello! Thank you for reaching out to me! The land looks beautiful. I love the sound of your project as well. I was born and raised in Hamden so I’m a long time native. I have also been to twin oaks and visited other communities in the states. I am currently studying (online) with a community called Tamera (in Portugal). I am also in Gainesville Florida through March or April studying massage. I am very curious about your project. Are you looking to share your house and rent rooms to community members? Do you plan to build other structures for people to live in? How amenable are you to natural building (earthship, straw bale, etc.)? Is there a natural water source on the property? How close are you to lake wintergreen? Do you plan to share ownership of the land amongst community members? Is there a particular model of community that you are interested in? A particular communications and conflict resolution style? How many members do you ideally see on the land? I would love to connect with you via a phone call maybe when you have some time. Please let me know if and when. you are available for this
Hi! That’s awesome, I’ve never been to Tamera myself but Eric and I helped out at Ionia in Alaska for a summer and I know they have very strong community ties. It sounds like a very cool place. We are planning to share the house, and even though I just bought the land myself so I would have access to some really excellent government subsidies, I want to put legal covenants in place so that as soon as those subsidies expire, the land will be transferred to a trust to protect it as conserved land belonging to the community. I eventually would love to add additions to the main house and also build cottages so we could share the land and the monthly cost among way more people than will currently fit. As you know, but others don’t, Hamden has extremely restrictive zoning, so figuring out how to do this is going to be a long-term process. I have a deep love for natural building – that summer in Ionia we were working on a huge strawbale barn and I learned how to use earthern plaster – and to what extent we can build on the site, let alone with unconventional materials, is yet to be determined. The land is steep enough that it will apparently require zoning exemption to subdivide (and subdivision would be done only to allow more houses, not to split the land up into private parcels). The existing house has a well with excellent recovery and the water test also came back excellent, and there’s a septic system, although I want to switch over to composting toilets and greywater. We’re an 8-minute walk or so from the northern entrance to Lake Wintergreen, and so far the road seems like it’s a bit busy during commuting times but otherwise is quiet enough for people to walk their dogs on it.
My experience is almost all in the world of the FEC so I’m most interested in on-farm income-sharing community life but founding such a project in 2022 and staying close to the city seems less fruitful and less likely to succeed than founding a different kind of community where the income stream mostly comes from outside work and everyone keeps their own surplus income, paying only a share to live there. Maybe in the future we could spread the cost among enough people to allow for more full-time on-farm work. Since it’s a small landscape we can intensively manage it for maximum forest health and understory products, and beauty, of course.
As far as communications and conflict resolution, we’ll definitely have to see what works best and where all members are coming from. Personally I like regular meetings and also a culture of one-on-one check-ins where we actively make an effort to address small concerns before resentment can build up. That’s obviously not going to avoid all conflict and we’ll have to decide as a community which specific models we want to become trained in so we can apply them when conflict arises. I will be a strong advocate for formal training in /something/, although I don’t have strong opinions as to which, since the culture we live in is so freaking awful at managing conflict constructively. One thing that’s going to be super important is to allow space for righteous anger at any unintentional bias or oppression and to acknowledge and work to mitigate power and privilege. Just the fact that we have to charge so much money to afford payments on the land already excludes many people and that’s a difficult truth. Anyway, right now only 4-5 people will even fit but in the future I’d love to have a group of, say, 10-20, but it will depend on what the initial members want to do, and, the cost of building isn’t falling anytime soon, even with member labor and recovered or land-sourced materials. Also, forgot to put this in my post because I put it in my community listing but the listing isn’t active yet – we are requiring Covid vaccines. The only two non-negotiable requirements are Covid vaccination and ability to pay the share of the monthly cost.
I wanted to answer all your questions publicly because I think they’re excellent questions and other interested people will also be curious! If that all sounds good message me privately so we can set up a time to talk!
Hello! I’m Laura, joining in from The Farm community in Summertown, TN. I have been here for 8 years. It has been an interesting time to be a part of the community here, as our founding generation begins to retire and the community is in the midst of massive transition.
Some skills that I have brought with me to the Farm are my event organization and marketing skills…I organize and manage our monthly farmer & artisan market, and I have done a bit of outreach by going to local events to set up informational tables on the Farm and intentional communities in general. Off and on I have run our Instagram account and spoken to many, many, many folks who come through or send us messages and are generally interested in life in community.
Aside from that I’m an avid baker and do a community bread share program, I currently work for The Farm School which is a K-12 state accredited alternative school and homeschool umbrella, and I am working with others to plan some more big events and conferences here on the Farm.
I’m excited to be here and connect with other communitarians!
Hi. I am Kathleen. I live in Prairie Sky Cohousing Cooperative - we are in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
I was involved in the development of this community for seven years before move-in and we have now been here for 19 years so that is more than 25 years of connection to Prairie Sky. My main interests in the community have been about community building and nurture (rather than gardens or building care).
I recently retired after 35 years working as an Occupational Therapist in Mental Health, with a particular interest in group therapy. I love meetings. I am interested in the structures that support healthy groups so that includes legal structures, bylaws, etc.; meeting processes; organizational structure; environmental factors; judicious use of activities.
During development we had a very simple screening tool - if someone wanted to contribute a lot of time, energy, skills and money in order to live with these folks, they were in. 20 years later, life is different. We are at risk of having folks move in because the garden are great, the coop fees are low and we are on a bus route but they are not that interested in working to support community. I am taking this course on Membership processes because I am constantly looking to see if there are some ways to improve our membership processes.