Description
Book Synopsis How to research, visit, evaluate, and join the ecovillage or sustainable community of your dreams.
Finding community is as critical as obtaining food and shelter, since the need to belong is what makes us human. The isolation and loneliness of modern life have led many people to search for deeper connection, which has resulted in a renewed interest in intentional communities. These intentional communities or ecovillages are an appealing choice for like-minded people who seek to create a family-oriented and ecologically sustainable lifestylea lifestyle they are unlikely to find anywhere else.
However, the notion of an intentional community can still be a tremendous leap for somedeterred perhaps by a misguided vision of eking out a hardscrabble existence with little reward. In fact, successful ecovillages thrive because of the combined skills and resources of their members.
Finding Community presents a thorough overview of ecovillages and intentional communities and offers solid advice on how to research thoroughly, visit thoughtfully, evaluate intelligently, and join gracefully. Useful considerations include:
- Important questions to ask (of members and of yourself)
- Signs of a healthy (and not-so-healthy) community
- Cost of joining (and staying)
- Common blunders to avoid
Finding Community provides intriguing possibilities to readers who are seeking a more cooperative, sustainable, and meaningful life.
Diana Leafe Christian is the author of Creating a Life Together and editor of Communities magazine. She lives at Earthhaven Ecovillage in North Carolina.
Table of ContentsWhy Community?; Ten Most Common Fears about Joining a Community; Community Living-Day-to-Day; Ecovillages: For Future Generations; Co-housing Communities; Urban Communities: Group Households and Housing Co-ops; Rural Homesteading Communities, Conference and Retreat Centers; Spiritual Communities; Christian Communities; Income-Sharing Communes; What Does It Cost?; What Does It Take to Live in Community?; The Communities Directory, the Internet, and You; Your Criteria for Communities to Visit; My Marathon Tour of Communities; Planning Your Visits; Excerpts from a Community Seekers Journal; How to Be a Great Guest (and Make the Most of Your Experience); Seriously Seeking Community (reprinted from Communities magazine); Evaluating Your Visits; Taking a Second Look; Choosing Your Community: The "Insiders Guide"; The Membership Process; Entering Community Gracefully; "The longest, most expensive, personal growth workshop you will ever take"; Index.
