Sept. 22, 2008
THE CULTURE ARTIST: Building Ecotopia: Intentional Communities, Part 3
By Chuck Hall
One of the reasons that intentional communities with an ecological theme aren't more popular than they are is probably that the rules are too restrictive for the average individualistic American. I think that there is a huge demand out there, waiting to be tapped, for planned communities with an ecological theme. The planners of such communities just need to ease up a bit on the restrictions. To show you what that might look like, I'd like to share with you my vision of an intentional community for the 21st Century.
The first change I'd like to see in intentional communities as commonly practiced would be property ownership. I think that many people shy away from intentional communities because they don't want to invest a large part of their lives in a property in which they will have no equity. It would still be possible to have a self-governing community if you incorporated property rights and ownership into the mix. Many planned communities in suburban subdivisions have covenant restrictions so that the community may maintain a common vision while still allowing private ownership. Doing this in an intentional community would be no different, except that there may be a few more restrictions as to building materials and methods, to assure that they community stays sustainable.
Such a community would need a democratic body to govern its operation, much as neighborhoods have committees and boards to govern the operations of the subdivision. The governing body would make decisions on planning the future of the community, the day-to-day operations of the community, and who should be admitted as new members to the community. They would also govern land use for all lands held in common, and specify policies for any other concerns of the community.
In an intentional community that would allow property ownership, there would still need to be parcels set aside for the use of all members. The governing council would allocate such parcels for schools, recreation facilities, agriculture, and any other purposes deemed fit and necessary. The community at large could hold these parcels in trust. Again, this is not that much different from any planned community in any subdivision across America.
In my ideal sustainable intentional community, there would be a council house/meeting hall in which to hold meetings of the governing council.
Many intentional communities strive to be as self-sustaining as possible, asking their members to work within the community rather than having jobs outside the community. This is a noble aspiration, but usually it is not very practical. In my ideal community, members wouldn't be restricted to working only within the confines of the community itself. Allowing members to work outside the community would go a long way towards building membership rosters in ecovillages. Members who worked outside the ecovillage could also act as ambassadors of a sort, describing their experiences in the community to the people at their place of employment.
Finally, in my ideal ecovillage there would be at least a couple of people who were familiar with natural building techniques. They could hold workshops within the community to educate the public in natural building techniques. And of course, the workshop participants could gain practical experience by helping to build homes for the newer members of the community.
My design for an ecovillage may not be the same as yours, but with the number of such communities scattered throughout the United States, there's sure to be at least one that matches your own inner vision. If you look long enough, I'm willing to bet you'll be able to find one.
Chuck Hall's latest book, "Invasion of the Vegans!" will be available at the Culture Artist website at www.cultureartist.org later this year. You may contact Chuck by email at: chuck@cultureartist.org.
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THE CULTURE ARTIST: Building Ecotopia: Intentional Communities, Part 3
By Chuck Hall
One of the reasons that intentional communities with an ecological theme aren't more popular than they are is probably that the rules are too restrictive for the average individualistic American. I think that there is a huge demand out there, waiting to be tapped, for planned communities with an ecological theme. The planners of such communities just need to ease up a bit on the restrictions. To show you what that might look like, I'd like to share with you my vision of an intentional community for the 21st Century.
The first change I'd like to see in intentional communities as commonly practiced would be property ownership. I think that many people shy away from intentional communities because they don't want to invest a large part of their lives in a property in which they will have no equity. It would still be possible to have a self-governing community if you incorporated property rights and ownership into the mix. Many planned communities in suburban subdivisions have covenant restrictions so that the community may maintain a common vision while still allowing private ownership. Doing this in an intentional community would be no different, except that there may be a few more restrictions as to building materials and methods, to assure that they community stays sustainable.
Such a community would need a democratic body to govern its operation, much as neighborhoods have committees and boards to govern the operations of the subdivision. The governing body would make decisions on planning the future of the community, the day-to-day operations of the community, and who should be admitted as new members to the community. They would also govern land use for all lands held in common, and specify policies for any other concerns of the community.
In an intentional community that would allow property ownership, there would still need to be parcels set aside for the use of all members. The governing council would allocate such parcels for schools, recreation facilities, agriculture, and any other purposes deemed fit and necessary. The community at large could hold these parcels in trust. Again, this is not that much different from any planned community in any subdivision across America.
In my ideal sustainable intentional community, there would be a council house/meeting hall in which to hold meetings of the governing council.
Many intentional communities strive to be as self-sustaining as possible, asking their members to work within the community rather than having jobs outside the community. This is a noble aspiration, but usually it is not very practical. In my ideal community, members wouldn't be restricted to working only within the confines of the community itself. Allowing members to work outside the community would go a long way towards building membership rosters in ecovillages. Members who worked outside the ecovillage could also act as ambassadors of a sort, describing their experiences in the community to the people at their place of employment.
Finally, in my ideal ecovillage there would be at least a couple of people who were familiar with natural building techniques. They could hold workshops within the community to educate the public in natural building techniques. And of course, the workshop participants could gain practical experience by helping to build homes for the newer members of the community.
My design for an ecovillage may not be the same as yours, but with the number of such communities scattered throughout the United States, there's sure to be at least one that matches your own inner vision. If you look long enough, I'm willing to bet you'll be able to find one.
Chuck Hall's latest book, "Invasion of the Vegans!" will be available at the Culture Artist website at www.cultureartist.org later this year. You may contact Chuck by email at: chuck@cultureartist.org.
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