An intentional community is a group of people who have chosen to live or work together in pursuit of a common ideal or vision. An ecovillage is a village-scale intentional community that intends to create, ecological, social, economic, and spiritual sustainability over several generations. The 90s saw a revitalised surge of interest in intentional communities and ecovillages in North America: the number of intentional communities listed in the Communities Directory increased 60 percent between 1990 and 1995. But only 10 percent of the actual number of forming-community groups actually succeeded. Ninety percent failed, often in conflict and heartbreak. After visiting and interviewing founders of dozens of successful and failed communities, along with her own forming-community experiences, the author concluded that 'the successful 10 percent' had all done the same five or six things right, and 'the unsuccessful 90 percent' had made the same handful of mistakes. Recognising that a wealth of wisdom were contained in these experiences, she set out to distil and capture them in one place. This is the only resource available that provides step-by-step, practical 'how-to' information on how to launch and sustain a successful ecovillage or intentional community. Through anecdotes, stories, and cautionary tales about real communities, and by profiling seven successful communities in depth, the book examines 'the successful 10 percent' and why 90 percent fail; the role of community founders; getting a group off to a good start; vision and vision documents; decision-making and governance; agreements; legal options; finding, financing, and developing land; structuring a community economy; selecting new members; and communication, process, and dealing well with conflict. Sample vision documents, community agreements, and visioning exercises are included, along with abundant resources for learning more.
Creating a Life Together
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
About the Author
Besides editing Communities magazine since 1993, Diana Leafe Christian offers workshops nationwide in the USA on the process of forming new ecovillages and intentional communities. She is a member of Earthaven Ecovillage in North Carolina.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Before aspiring community builders hold their first meeting, confront their first realtor, or drive their first nail, they must buy this essential book: it will improve their chances for success immensely, and will certainly save them money, time, and heartbreak. In her friendly but firm (and occasionally funny) way, Diana Christian proffers an astonishing wealth of practical information and sensible, field-tested advice.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By satka
Format:Paperback
Amazing book, diana really knows what it take to set up a community and all the pitfalls...for those who are starting on this exciting journey this book is a MUST have..I`m sure her looking for a community book also is GREAT but i dont need that. This takes examples of several communities and looks at who/how why they were established..VERY important to get your mission statement and WHO you are..explores why some failed[only 10% communities succeed!!!] pitfalls, mistakes.....communication.....cant reccommend it enough.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of the great problems of Environmentalists,Alternative types and sustainability gurus are that they are often the greatest individualists and independent thinkers. This can make them unsuitable for establishing working communities which have to cope with simple everyday concerns.
Almost by definition anyone who is able to look at their society and understand the insanity of the world is not a group thinker. Starting a community with hyper individualists who are natural contrarians is a lot like herding rabbits. Impossible in an open space but somewhat possible if there are some boundaries to channel their hyper activity.
This is what the book is about. It discusses some of the ground rules and strategies successful communities use. It also discusses why intentional communities fail (90%!!! of them) and why others succeed.
It fills in enough detail that gives you a sense of the extreme frustration of the breakups. Not exactly "war of the roses" but you get a hint of the anguish.
Often it is the discussion of specific rules that really shows the wisdom of the groups that survived. Something as simple as how to deal with pets. For a community to survive there needs to be a strong framework in place to deal with pets.i.e How many pets an overall community is the relevant figure rather than the individual needs.I.e how do people get sleep if the dogs are barking or how do you have a nature reserve if there is a pack of cats and dogs in the community.
Similarly work load, finances, external pressures etc have all to be worked around. Who owns what, what happens if the community breaks up or people want to leave are all discussed. The delightful dictatorship of the founders, the difficulty of conflicting personalities and diverging dreams all add spice to the book.
For a very practical book, I found myself laughing quite a bit. Almost dare I say it, the book almost has the puerile appeal of a reality TV programme
Almost by definition anyone who is able to look at their society and understand the insanity of the world is not a group thinker. Starting a community with hyper individualists who are natural contrarians is a lot like herding rabbits. Impossible in an open space but somewhat possible if there are some boundaries to channel their hyper activity.
This is what the book is about. It discusses some of the ground rules and strategies successful communities use. It also discusses why intentional communities fail (90%!!! of them) and why others succeed.
It fills in enough detail that gives you a sense of the extreme frustration of the breakups. Not exactly "war of the roses" but you get a hint of the anguish.
Often it is the discussion of specific rules that really shows the wisdom of the groups that survived. Something as simple as how to deal with pets. For a community to survive there needs to be a strong framework in place to deal with pets.i.e How many pets an overall community is the relevant figure rather than the individual needs.I.e how do people get sleep if the dogs are barking or how do you have a nature reserve if there is a pack of cats and dogs in the community.
Similarly work load, finances, external pressures etc have all to be worked around. Who owns what, what happens if the community breaks up or people want to leave are all discussed. The delightful dictatorship of the founders, the difficulty of conflicting personalities and diverging dreams all add spice to the book.
For a very practical book, I found myself laughing quite a bit. Almost dare I say it, the book almost has the puerile appeal of a reality TV programme
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 12 reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant resource!
If your looking for a practical and accessible read on community life & where to even begin- this is your bible! Read more
Published 6 months ago by Nika
5.0 out of 5 stars
Advice for communities
"Creating a Life Together" by Diana Leafe Christian will be so useful to the our newly-formed group, suggesting what we should do and (even more important) what to avoid when... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Shangri-La
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Health, Family & Lifestyle > Self Help > Practical & Motivational
- Books > Mind, Body & Spirit > Self Help
- Books > Science & Nature > Environment & Ecology
- Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > Environment
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Education Studies
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Sociology > Family & Social Groups > Urban Communities
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Urban & Rural Planning
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
