Members Forming a New Ecovillage or Community

A "virtual" community should be established prior to any purchase of land, including all details. Everything should be put in writing.  This will prevent many problems from arising after people have already put in money and bought land and started building. Of course there will be problems and personal conflicts, but we want to minimize them as much as possible.

The group should gradually start to function exactly like the community that the members are trying to develop. Voting should take place, households formed, villages formed, agreements signed, rules decided, and everyone should contribute to and be educated in the principles of the community. Dispute resolution processes should be in use, group processes used, consensus practiced - everything.

Ninety percent of Intentional Communities fail, in part because they do not do this. There are other reasons for failure, but they can be discovered and resolved by following this process, before funds are committed. This can save a lot of grief and heartache. 

The process will take time. Some people may leave and new people join during this process. Expect it and don't be surprised.  It may take a year or more to bring people together and agree on all the principles and details. Organization is required, planning for meetings or presentations is required. It can be hard work. Some people may find it is not what they expected. Don't try to rush through the early stages, give people time.

Especially in the earlier stages, each member should try to understand what will work best for everyone.  Having an attitude of "this is what I want" will start things off on the wrong foot and cause others to also have that attitude. The result is disagreement and conflict. After a group is functioning reasonably well and has agreed on some basics, the "I want this" will come out but the group as a whole will be able to handle it. As long as you have some people who really are prepared to determine what will work best for everyone, and everyone is practicing good communication skills, your group should do well. 

At some point you may need to close the group to new members until full agreement is reached, after which any new person should follow the process for joining an existing community.  This will be especially necessary if you have new people continually joining as you go along. At that point you must have established and agreed upon a process for new people to join. Once that process is established, each member of the existing group should follow it, and of course any new people must follow it. The process may not be exactly the same as the process put in place after a physical community is developed, but the essential steps involved should be the same. 

Team-building exercises and group outings or events are especially critical in this forming stage.  If the members are only interacting intellectually it is not sufficient to bring people's feelings out or for them to become vested and really develop relationships. There should be plenty of physical interaction. Shared meals are invaluable. Any activity where the whole group is involved is very valuable - the more the better. NOTE: Electronic participation is not enough. Conference calls, online meetings, and so forth can help in the process, but are never a substitute for face-to-face personal interaction. 

Everyone needs to be educated, and must commit to getting educated. Take classes, bring in experienced speakers, visit existing successful communities.  Everyone in a group does not need to know all about water, or all about food - people can specialize. But everyone needs to know all about community-building, about relationships, about the steps along the way, and the pitfalls to expect and try to avoid. Everyone should at least have an overview of each of the subjects involved, and that is the purpose of this website. 

One of the best books we've found on this subject is "Creating a Life Together" by Diana Leaf Christian, which can be found on Amazon.com. Here is her website. We highly recommend that every person who is part of a forming community read this book very carefully. In fact, we suggest you make it required reading. 

In the later stages, when things are being agreed upon and written down, legal entities should be formed and members should put in some amount of money and pledge the remainder that they initially agreed to.  There will be some expenses even in the forming stages. Different people may contribute for particular expenses, but if the group is planning to appoint a Treasurer later on, do it now and start that process functioning as well. 

Be prepared for ruffled feathers - or more - and have a process in place early on to deal with personal problems, communication problems, and so forth.  Once again, the earlier you start functioning like the group you want to become, the better. Become educated in dealing with problems, and identifying the real source. Many times it takes real work to unearth the real cause. Someone may be continually arguing about something, but the underlying problem could be that the structure of the group does not work for them. Most of us are unaccustomed to dealing with decision-making among equals, both at home and in the workplace. 

Some couples have relationships that are not suitable for a community based on becoming more ecologically, socially, economically and culturally sustainable. When couples are part of the formation process, both husband and wife should be part of the process. Things may seem to be going along great with only one of them involved, until the spouse finally comes to a meeting and joins in the conversation. Sometimes one spouse dominates the other in the relationship (and sometimes abuses the other, physically or emotionally) and such relationships will affect everyone else in the group and cause problems. Regardless of an individual's personal beliefs, mores, principles or religious ideals, in today's society in America men and women have equal rights - as well as all people regardless of nationality, race, color, creed, etc. It is important to select for emotional maturity, and this includes emotional maturity in existing relationships. 

Purchasing and developing land should be seen as the very last step in forming a community, out of many steps. The adventure does not begin when land is purchased. The adventure begins when we come together to learn, discuss, and share our lives. Buying land is a later chapter in the adventure. 

Joining an Existing Ecovillage or Community

Always contact the community before visiting, and wait for their response.  Many communities have something like an "open house" for a few weeks or a month during the year, and prefer not to have visitors at other times. Remember that you are not just a visitor, you are a guest who is studying them because you have an interest in joining.

Each person desiring to be part of a community must interact with the existing members of the community as much as possible.  It is their decision whether or not to accept you, as well as your decision whether or not you ultimately want to join that community. It's like getting married - don't rush into it. Get to know each other.

Joining an existing community that has already hashed out the details is much easier than trying to start one from scratch.  But you don't know if they really have hashed out all the details - there could be a lot of problems just under the surface. You won't find this out unless you really spend some time with them. Even a month is sometimes not enough, that's just scratching the surface.

Don't join a community that does not have a well-developed and in-depth process for joining.  If there is no such process then the community is just a loosely-knit group of people who are not really living and working together. It's also possible they are desperate for new members and are willing to risk a lot to get them. Either way it is a red flag - unless you are not really looking for community, but only for a few friends that live nearby. 

A thriving community has a lot at risk by not screening newcomers very carefully: namely their successful community! At the same time, they may be strong enough, large enough, or diverse enough to handle a few difficult people even if there are problems.  Small or unstable communities are at even greater risk by not screening carefully. One unsuitable person can stir up so much conflict that the community could dissolve.

Expect to be scrutinized. If it is your first experience interacting with a close-knit community, expect some new experiences.  Be ready for some adventure. Conduct further research if you don't know much about the community. Most successful communities publish information about themselves, including their Community Constitution, Vision Statements, goals and so forth. If it is a community that offers some educational classes, consider taking some first.

Everybody has problems. No one is perfect. And no one community is suitable for everyone.  This is one reason for having sub-groups within a community, which we call villages. Find a person or a particular sub-group within the community with whom you resonate, and get to know them personally. They'll be able to give you the inside scoop. If you end up joining the community they can help you considerably.

Expect to work hard, or to contribute substantially in whatever way the community finds valuable.  Many communities use the people who come during their "open house" period to get needed projects completed within the community. There are often volunteers who come during this time as well who are not seeking to join. If you want to join, figure out some way to stand out from the crowd, whether by working harder, having an amiable personality, having entertainment abilities or other skills, valuable knowledge, etc. 

Don't be too disappointed if you get turned down. Pay careful attention to what they say. Most of the time it will not be a permanent refusal. Work on self-improvement - it's what we all need. If you really like them, and are pretty sure you have seen all there is to see, re-submit a request at a later date. 

One of the best books we've found on this subject is "Finding Community" by Diana Leaf Christian, which can be found on Amazon.com. Here is her website. We highly recommend that every person who is seeking an intentional community to join read this book very carefully. If you have read her first book, "Creating a Life Together" then that is sufficient education on what these communities are about. 

If you want to be part of our Forming Ecovillage near Dallas, Texas

We are meeting weekly (most weeks).  Most of us know one another and have common interests and goals. Check the Updates section of our Home page occasionally to see if anything is new there. 

· Read everything on this website

· Read the book "Creating a Life Together" by Diana Leafe Christian

· Learn about consensus and take a course in that subject and related ones. We recommend "On Conflict and Consensus" by CT Butler as a very good introduction, but is not sufficient in itself. 

· Membership in this community is open only to people who are strictly vegetarian or vegan, and who don't take any type of intoxicants such as alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs. Membership in the community will require submitting an application and being approved. Anyone is welcome to come to meetings and see what we are doing, with prior permission. Please contact us if you would like to know more or come to a meeting.

· We will be sharing new information on the home page as we go along. We are working on offering some classes and workshops. Please see Education for any updates on this. 

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If you browsed through all the website pages in order, you can now either browse our links or contact us. There are some great documentaries at the bottom of the links page.

We sincerely hope you are already living in a wonderful community or will be soon!