Why Visit?
Looking for a home? Want to gather information from successful intentional communities before starting your own? Just curious? Well, I think it’s a good idea to get some first-hand experience visiting or trying on a few communities to learn about them first.
Nearly all intentional communities accept visitors with advance notice… Please don’t visit a community unless you have arranged a visit in advance.
How to Find Them
These are the best ways to find intentional communities:
- International – The Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC) database is my favorite. It’s a bit U.S.-centric, but it is currently the most comprehensive international database of communities. It’s available online and in the form of a big fat book.
- International – The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) database is also pretty good. It’s available online only.
- Europe – The Eurotopia book is awesome. It’s only available in print, in German and English.
- Latin America – The Común Tierra website is the personal project of a couple, but it’s quite extensive.
- And of course, the Economada Intentional Communities Directory.
Just remember, what you see on these websites is typically what communities have chosen to write about themselves… also check out other people’s blogs and rely on word of mouth before deciding to visit.
How to Decide Where to Visit
When deciding which communities to visit, you should take into account the building blocks or big ticket items that make up each community. Some major building blocks are:
- Purpose – Why are these people living together, and what purpose are they trying to achieve by doing so?
- Vision & Values – How is this community attempting to achieve its purpose?
- Location – Is it urban or rural? Hot or cold? Near friends and family?
- Size – Is it 6 people or 60?
- Economy – Individual finances, cooperative finances, income-sharing or gift economy?
- Decision-making – Consensus, sociocracy (a scaled-up version of consensus for larger groups), democracy, decision by leader or council
- Tribe! – Might the community have that something that makes you feel at home, a sense of tribe?
This page is under construction, obvs.