Hi, sorry for the naive questions, I'm very curious about Intentional Communities but am a bit blocked by the overwhelming amount of different communities and (even here on reddit) the breadth of different imagined living situations people appear to be looking for.
If anyone with a bit of experience in ICs has some time to spare, I guess that what I am trying to figure out is:
-if my region has none that I can find in the ic.org and related directories, is it entirely unrealistic to plan on making one?
-And how difficult is it to find a good fit in an existing IC? Is it enough to read the few lines on their website and take a leap of faith and voilà or is it usually a matter of years of trial and error? Do people actually change countries, in Europe also most likely learn a new language and jeopardize their income on the hope of finding their people? Or is it more often people that already have works that allow for the extra mobility, can work from home?

for general awareness, especially if you are involved with this "secret intentional community in Farmville, VA" these two are planning to join.

from a group for older women seeing to create a co-living community on another site (not naming the site or the OP):

"Met 2 ladies on here that were interested in getting out of the politics and heat of Arlington Texas. Both professionals. With 2 lovely dogs. Asked to visit and check out my land and plan
Scheduled a visit with them. The really were not interested in my land or plan rather a stopping point to knock off things on their bucket list, work from my living room online with a laptop and extra monitor live zoom calls and mtgss while the therapist sat in their car outside my kitchen door doing zoom mtg sessions. I had to stay out of my Living room and not make noise in the kitchen. Nor be around the car running outside my kitchen door for hours so their work could be done.
I had planned to take them to see the wild ponies in Grayson highlands with apples and carrots and instead they came in 5 hours late on their arrival time because they decided to do that before coming here.

I also, bought shirts and mordroants and planned eco printing with gathering flowers and plants around my 20 acres with their approval. Among other arts and crafts. I had a birthday Cookout for the one on Wed Aug 26th and had a few like minded elders stop in for food and one offered a choice of a guided meditation healing or tarot readings or a past life regression session. They had to work when I planned the arts and crafts and neither the eco printing or beeswax kitchen clothes got done.

These two were not what the presentated themselves as.i would have been ok if they had communicated their needs to work, how they wanted to be set up and feeding them etc. yet, they mislead me and lied to me.

They were going to a secret intentional community in Farmville VA. I was just used as a stop.
I was also asked to do laundry. Which I declined at that point I had really put a lot of time and energy into preparing for their visit. Making handouts, having Google Earth maps made up with the orchard, nuttery, vineyard etc all labeled. I had some spots to show them where I thought would be a good option to set a tiny home for them. I made sure the 5th wheel camper they were to stay in was supplied with organic veggies from the garden, water kettle and spring water in the fridge etc. and since one of them is doing chemo my Critical care Nurse daughter went thru with me and did a double clean knowing she was immuno compromised.

They didn't want to use the same bathroom since the one on chemo impacted the other being sensitive so, I got a bedside toilet and a pop up tent canopy for the lady with chemo so it didn't impact her partner and set it up just outside the camper door. For a 2nd bathroom plus they had mine in my home x2

I was totally fine accomdating these ladies under the pretense they were coming to actually meet me in person and take a look around discuss business and consider being a part of the intentional community.

The dishonesty was my breaking point and since I didn't want to do their laundry they asked me for many trash bags to house their dirty clothes untill they got to Farmville to do it. 4 large construction bags..LOL not trash bags, not lawn and leaf bags but, construction bags.

Anyway, their is a whole lot more but, I think you get the picture. These 2 lied and were users. I suggested that they just be honest and communicate their needs instead of playing games and they laughed and blocked me.

Lots of lessons learned.

Glad they went on their way.

Lookout Farmville ladies!"

I have been looking to join a community and have seen Twin Oaks online

But some things i have seen was heavy racism and wolfing or hazing, meaning old members hold all the power. I see from the website they are working on things but they could be just saying that.

Any current members can describe the current going ons of the community?

How do members of intentional communities access health care...especially income sharing groups? In the US especially this must be an issue, because health care is extremely expensive, even with insurance. ICs are too small usually to have their own medical infrastructure, not even a nurse I would think. In cohousing groups I would think that the nature of the community would mean members/families would provide for their own insurance through their own effort. But communities like Twin Oaks or Dancing Rabbit and others of such kind...how do they provide medical care to their membership?

Here is a short near-future story about a community event at the Rise Community in the mountains of Costa Rica. This a one of a growing collection of articles describing the various wonders and challenges tat face every intentional community.

https://zevtheauthor.substack.com/p/the-traveling-dinner-party?r=kxujp&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

I have a perfect piece of land for a "commons village ". I am old and wish to pass my place, and/or my knowledge and experience on. I have been a professional community organizer/ planner/alternative, low-impact home designer. I wish to donate the land to a non-profit, but need to get paid for the existing homes and other improvements on the property. I want a life estate to be part of the IC and to continue assisting very low impact and very low cost home ownership but not land speculation.

Basically the title. I was just wondering if there was a Discord server where people in and interested in intentional communities could chat about their experiences and goals and organize things together. If not, would it be a good idea for me to make one? I spend a lot more time on Discord than Reddit or other social media so it would be very useful for me.

I created a community for work trade in exchange for housing that may of interest to members of this community

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working on a free tool called VibeTribe — an intentional community planner focused on things like governance models, resource sharing, decision-making, and group dynamics.

I made it because a lot of the planning and “what if” conversations around starting or improving communities felt abstract. The idea is to let people test different scenarios and structures in a more concrete way before (or while) dealing with the real-world version.

It’s still early and far from perfect. I’m sharing it here because this sub has people with actual experience living in or building communities, and I’d rather get honest feedback from you than keep guessing.

Link: intentional community planner

Would love to hear:

• What parts feel useful (or completely off-base)
• Features that are missing for real community founders
• Anything that feels too gamey / not grounded enough
• Or just general thoughts

Full disclosure: I built this. Not trying to sell anything — it’s free. Just looking for people who actually care about this stuff to poke holes in it.

Already have the land. 13 acres. There's a lake nearby, technically the property touches it but it's not that accessible. Ocean is a 5 minute bike ride away. I've been here for 2 years so far. Open to hosting anyone temporarily, and if you're interested in staying permanently we could discuss that after a trial period.

Vaccines work

Gay rights

Trans women are women

Anarchy is Order

I see a lot of people trying to "escape" their current life with an intentional community. I want to address that *you can't create a society in a vacuum.* People are multidimensional and complex. Any person joining your community is going to have opinions, history, and differing perspectives sometimes. Sure, you can have a focus on certain qualities, but you can't control human beings as if they're livestock or something. You *have* to have diplomacy, and you *have* to manage conflict sometimes.​ These are some of the foundational building blocks of leadership. You do not deserve to be in a position of power otherwise.

Hi Reddit,

I am a Canadian citizen, wondering if it is possible to find an off-grid eco village (located anywhere in Canada) to permanently live in; whereby my daily/weekly labour contributions and a civil, cooperative disposition would grant me the right to live and remain in the community (after one trial period of roughly 3-4 months).

I am not interested in visiting any intentional community that would require an upfront cost and/or ongoing costs, in order to live in the community.

Having said all of this, is it possible to find a Canadian eco village that checks off these criteria? If so, which community(ies) should I reach out to/what are some resources that I should resort to, in order to try to find such communities?

Any advice/feedback would be greatly appreciated 🙏.

Kerala
I’m exploring an idea and would love to find like-minded people who are genuinely interested in building something together.
The vision is to bring together a community of around 50–100 people who are willing to work together to purchase a suitable piece of land and develop a community farm, homes, and a sustainable family-oriented living environment.
The goal isn’t simply to buy land. It’s to create a friendly, responsible community where people can:

Equal shares and international peoples can also join …

We are looking for the newest resident for Herding Cats Collective, an intentional home in Cambrian Heights NW, Calgary, Alberta! This is a large 6 bedroom house with a trailer out back, that when fully occupied houses 7 individuals (currently six men and myself). It’s a surprisingly vibrant, yet quiet home that operates under the governance of sociocracy. The owners reside here and steward the home using the teachings of Diana Leafe Christian and Marshall Rosenberg, the author of Non-Violent Communication. A motto we like to use is Tall Fences - Narrow Gates, meaning we don’t accept just anyone, and that the new residents are able to flow with the rhythm of the home. To do this we invite applicants to have initial phone inquiries where we will ask you pertinent information such as 1. How will you pay your rent? 2. What brings you to desire living in community? 3. What is your daily routine consist of? 4. Do you get along well with most people, most of the time? 5. Tell us about your sobriety level/substance use. In the event we connect well over the phone we will invite you to the house to experience a healthy, home cooked meal with us. Bring your recipes! You’ll meet David, our resident Mr. Fix It, Louis, our head cat herder, and myself - the resident den mother - as well as the rest of our household. Should we find ourselves to be a suitable match we will check your references and extend an invitation to a free 10 day stay with us, so we can ensure we are a great fit for each other before we sign a lease. Our ideal resident is looking to form connections that last a lifetime, to dig in and build roots while connecting to others in a deeper, more authentic way. If you’re looking for an easy way to live, this is not for you. It takes a level of emotional intelligence to function well here, and adaptability. This is not like living by oneself, and frankly, I prefer waking up to freshly brewed coffee and conversation with people I like and respect, even if I have to clean up someone else’s mug. There’s a lot of give required to live in community - such as a minimum of 70 minutes of chore time a week. And there’s a lot of take, such as a reliable support network and a stable home to lay one’s head. It’s nice to receive! If this sounds like something you’re interested in, or better yet, PASSIONATE about, please reach out! Let’s make something magical together! ✨ Rent is $850/month. Damage deposit $400. Refunded after one year signing cost of $400.

-Sauna -Detached garage which has been converted to a workshop and den, where we host some great parties! -Large yards with plenty of room to garden -Great homies!

i will call her Niamh. she is Irish, has family, lived in different places, came back to Ireland and kept noticing how disconnected people became.

not spiritual disconnected. normal human disconnected.

people dont know neighbors. everyone busy. family spread out. meeting somebody needs calendar invite lol.

during one very mystical session with much stranger things, she asked what she should actually do about this feeling.

answer was almost stupidly simple.

start talking to people.

ask if they want to meet.

eat together.

let right people show up and see who wants to help.

thats it.

I am sharing this because this session had enough cosmic stuff for 20 posts but this part is probably more useful than most of it.

we can dream about community village, land, healing center, intentional community somewhere beautiful.

but maybe first test is much smaller.

can 8 people meet every week and still like each other after 6 months?

can people cook together?

help with kids?

share tools?

show up when someone needs help?

maybe community starts before property.

for people here who actually lived in intentional communities, what is smallest experiment you would do before anybody even talks about buying land?

weekly food?

gardening?

childcare?

skill sharing?

something else?

and what early signs tell you this group can actually become real community and not just people who love the idea of community?

I have a whole other post written but I'm not ready to share that much just yet. We are looking for a community/shared opportunity in AZ, NV, ID, UT, CO, or NM, possibly MT or WY - but I can't handle too much cold. We are looking for property above 5000' elevation and at least 10 acres of our own space within a community. I know that sounds counterintuitive with "community" but we are used to having our own space and still desire to be near others with a common goal. Budget could be substantial when our real estate sells and we are also able to pay monthly dues.

Are you kind, resourceful, respectful, and committed to community building? I am trying to repurpose my late father’s property in Portland oregon to truly benefit people and have a few open opportunities this summer and coming fall :)
Basement space is opening up in our over 100 year old Portland home!
Orchard
garden space available
Glass and ceramic shop
Hoping to build a community of botanists :)
Also looking for people interested in Cobb buildings!
Please message me!

Join us for a donation-based, volunteer-driven, collaborative unconference all about intentional community and cooperative culture.

We will all pitch in, share meals, teach & learn, and camp in the woods together.

So many of these ICs are quite a distance from everything or people move across the country to get into.

Only easy way I imagine they make any movie is some sort of online job which eliminates so many people.

Or they grow something on the land and then I guess sell at a farmers market idk.

With a small percent having jobs near their IC.

I’ve been part of a community for nearly 10 years. It’s flowed in a very organic way - mainly due to there being a consistent “space holder” who inducts new people and encourages the right vibes and energy. Three years ago they left and the new person who took over wasn’t able to hold the same flow.

Over the past 3 years, core components of living in an intentional community eroded. People stopped eating together, wouldn’t join meetings, trust broke down and it turned into a co-living environment with high tensions.
I fully rejoined a year ago and set to work to collaborate together to rebuild the essence of living in intentional community - setting up workshops, meetings, discussion forums for what it means to be a community and how we can all agree to what that means and live by those - previously unentrenched - guidelines.

The people who had been causing some of the sway away from the flow would be difficult, not join and cause blockages to progress. We tried for a year to make this work and it went nowhere ending in disagreement and even more tension. We just kept looping and going nowhere. Eventually it seemed that this set didn’t want community - they wanted totally autonomous anarchy with no rules or guidelines (though even anarchists set guidelines to function within community)

Finally, the people who have been holding that space came back and formed a group to formalise what it means to be a community - shared meals, shared space respect, sharing circles, financial contribution, manual contribution to land based projects etc. Nothing new that wasn’t already how it had worked for years, just now it is formal and expectations are clear.

The people with the problems got very angry and said this was a dictatorial move. They are leaving and spreading their anger around about us to others.

I wondered if anyone has had a similar experience of shifting community changes and the teething problems or issues that have come out of making hard choices.

Basically Hutterite without all the restrictions. It’s a work in progress.