[Copyright
the Fellowship for Intentional Community 1996]
Intentional Communities: Lifestyles Based on Ideals
by Geoph Kozeny of Community Catalyst Project, San Francisco,
California
Drawing on information from his visits to hundreds of communities
across the continent, Geoph Kozeny gives an overview of the communities
movement -- not only its current state, but also how it has evolved and
its prospects for the future. He points out the common bonds that link
communities in spite of their diversity.
T
ODAY MANY PEOPLE ARE QUESTIONING
our society's values, and asking what
gives meaning to life. They bemoan the "loss of community," and are
looking for ways to reintroduce community values into their lives.
There are several options now available to the average person that
satisfy at least the basic cravings: many folks get involved with
various civic or social change groups; others get more deeply involved
in the activities of their church; still others create friendships and
support networks in their neighborhoods. Those with strong motivation
to live their values "full time" often seek to join or create
intentional communities.
An "intentional community" is a group of people who have chosen to live
together with a common purpose, working cooperatively to create a
lifestyle that reflects their shared core values. The people may live
together on a piece of rural land, in a suburban home, or in an urban
neighborhood, and they may share a single residence or live in a
cluster of dwellings.
This definition spans a wide variety of groups, including (but not
limited to) communes, student cooperatives, land co-ops, cohousing
groups, monasteries and ashrams, and farming collectives. Although
quite diverse in philosophy and lifestyle, each of these groups places
a high priority on fostering a sense of community--a feeling of
belonging and mutual support that is increasingly hard to find in
mainstream Western society.
Intentional communities are like people--you can categorize them based
on certain distinguishing characteristics, but no two are ever
identical. Differences among them, whether obvious or subtle, can be
attributed to variations in philosophy, in mission or project emphasis,
in behavioral norms, or in the personality and style of the leaders (if
the group has identified leaders), and the individual members. Each
group is somehow unique.
A Time-Honored Idea
Mainstream media typically promote the popular myth that shared living
began with the "hippie crash pads" of the '60s--and died with the
arrival of "yuppies" in the late '70s and early '80s.
The truth, however, is quite different. Today there are literally
thousands of groups, with hundreds of thousands of members, that live
in intentional communities and extended families based on something
other than blood ties. This type of living has been around for
thousands of years, not just decades.
It is well documented that early followers of Jesus banded together to
live in a "community of goods," simplifying their lives and sharing all
that they owned. That tradition continues to this day, particularly
through many inner-city Christian groups that live communally. These
groups often pool resources and efforts in their ministry to the
homeless, the poor, orphans, single parents, battered women, and
otherwise neglected and oppressed minorities.
Yet shared living goes back much farther than that, predating the
development of agriculture many thousands of years ago. Early
hunter-gatherers banded together in tribes, not just blood-related
families, and depended on cooperation for their very survival.
The advent of the isolated nuclear family is, in fact, a fairly recent
phenomenon, having evolved primarily with the rise of
industrialization, particularly the development of high-speed
transportation. As transportation has become cheaper and faster, we've
also witnessed an increase in transience, and the demise of the
traditional neighborhood.
Roots & Realities
Although many contemporary community visions emphasize the creation of
neighborhood and/or extended family ties, their philosophic roots are
amazingly diverse. The range includes Christians, Quakers, and
followers of Eastern religions, to '60s drop-outs, anarchists,
psychologists, artists, back-to-the-land survivalists--and the list
goes on.
The scope of their primary values is equally broad, including ecology,
equality, appropriate technology, self-sufficiency, right livelihood,
humanist psychology, creativity, spirituality, meditation, yoga, and
the pursuit of global peace. However, even among groups that base their
philosophy on "achieving a holistic view of the world," it would be
quite surprising to discover a community that has achieved "perfection"
amidst the fast-paced chaos of modern life. Communities draw their
membership from society at large, and those members bring with them
generations of social conditioning. The attitudes, behaviors, and
institutions prevalent in the broader society--including the very
things we seek alternatives to--are a significant part of our
upbringing. Merely identifying a problem and expressing a desire to
overcome it does not mean that we presently have the perspective or
skills needed to transcend it. The problems we see "out there" in the
mainstream--greed, dishonesty, excessive ego, lack of self-esteem,
factionalism, inadequate resources, poor communication skills, you name
it--all manage to find a significant role in alternative cultures as
well.
What is encouraging about many intentional communities is their
tendency to be open to new ideas, their willingness to be tolerant of
other approaches, and their commitment to live in a way that reflects
their idealism. Although communities exist that are close-minded and
bigoted, they're the exception, not the rule. More often than not,
people who consciously choose to live in an intentional community also
have parallel interests in ecology, personal growth, cooperation, and
peaceful social transformation--pursuing the work necessary to change
destructive attitudes and behaviors often taken for granted in the
prevailing culture.
Some Common Threads
Spirituality or religion, regardless of the specific sect or form, is
probably the most common inspiration for launching a new community.
Such groups bear a striking resemblance to their centuries-old
predecessors--in spite of current developments in technology,
education, psychology, and theology. Many of North America's leading
centers for the study of meditation and yoga have been established by
intentional communities based on the teachings of spiritual masters
from the Far East. (Such centers include Kripalu in Massachusetts,
Ananda Village in California, Satchidananda Ashram in Virginia, Ananda
Marga in New York, and Maharishi University in Iowa. Each of these
intentional communities serves a widely dispersed group of
practitioners, including those who live in "sister" communities, and
many who live "out there" in the wider society.)
Among secular communities, the inspiration is typically based on bold
visions of creating a new social and economic order--establishing
replicable models that will lead to the peaceful and ecological
salvation of the planet. In some cases, however, secular groups may opt
for isolation, seeking to escape the problems of the rest of the world
by creating instead a life of self-sufficiency, simplicity, and
serenity.
Most members of intentional communities share a deep-felt concern about
home, family, and neighborhood. Beyond the obvious purpose of creating
an extended-family environment for raising a family, communities create
an environment of familiarity and trust sufficiently strong that doors
can safely be left unlocked. In today's world of escalating crime,
merely having that kind of security may be reason enough to join.
Dozens of intentional communities, alarmed by rising student/teacher
ratios and falling literacy rates in public schools, have opted to
establish alternative schools and to form communities as a base of
support for that type of education. Intentional communities comprise a
sizeable chunk of the membership of the National Coalition of
Alternative Community Schools, an organization of private schools,
families, and individuals who share a commitment to create a new and
empowering structure for education. Coalition members publish a
quarterly newsletter and organize an annual spring conference for
sharing resources and skills for social change.
Other communities, usually smaller, have created rural homesteads where
they can pursue homeschooling without fear of legal pressure from local
school officials. State laws favorable to schooling at home have been
promoted, and in some cases initiated, by members of intentional
communities. Many communities that homeschool are active in national
associations organized specifically to support parents' rights, promote
topical networking, and to increase the nation's awareness of
homeschooling as a viable educational option.
Another popular issue these days is ecology. Over 90 percent of
contemporary communities I've visited, including those located in urban
areas, practice recycling and composting. Many serve as model
environments or teaching centers for sustainable agriculture and
appropriate technology, and feature such concepts as permaculture,
organic gardening, grey water systems, solar and wind power, and
passive solar home design. Eco-Home, a small shared household in Los
Angeles, is an inspiring model of how to live ecologically in an urban
environment. "The Farm," a large cooperative community in rural
Tennessee, has launched a wide range of environmentally focused
projects, including the development of advanced radiation detection
equipment; a solar electronics company; a solar car company; the
Natural Rights Center (an environmental law project); and a publishing
company that specializes in books about environmental issues,
vegetarian cooking, natural health care, midwifery, Native Americans,
children's stories, and pesticide-free gardening.
In the late 1960s, a wave of new communities influenced by the antiwar
movement, the "sexual revolution," rock music, more permissive
attitudes about drugs, and the popularization of Eastern religions
sprung up to create cooperative lifestyles based on sexual liberation,
born-again Christianity, and everything in between. In effect, these
often naively idealistic utopian experiments functioned as a pressure
cooker for personal and collective growth. Although many of the '60s
groups folded during the creative but turbulent decade that followed,
hundreds have survived into the '90s and are now thriving--having
reevaluated, restructured, and matured over the years.
B.F. Skinner's book, Walden Two (a futurist novel based on his theories
of behavioral psychology), inspired the creation of at least a dozen
communal experiments. Los Horcones, one such community near Sonora,
Mexico, is today one of the world's foremost experiments in behaviorist
theory.
The Franchise Approach
Some communities hit upon a combination of philosophy and lifestyle
that enables them to thrive. Occasionally one will embark on a program
of systematic colonization to spread its message and its influence.
During the Reformation, a group of German Anabaptists decided to pool
their goods and unite in Christian brotherhood. Jakob Hutter emerged as
a primary leader five years later, in 1533. The community prospered,
and subsequently formed many new colonies. Today there are nearly 400
colonies of the Hutterian Brethren in Canada and the United States, and
a few more in South America and Europe. When a Hutterian community
reaches its optimum capacity (100 - 150 members), the group acquires a
new piece of land, builds a new set of structures (homes, barns,
schools, etc.) acquires more agricultural equipment, and outfits an
entire new facility. Then the population divides into two groups--one
group staying at the original site, and one moving on to the new one.
Neighboring colonies support each other with backup labor and various
resources, an approach that yields a very high ratio of success for the
new colonies.
Each colony has common work and a common purpose, and most have an
economic base of large-scale, machine-powered agriculture within an
organizational structure resembling that of a producer cooperative.
They have been so successful in their endeavors that in the '80s some
of their neighbors on the Canadian plains initiated lawsuits to prevent
Hutterites from acquiring more land, claiming that their modernized
agricultural base and communal economy amounted to "unfair
competition." Because the Hutterites have retained many of their
original customs--including dress, family structure, a simple
lifestyle, and the German language--many outsiders find the Hutterites
to be quite out of place when compared to their contemporary neighbors.
In contrast, members of Emissaries of Divine Light, another spiritually
based association, manage to fit right in with the mainstream culture.
The Emissaries, founded in the early '30s, have a network of 12 major
communities plus a number of urban centers that span the globe. Their
overall focus is directed toward achieving a more effective and
creative life experience, developing spiritual awareness without rules
or a specific belief system. Their lifestyle would be described by many
as "upper middle class," and business oriented. Nuclear family units,
though not mandated, are the norm. Emissaries pride themselves on being
on good terms with their neighbors. One long-standing resident of an
Emissary community at the edge of a small Canadian town was elected
mayor of the town for 15 consecutive years. The Emissary business staff
is well respected--so much so that government tax officials in British
Columbia regularly consult Emissary personnel before deciding on
strategies for implementing new tax laws and regulations concerning
nonprofit corporations.
The connections between and among the various Emissary communities
worldwide are maintained in many ways: inspirational talks and special
events are always recorded, and transcripts are kept on file at each
Emissary center; some events are recorded on video, with copies
distributed by mail; on a weekly basis, several centers link up via
satellite for instantaneous transmission of related presentations
originating from multiple locations. Most active members receive
regular Emissary publications, some of which provide a network
overview, and others which document the work of special interest
subgroups. For example, many of the major Emissary centers have
agricultural operations, which grow much of the food consumed by
residents and guests. Known as "stewardship farms," these separate
operations are managed and staffed by members who regularly share ideas
and information about long-term sustainable agriculture. This special
interest group publishes a regular newsletter and organizes periodic
conferences, planning meetings, and exchange visits.
Network Alliances
The popular myth that the intentional communities movement died in the
early '80s has been discouraging to many of the intentional communities
that survived and thrived on their own. Many contemporary groups have
suffered a lack of contact and support due to their mistaken impression
that they were among the few survivors of a bygone era. Fortunately,
there is growing interest shared by a growing number of independent
communities who desire contact with like-minded groups, both nearby and
around the world. Regional, continental, and even intercontinental
networks--alliances for the sharing of ideas, resources, and social
interests--are gaining support and visibility, thus enabling groups to
learn from each others' failures and long-term successes.
One network of more than 50 Catholic Worker houses publishes a periodic
newspaper and organizes occasional gatherings for the sharing of ideas,
skills, rituals, friendship, and solidarity. Another values-based
network is the Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC), a North
American network created to promote shared living in whatever forms it
may take. The Fellowship handles thousands of inquiries yearly from
seekers hoping to find a community to join, from communities looking
for new members, from academics doing research, and from media people
gathering material for stories. A third organization of note is the
Federation of Egalitarian Communities (FEC), established to promote and
develop democratically run communities based on equality, income
sharing, nonviolence, cooperation, ecology, and sustainability. FEC
encourages the identification and elimination of the "isms" (racism,
sexism, classism, ageism, etc.), and emphasizes the importance of
ongoing contact among member groups.
FEC communities tax themselves $200 per year plus one percent of net
revenues, using this fund to finance joint recruitment campaigns,
fundraising, and travel to meetings and between communities. They have
also created a voluntary joint security fund for protection against the
economic strain of large medical bills. This fund has now grown to more
than $100,000 and is used in part as a revolving loan fund that
provides low-interest loans to projects and community businesses
compatible with FEC values. Member communities also participate in a
labor exchange program that allows residents of one community to visit
another and receive labor credit at home for work done away. This is
especially handy when one community's peak workload occurs during
another's off season, and the labor flows back and forth when most
appreciated. The exchange of personnel also offers an opportunity to
take a mini-vacation, learn a new skill, make new friends, maintain old
ones, and share insights about common experiences.
The Federation also aspires to document collectively acquired wisdom,
making it available to the public for the cost of copying and postage.
They have created a "Systems & Structures Package"--a compilation of
written documents on bylaws, membership agreements, property codes,
behavior norms, labor and governance systems, visitor policies, and
ideas about what to do when you have too many dogs. The point of
sharing this information is to help new (and even some not-so-new)
communities ease through the struggles of creating appropriate
structures, offering models for what to do when good will and best
intentions are not enough.
A Contemporary Wave
Historically, participation in shared living communities has come in
cycles. One major wave just ahead of the U.S. Civil War included Brook
Farm, an educational experiment that attracted the likes of Henry David
Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Other notable
waves followed--one at the end of the last century including some still
existing "Single Tax Colonies" (based on the economic philosophy of
Henry George), one immediately preceding World War I, and another
during the Great Depression. The last wave came out of the
counter-culture in the '60s, and now a new wave is beginning. This 1994
edition of the Communities Directory documents more than 50 new
communities started during the past five years, and that's merely the
tip of the iceberg. Also listed are more than 160 that have survived at
least a decade, and 80 others that have been in existence for more than
two decades.
It is apparent that people--dissatisfied with the gap between their
ideals and reality--will keep trying out new approaches until they find
lifestyles that solve most of the problems they see in the dominant
culture. History suggests that the process is endless. To paraphrase
Karl Marx: today's solutions to yesterday's problems introduce new
dynamics that become tomorrow's problems. An exciting feature of
today's intentional communities movement is that its members are
actively seeking to identify problems, working to find solutions, and
trying to implement new insights in their daily lives.
Many contemporary groups are exploring ways to achieve a true sense of
community while maintaining a balance between privacy and cooperation,
a concept quite compatible with values prevalent in mainstream society
today. Perhaps by emphasizing common concerns rather than differences
in our lifestyle choices, innovations will find their way more quickly
across cultural lines.
Although shared living does not appeal to everyone, history confirms
again and again that ongoing social experiments inevitably lead to a
variety of new social and technical innovations--developments that will
eventually find many useful applications in other segments of society.
It's hard to predict just when an intentional community will come up
with something new that will be assimilated by mainstream culture.
However, if social experimenting results in a product, a process, or a
philosophy that makes life a little easier or a bit more fulfilling,
then we'd be well advised to keep an open mind as we monitor the
progress.
About the Author
Geoph Kozeny has been "on the road" since New Year's
Day 1988, visiting over 250 intentional communities scattered across North
America. He is himself a seasoned veteran of cooperative living -- having
lived in communities of one kind or another for over 20 years. Geoph is
coordinator for the FIC communities database, serves on the Fellowship
board, and is a regular columnist for Communities magazine. He volunteers
full-time for the Community Catalyst Project, a nonprofit organization he
created to (1) help communities get in touch with each other, (2) provide
technical assistance and support, (3) offer referrals for seekers, and (4)
promote public awareness of community living as a viable lifestyle option.
Geoph's primary educational tool is a slide show he compiled (and
regularly updates) to provide a representative overview of the
backgrounds, philosophies, and lifestyles currently available in shared
living communities. Another version of this overview of intentional
communities has been published in Claude Whitmyer's book, In the Company
of Others (Jeremy Tarcher, San Francisco, 1993).
http://www.ic.org/pnp/cdir/1995/01kozeny.php
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