Ok, here's my plan:

I want to do a stationary, long-term camp vanlife off-grid community that's accessible for people with disabilities (with the goal of being inclusive of all types of disabilities) and is covid cautious. I plan for it to be as luxurious as it can get in regards to comfort. (I can't say much for aesthetics though, I'm going for low-budget and practical) If you are not currently doing vanlife but are interested, let me know and I can help put together resources for you to join. This group is LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC friendly.

Potential locations at the moment include Colorado and the Eastern Sierras. If someone has land or another location on the west coast (I might be able to do other reigons, just depends) that would be great. My plan is to, during this time, apply for a visa in Mexico and find van life locations there. I'm not sure if I personally will go through with going to Mexico, that will depend on finances, health, and safety (ex. strength of US passport) but I'd rather do it now than worry about things later. If after the election I'm in Mexico and don't feel comfortable going back to the US, I'll make a new plan. I have tentative plans with disability-accessible immigration strategies but ultimately am undecided on countries.

More about this: There will be large tents so there's more room besides the vans. One tent I plan to have as an art museum! Currently interested in origami dioramas, faux stained glass, and low-budget interior design. There will be a community hang out space with a mini library and a makerspace. There will also be disability- accessible and extremely covid cautious silent disco rave parties.

I'm currently working on van-life accessible sustenance farming to cover all nutritional needs, using foods and growing methods that save space and have high nutritional value.

You can join by heading over to this discord. If you'd like to join but don't have discord, please dm me and we can find an alternative. https://discord.com/invite/HJzqg539VH

My name is Daniel Greenberg and, as co-director of the Foundation for Intentional Community, I will have the privilege of interviewing cult expert and Director of the Freedom of Mind Resource Center, Steve Hassan, this Saturday at 3:30 EST. I have a series of questions I'm excited to ask him, but wonder what y'all might like to know. You can share them here and/or during the live broadcast on Saturday (register for free at https://www.ic.org/event/cults-explained/ref/248/).

Good day everyone,

I'm from an asian third world country that doesn't have any ICs. By looking at the IC directory it sadly seems that most ICs are in US. The few ICs that exist outside europe/US all have fees and seem more like overglorified hotels than a commune

So my question is: Are there any communes/ecovillages that a third worlder with a weak passport can go to? Thanks for your time

https://richdecibels.substack.com/p/what-we-learned-from-a-3-month-co

Would you join a short-term community like this, as a way to find out if you enjoy co-living and meet possible conspirators?

Does the title explain where I'm at? I'm strapped for cash and time, and the only thing I have time for is to worry about my kids. I really began to worry when I went to a 14 year old's funeral who committed suicide. My child broke down in tears the other day at a family gathering because she has social anxiety. Apparently, depression/anxiety is particularly bad for the youth of America.

My beef with American is there is no public space. We go to Walmart, the mall ( if it hasn't closed down) or do what I'm doing now online to find community. This is why America suffers from a lack of patriotism, we have no common ownership or community in here and its getting worse. Everything has a price tag here, because of this I have to anticipate taking care of my kids for life, because they may not be able to afford a house. That's my gripe. Anyway what can I do about it? Is intentional community the answer? Any similar stories?

I'm not just worried about my kids, myself too. I have no friends, just coworkers. I spend all day doing chores, mowing the yard, fixing things, and then I go to work. Hardly, a word to anyone. My wife went away to see a friend and took the kids with her. I shut down. I drugged myself to sleep because I couldn't deal with it. I don't even know what "it' is. Is this all there is to life?

Hey I watched it. Let's talk about the Garden. Let's be nice. Let's talk about HBO's treatment. How do you feel about consensus decision making? How do you feel about dumpster diving? And why are there so many songs about Rainbows?

Please refrain from personal attacks.

View Poll

#SolarPunk #Regenerative #IntentionalCommunities.

That's what I'm building towards. #OpenSource Technology, Localized #CircularSystems, #BioHarmonic Architecture.

Significantly lowering the cost of living while maintaining the best parts of modern comfort.

Allowing people to heal and pursue their dreams.

Who else is doing this, and how do I join?

I'm awful at marketing and packaging myself to be "profitable." But I do need to be supported. I'm ready to drop all my consulting work and jump in on this full time. If there is an existing Organization well-enough aligned, I'd love to hop in. If not, can I just ask the Regenerative, OpenSource, and SolarPunk communities to support me? A few bucks a month from those who want to see this stuff built, and I think I'd be good to go.

https://bioharmony.substack.com/

So I saw this pop up on a few different subreddits about a project called 'Regen Tribe' (https://regentribe.org/) and I am honestly having a hard time trying to figure out what its supposed to be. It calls itself a Regenerative Neighborhood/Community which sounds neat but it doesn't provide any info on what that is exactly and everything on there seems super vague.

To give an example - under one of its interactable tabs it has "What is a Regenerative Neighborhood?" Which when you click to expand has " Regenerative Neighborhoods provide resilient solutions for all the important things" as the answer - which is super vague and doesn't answer the question in the slightest.

I looked further into the website and while it is pretty to look at, it doesn't seem to offer much info about the project itself including what it is exactly that they're doing. I can't even tell if this is an actually community or just like a wellness escape/retreat of some sort.

Am I just dumb and overlooking things or is this strangely vague to anyone else?

Hi, I’m currently living at Twin Oaks Community. As a woman who has visited a handful of other communities before landing here, I’m wondering what other women and nonbinary folks look for when visiting communities? What are some red flags?

As the title suggests, I am wondering if anyone knows of, or even if the concept exists of an intentional autistic communitie? Not like a group home but for Autistic individuals to live in a community that's focused on Autistic needs for things like decreased sensory stimuli and preferably based on sustainable living ie growing of own food and self reliability? Thanks for the imput.

Obviously not looking for a typical sober living where one pays a ridiculous amount for a twin bed in a room with two other people in a house that's owned by a rich person who is just trying to hoard more wealth..

A dream I have is to join or start a group of likeminded folk in recovery who collectively own their home or business. We were trying to start a harm reduction focused sober house a few years ago when we had some extra funds, but we are low on $ right now.. So I'm not ready to make moves just yet. Im putting out feelers to see if this has been done and how it is going or if there's any groups we may be able to join once we are better off financially.

In the second half of March 2024, I led a tour of 3-6 people across the country from Massachusetts to California, visiting intentional communities along the way. Through some advance and some last minute planning, we ended up with 27 stops along the way, spanning a pretty wide gamut. We spent between 30 minutes and 36 hours at each community, with a typical stop being 2-4 hours for a tour and conversation, sometimes a meal, sometimes some other activities. My daily(ish) updates along the way were mostly just a travelog, and you should be able to find them in the same place as this post. This post is the first of a few followups, and will focus on the breadth and variety we saw along the way. A lot of the details here deserve and will get their own further investigation, so the goal here is just to outline the shape of the conceptual space we were exposed to. Due to some vehicle shenanigans I missed a few stops, so 90% of this is first-hand observations and a bit is second-hand from my travel companions.

The communities we visited ranged in population from one person in the agricultural off-season of an intermittent community to over a hundred people in full-time urban coliving. Most of our stops were more cohousing than coliving; the ones with individual single family homes had as few as 8 to as many as 40 buildings, with one community planning construction of 140 units in a mix of detached homes, townhomes, and micro apartments. The largest community where everyone shared all the non-bedroom space had about 60 members in 8 houses in a larger city neighborhood.

In terms of age and stage, a couple of communities we visited were just plans and empty land, most had been in existence for 1-2 decades, and a few were approaching a century. There are major hurdles in the early years of building a new community, so seeing so many of them well beyond that was refreshing, although I understand survivor bias. My personal experience is mostly with communities in their 0th-3rd years with those challenges still ahead. One community lost their former land to lava and was starting over in a new state, with grand plans and solid prospects to skip some of the growing pains their second time around. Many had only vestiges of their original founding principles and plans, having morphed into something substantially different in the intervening decades. I would love to see a timeline comparing many different communities over their histories, but that would require far more research than I could do on this trip.

I was surprised at the number of communities using some form of sociocracy for internal decision making and governance. The depth and varieties there could be a book or two, so I won’t try to cover it all here. We found a couple of benevolent dictatorships, a few complex governance structures with multiple layers, and perhaps a dozen cohousing communities organized as traditional Home Owner or Condominium Associations with their typical membership and management structures. Community meetings, official or otherwise, ranged in frequency from never (sadly common) to daily, with participation from low (again, sadly common) to near total in more than a few cases. Most communities seemed to have a significant amount of unstated do-ocracy, with a lot of projects taking place simply because some residents were motivated to pursue them.

Community-run businesses were delightfully frequent, appearing about 1/3 of the time. We saw a community with a single business worked by every member that paid the majority of the expenses of the community. Some had large agricultural operations worked by most members, almost all who weren’t occupied tending to the other members. A couple of communities ran multiple local businesses in cities, staffed entirely by their resident members, paying them wages which they might then turn around and spend some of as their membership/rent costs. This was my first exposure to this concept in person rather than just reading about it, and I intend to borrow a lot of ideas for my future projects.

Recruiting and filtering ran a wider range of situations than I expected. I had no idea so many cohousing communities have no power to select new members / owners. When someone sells, they pick a buyer themselves, and the rest of the community is stuck with that new person. This was the case at about 1/3 of our stops and blew me away. A lot of those groups were suffering from dilution of their community goals, with increasingly many residents not participating in community organization or activities. Other communities had various processes, including years-long trial periods, tiered membership, right of first refusal on sales, and some more esoteric solutions. Each of those could be the subject of an article on its own. One stand-out community operates a large farm and welcomes new members by a vote, taking them through two or three layers of trial that can take years. At the end of that process, if someone is voted to the final level, they become a full stake shareholder in ownership of the property with no financial investment; the community organization owns the land and doesn’t take cash from members for shares.

Overall this trip greatly broadened my perspective on the possibilities and actualities of intentional communities. I feel far better equipped to discuss these topics now, and to make plans for my own future projects. I look forward to visiting some of these communities again, organizing more tours of more communities, and eventually doing some international version of this trip as well.

I'm 28 F and I work in tech in Italy. I'm tired of living in a world where all you do is consume or create value for others, while slowly destroying the planet.

I'm not scared of hard work. I'm willing to let go of my life to follow my ideals. I'm tired of feeling empty and of trying to fill that void with material goods.

I just run into this sub while looking into alternative ways of living. If you have any communes to suggest in Europe or outside please let me know.

It's also nice to know there's other people that feel like me if you want to stop by on the comments and chat!

This is effectively a real estate ad, but I have no stake in it. My financial loss or gain from this situation is the same regardless of how this part works out. I just want to bring the opportunity to the attention of anyone it might help.

2.5 years ago I bought property in Northbridge MA and started a coliving community. 2 months ago the oldest and fanciest building on the property had a severe fire, and won't be inhabitable again for years if ever. I can't afford to fix it, so for that and other reasons I need to sell the property.

Good news, most potential new owners are excited about the rental income if they lease the other buildings back to us. Bad news, the aftermath of the fire and some problematic residents are driving our good residents away faster than we can replenish or deal with the problems, so we probably won't have enough people left to afford the lease.

Maybe our loss is your gain. The lease will probably be $7k/mo, for 18 bedrooms, 8 full and 3 half baths, 2 kitchens, and about 2000sqft of other common rooms. That's $390 per bedroom, which is pretty good for being under an hour to Boston and Providence, and a five to ten minute walk to sushi, pizza, diner, post office, salons, library, etc.

If this deal is something that would help jump start any of your community building (founding or moving or growing or ...) plans, get in touch and we can try to make this work for you.

I was recommended to post this here after posting on r/witchesvspatriarchy as my intent for this village is rooted in (but not limited to) pagan values such as respecting nature and such.

I've had this idea in the back of my mind for a long time now, and initially I just put it off as an unrealistic fantasy stemming from how much I romanticize life and crave a better future. But the more I think about it, the more I question if I could actually do it and bring it to reality. I want children in the future, but I know a big important part for children (and for people in general) is community and support. The first people thrived on tribes where everyone contributed to hunting, gathering (notably these roles were mixed between men and women rather than segregated) and feeding everyone. I want to create a village that upholds those values.

Values where everyone is cared for and fed without needing to work for it. A fun fact about humans, is that we will choose to work if all our needs are met. People who are completely cared for will do retail jobs FOR FUN. And people who are fed by the community will want to work for the community. I aim for that. I want this village to be located in a big open area surrounded by a forest so we'd all work together to develop farms of plants and animals, maybe by a lake so we can fish too. Everyone helps with the planting in spring and the harvest in fall, and we all uphold a universal respect for nature. It's big enough to have a couple of schools, clinics, a big beautiful library, monthly ren faires and weekly farmers markets so people can exchange produce; a place that can use money but doesn't rely on it. A place that upholds old pagan traditions (even if not everyone is pagan) while also respecting the benefits new technology has to offer. Like, despite the clinics, I still want there to be a close commute to a big hospital in case there's an issue a small clinic couldn't resolve.

And I know so many other people would want to actually contribute to the development of this project and thrive in it. But there are still major concerns I don't know how to work through or organize because I am still so young.

1, where do I get the money for all of this? A number of people can contribute but something like this is intense and expensive.

2, laws. I have no clue how to navigate laws over this; especially since I'm moving from the US to Europe in a year, I don't know if the country in Europe we're going to will let us do this.

3, avoiding a hierarchy. I want this place to be governed by the people; we have monthly meetings to address concerns and come to agreements. But that is definitely easier said than done, and I don't know how to keep it civil if everyone disagrees with something.

4, how do I keep bad people out if I'm trying to be open and welcoming. I don't want this place to be secluded from the world, because I want people to find rehabilitation here. But if it isn't secluded, too many bad people would find out about it. How would we even resolve this issue? I've been told methods like this have to be extreme, such as exile or even execution.

I'm still young and I know minimally about politics. All I really know is I want to develop a healthy environment for my future children, and I want to in-person connect with other people like me. I want a village of support and love so bad, but I fear reality would hit too hard and make everything fall apart. Be honest with me about your opinions on this. I want to know what exactly my obstacles would be and the holes in my plan. I also want to meet other people who may want to work on this with me.

Hi all! I’m a 30F who has 1 acre and a 4K square foot house in rural northern Alabama. I purchased this place with an ex with the intention of starting a small farm/event business. A year of solo living, I am brainstorming ways to put all this space to good use.

I don’t see traditional roommates as a viable option, because it’s 20-45 minute drive to most things. I work remote and enjoy spending my free time in the garden, with my chickens, and working on all the homesteading projects.

I have 3 spare rooms and 2 spare bathrooms. Also multiple options for setting up a small coworking space for a few other remote workers.

This isn’t positioned for co-living in the sense of a large community or the traveling/city aspect I see a lot. But I imagine it could be of interest to folks who want to live/work on a tiny homestead for a period of time.

What would be the best way to assess interest in tenants/co-living residents in this situation?

Is Airbnb a good option?

What else should I be considering?

Cross posted to r/cooperatives

TL; dr: if located in the US, your housing community, if incorporated in your state, is now required to file an annual report to the federal government. Everyone who is a "beneficial owner" (which is probably all residents) must provide, as a part of this reporting requirement, personally identifying information and a photocopy of a government photo id, such as a passport or drivers license. Please write your congress critter to take action.

More details about this legislation here:

https://coophousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAHC-CHQ-Spring-2024.pdf

Sample message to a representative here:

Dear Representative [name]:

As you may know, as of January 1, 2024, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) mandates that most cooperatives, along with other corporations, must come into compliance with rigorous annual reporting requirements regarding their owners. Our housing cooperative falls under domestic reporting companies because we were formed as a domestic corporation under our state's Secretary of State's office.

It beggars the imagination how someone could use a housing cooperative to hide or benefit from ill-gotten gains. [information about our coop here] To make us file an additional report with the federal government, including copies of personal identification such as our drivers' licenses or passports is time-consuming, invasive and opens every member up to greater risk of identity theft.

Please consider action to except coops from this legislation.

I recently left the field of addiction / mental health treatment and have been wanting to look into an intentional community. It’s me and my dog and my skills in sales/ customer service / mental health/ accounting. I don’t have much money. Would I be a good fit or add value anywhere?

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Overview: Ask your questions and give open feedback please.

Granite Groves will be strategically designed to incorporate sustainable living, community engagement, and agricultural involvement. The strategy is to attract potential residents by offering options that can be described as Anchor Cohorts and a Bridging Cohort. These cohorts are designed with the demands of diverse demographics and are interconnected through community, close proximity, human-centric design, and shared infrastructure.

Anchor Cohorts at Granite Groves

• Senior Cohousing Cohort:
  • Financing and Construction: The Senior Cohousing Cohort serves as a foundational anchor within Granite Groves. It will be conventionally financed and constructed by a developer yet to be determined. Local established intentional communities will be consulted during the search.
  • Design and Accessibility: The housing for this cohort will be designed with accessibility and community engagement at its core. This will likely include features such as single-floor living, wide doorways, and user-friendly controls to ensure comfort and mobility, facilitating easy access to the community’s central facilities. This setup encourages frequent social interactions and participation in communal activities, enhancing the quality of life for seniors who wish to thrive in a vibrant, inclusive setting.
  • Additional Features: While the overall project is not car-centric, some of the units may have paths for Neighborhood Electric Vehicles. There might be a paved courtyard with a gate for allowing entry and egress of ambulances, or drop-off/pickup from a WAV. Bike paths from this neighborhood will be paved and painted to accommodate adult tricycles or four-wheeled bicycles. If the community does car sharing, there will be a place here for a bus stop. One or more of the units will be constructed with a second floor to allow for a medical caretaker. The goal is to design so there is always a type of home a resident can use to live in their community for as long as possible. Everybody ages, and as community members go through life, living units will open, and these can be moved into by community members who are ready for them.
• The Homesteaders Cohort:
  • Agricultural Focus: As the second anchor cohort, The Homesteaders focus on those engaged in or supporting the agricultural activities that underpin the community's sustainability goals. This cohort provides a range of housing options that cater to both temporary and permanent needs, accommodating the unique lifestyles of those dedicated to farming and sustainable practices. The design and location of these homes foster a deep connection to the land and facilitate daily agricultural activities, while also promoting a strong sense of community among residents who share a commitment to the environment and local food production.
  • Construction and Flexibility: Initial Construction and Use: The initial phase involves setting up transitional housing units under the legal framework of “Farm Labor Camp.” These are structures designed to be affordable and efficient. These units serve as foundational structures while allowing for flexibility in determining the optimal layout for permanent buildings. This allows convenient move-in for founders that need an immediate place to live while starting the village.
  • Strategic Placement: These transitional units provide immediate housing solutions and are strategically placed to inform the development of permanent structures. This placement process helps in assessing the best configurations for long-term community development. These configurations can be conceived as a scaffolding to direct growth.
  • Transition to Permanent Housing: As the entire community stabilizes and grows, these transitional units will be moved around, converted, or replaced with permanent options or repurposed to accommodate new residents who are seeking frugal living or unique options. This maintains affordability and flexibility within the community.

Bridging Cohort

• The Bridging Cohort: Connects the senior housing and homesteader housing anchors. This cohort is a gradient of housing types to meet the needs of families and individuals at various life stages. These will be safe, solid, and engaging living spaces near educational and recreational facilities. Homes will be positioned to encourage family-friendly design: Features multi-bedroom homes with safety measures like traffic-calmed streets and proximity to educational and recreational facilities, aligning with the principles of "walkable villages" from urban design literature.
• Integration with Community Amenities: Easy access to playgrounds and community gardens, which promote active lifestyles and community bonding, essential for multigenerational cohousing.

How to Think About the Cohorts:

Cohorts are an abstract way of categorizing the material needs of our housing. It is, in fact, a gradient of housing types with enough overlap for varied human lifestyles. In reality, a retiree might be involved in the farm. A farmer will have a family. A single middle-aged professional might want to live in a tiny house close to the barn. A young professional with a wheelchair might live with their growing family in a two-story ADA cottage.

Universal Design Principles

• Implementation: Universal design at Granite Groves involves creating environments that can be accessed, understood, and used to the greatest extent possible by all people, regardless of their age, size, ability, or disability. This approach adheres to ADA guidelines, ensuring accessibility in both public and private spaces.

Legal Compliance

• Federal Laws: Granite Groves complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for accessibility, and the Fair Housing Act to prevent discrimination.
• State Laws: The community adheres to Massachusetts General Laws related to building codes (780 CMR), promoting energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. The development will also take advantage of Chapter 40B, which allows for local zoning overrides to increase affordable housing.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and Personal Gardening

• CSA Integration: Granite Groves will feature a CSA program where residents can subscribe to receive portions of the farm's produce, supporting sustainable agriculture and providing fresh, local food.
• Personal Gardening: Residents will have the opportunity to maintain personal garden plots, enhancing food diversity and fostering personal engagement with agriculture.

Economic and Design References

• Literature and Resources:
  • "Sustainable Communities Design Handbook" by Woodrow W. Clark II: Provides insights into sustainable urban planning and infrastructure crucial for designing eco-friendly communities.
  • "CoHousing Cultures: Handbook for Self-Organized, Community-Oriented and Sustainable Housing" by Michael La Fond: Offers a comprehensive look at the framework for building sustainable, community-oriented housing.
  • "The Senior Cohousing Handbook: A Community Approach to Independent Living, 2nd Edition" by Charles Durrett: Discusses strategies for creating supportive senior living environments within cohousing settings.
  • "Cooperative farming: Frameworks for farming together. A Greenhorns guidebook". by Faith Gilbert Kathy Ruhf Lynda Brushett
  • "AGRIHOODS: DEVELOPMENT-SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE" By Jeff Birkby, NCAT Smart Growth Specialist

Legal and Economic Considerations

• Zoning Regulations: The project will navigate zoning laws that may restrict mixed-use developments or the integration of agricultural spaces with residential areas. It will utilize provisions from Chapter 40B and explore new incentives under Solar Farm NIMBY overrides to incorporate solar energy solutions as a sustainable and economic funding source.
• Funding and Financial Viability: Identifying sustainable funding sources while ensuring the project remains financially viable and accessible to diverse income groups is crucial. Potential funding may include grants, private investments, and revenue from solar energy production.

Examples of Similar Intentional Communities

• Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm - New Hampshire: Integrates community living with a working farm.
• Earthaven Ecovillage - North Carolina: Combines agricultural and residential practices.
• Sirius Community - Massachusetts: Merges spiritual practices with sustainable living and organic farming.
• Camphill Village - Massachusetts: Focuses on community living for individuals with developmental disabilities, integrating agricultural work.
• EcoVillage at Ithaca - New York: Incorporates cohousing with sustainable agriculture and green building practices.
• Cobb Hill Cohousing - Vermont: A rural community focused on sustainable agriculture and environmental practices.
• Village Hill Cohousing - Massachusetts: Features sustainable design and a strong community-oriented approach.
• Cherry Hill Cohousing (formerly Pioneer Valley Cohousing) - Massachusetts: Emphasizes shared community life and sustainability.
• Great Oak Cohousing - Michigan: Focuses on sustainable living with shared facilities and integrated community efforts.
• Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage - Missouri: Known for its ecological building techniques and sustainable agriculture integration.

When you comment, also give some feedback on the next topic. This is the early days of planning and recruiting, so remember that the horse goes before the cart. So I can't tell you how many apple trees, or what to do when Jack and Jill get divorced. Much of the in depth legal and property implications are going to require a core group of planners.

The takeaway, is that this is not a revolutionary idea. Many examples exist and have been thriving for decades.

I was looking at properties like I do in my spare time and I found a truly unique one; a 12,000sqft, 8 bedroom abandoned church for $70,000. I'm about 70 percent sure I can get a loan to buy it on Monday.

It's in a small southwestern town that is typically considered to be a shit hole to live in but there is so much potential here for a community. The only major issue I can see from the pictures is that it very much needs work done on the roof. There's entire chunks missing. On the other hand, theres a satellite TV dish mounted in one of the pictures so it hasn't been abandoned for that long.

I imagine quite a few people in this sub have been waiting for this exact piece of property to come on the market. I've got experience as a tradesman mainly focused on windows, but I can do it all if you let me watch a YouTube instructional video first.

I want to find an in-planning community that I mesh with who would be interested in this unit. Currently I live in a van in a city about a hundred miles away from the property so I can go check it out in person if you're serious.

Hello everyone. This is a more detailed vision of a post I made a few days ago. It's about creating an open intentional community in Massachusetts. Similar to This one. Which has some chapter 40b, https://sawyerhill.org/ but with more farm emphasis.

Massachusetts, is a state known for its great schools, tolerant communities, mostly sane government, the best tech sector, and super challenging housing market.

We're in the early stages of planning Granite Groves (Temporary name) . It's not a hippy commune, and we won't talk about about food distribution, or tool libraries in this post, but there will be a community farm, common house and kitchens, so there could be some of that.

This isn't about escaping to a utopia. I don't have a trust fund. This is an effort to face the housing crisis, and create climate resilience with practicality and community at the core. We're realists, we roll up our sleeves. This project is here to make a tangible difference in the face a real challenge. To form a village you can grow up in, and feel comfortable enough to retire in with friends.

These are some examples of the steps to get there. They are non sequential, but I've put them in a general order for communicating this as a narrative. For instance, some people advocate for finding a developer as soon as possible.

​

Step 1: Defining Our Mission.

Granite Groves (Temporary name) aims to be more than just housing; we're building an economically and environmentally sustainable community as a direct response to Massachusetts' pressing housing shortage.

Our mission is to develop affordable living spaces that are economically viable and environmentally responsible. We're designing this project to benefit a wide swath of people. From young professionals struggling with rent, to older adults seeking community and a mentally and physically healthier retirement.

Oh and of course Farmers and homesteader who want to farm, maybe actually make a living at it, keep costs low by sharing a tractor, and take a vacation more than once a decade.

Step 2: Gathering a group of core founders. The eventual reason for this post and the subreddit.

We're currently assembling a group of founders who bring a wealth of experience and skills to the table. But mostly willing to roll up sleeves and stay committed. We will hire experts if and when we need them. But if you have some legal expertise or financial acumen or a passion for sustainable agriculture or community building, it could really help shape our core group of founders. Our aim is to structure ourselves in a way that ensures everyone has a voice and stake in the project. It will succeed by sharing the planning workload.

And it will succeed, because this isn't exactly new. Intentional Communities are thriving in Massachusetts. The difference is that if we start from the ground up, this one will be more affordable for us, and it will be all of ours to create and see grow.

Step 3: On the Hunt for the a good Location

Finding the right piece of land in Massachusetts is our next big step. It means touring property and reporting back to the group. I recommend you keep a pair of boots in your car for yourself, and an extra for the real estate agent who always shows up in their Kia Sidona wearing white tennis shoes.

We'll be looking for a space that not only meets our environmental and logistical criteria but also resonates with our vision of community integration and contribution. This means engaging with local zoning laws and regulations to ensure our future home can flourish as intended.

This is also one reason why were going to base this around a community farm. First off, some of us are farmers. But there are many federal grant programs for finding and securing farm land that are there to aid us. It is also going to be easier to establish good relations with the local municipalities if we essentially are adding low impact economic activity and some wholesome family friendly places to visit. Everyone loves hay rides, ice cream, and apple picking.

Step 4: Securing the Funds

Financing this dream into reality is one of our major upcoming challenges.

We'll be diving into detailed planning, exploring a mix of financing options to support our vision of affordability and sustainability. We will approach this through a pragmatic lens, crafting a detailed plan that addresses funding needs while remaining realistic about the financial challenges of living in a high-cost state.

This includes reaching out to banks, credit unions, exploring grants, and even considering incorporating as viable paths to secure the necessary funding. We'll want to be very careful at this stage, but we should be able tp create both a financially sound investment and a genuinely affordable living option.

Step 5: Making It Real.

We buy the land. Start moving in.

Before the permanent structures rise, we'll establish a temporary living setup that reflects our sustainability ethos. Think solar-powered tiny homes and communal gardens, all set up with respect for the land and in compliance with local regulations. Our initial setup involves establishing both the community and a working farm under the legal framework of a "Farm Labor Camp." This approach allows those of us who want, to reside on the land during the development phase, laying the groundwork for our community's agricultural aspect. As we progress, these initial dwellings will be replaced with permanent homes, but we can repurpose them into affordable options for younger residents, offering a ladder up.

Step 6. Farming and Building.

We'll finalize the details on the charter, refine the long term strategy for controlled growth, and those of us who are farmers start the most early stages of farming. We'll and also select rota of caretakers who will provide security, signatures, and oversee any preliminary work done like fios hookups and talking with town inspectors.

The farmers with be, planting orchards, downselecting crop varieties, removing invasive species, figuring out how best to manage the hydrology, digging swales, ponds, and some of the village landscaping.

On the building front, we'll be trying out our initial footprints with temporary housing if we haven't already chosen a developer

Step 7. Development.

We get a land developer. We'll be speaking with other Intentional Communities about their experiences, and we'll be taking bids. It's a step that requires patience, research, and a lot of conversations. We'll be looking into every option from conventional stick built, to straw bale, eco housing, nicer HUD housing, and even DIYing. If you've got one, or are one, respond below.

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I've created a subreddit for this project, /r/IntentionalCoFarmMass Right now this subreddit is invitation only until we've developed a good momentum on discussion. If you want an invite, reply to this or PM me.

One more thing. This Community will be non-MAGA. So far, from the responses and PMs of the first post, this is indeed what people want.

If that isn't your thing, you can find an alternative here: https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgwdew/russia-maga-colony I bet it's going to be lovely.

The next post is going to be about Housing Cohorts.

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My own journey lead me out of the city to the country. I was cuaght up in the rat race making money just to buy more "things" and pay more bills. So much of my life wasted in rush hour. I witnessed people older then me stuck in the same rut, miserable and lost. I felt trapped and helpless I knew there was more to life then what society offers. I started my spiritual journey and the more I evolved the more I could not take part in the empty materialistic fakness of it all. As a young kid all I could think about was making money then I got the money and found out real fast that money is not the answer. That being said I do know the importance of money. And financial freedom in-order to search and discover ones self and the secrets of the universe.

I vision a community of like minded people with strong work ethics, people that seek to become spiritual enlightened but also want to work towards something and build a new way of life. People that understand the importance of capitalism in-order to escape it . A sort of hybrid system. We would Form a corporation that produces natural and hand made goods as well as live stock . Then use and market those goods in-order to have the financial freedom to live comfortably healthy and happy while escaping the slave world the system has created. I know these days most young people will never own land or a home or be able to afford children. what does that future hold for anyone?

I know there must be others like me that want to build a different system then the one we are forced to Endor. If this resonates with you please reach out I would love to share ideas and see what we could build together. 🕊️

Would anyone be willing to share the processes (and interview questions) they use to determine if someone is a good fit for their community? We are reassessing our processes and I wanted to connect with the wisdom of the hive mind.

My coop has ran for over 18 years, we currently have 10 houses and 40 members. Socially, culturally and logistically we are in a place that it is possible that the entire coop dissolves due to low member participation and burnout from those that are basically working here part time for free.

We have 4 collective houses, where individuals each rent out a room and share labor, finances, and decision making. These houses are doing pretty good. The rest are apartments. These are the folks that don't participate for the most part. So the organization is essentially run by a small amount of the folks in the houses, doing a wild amount of labor to keep the organization afloat.

We are at a point of burnout and realizations that we would like to propose to membership a complete separation between the collectives and houses. I'm not sure which side would keep the name, but the current budget is extremely complex so it feels right for the collectives to start anew.

We know we'll have to bring this to an all member meeting and get 2/3rds majority, but we need to come with a proposal. So I am wondering and hoping someone here has done something similar as it is a complex and arduous journey we are about to take on, full of legal changes and social disruption.

Please share any knowledge you might have on the topic, thank you!

I think the Radish model for equity is mostly fair. It should allow for reasonably low rent, and flexibility in cost regardless of long term or short term residency. Some one planning on leaving after college, or only there seasonally might choose to only rent, permanent residents buy in. This is fairly conventional.

In Radish, everyone who buys in gets an agreed upon dividend that offsets the rental costs.

An issue with Radish, is that equity only becomes fully realized by selling the property. This is not as simple in a multigenerational model. Periodically an outside agency with have to asses the property value and give a best estimate.

So rent and dividend (or rent discount) must be balanced and carefully projected.

A financial vehicle that allows members to liquidate their shares without destroying the community is needed.

Suggestions? What questions would you ask a lawyer or financial adviser?

I want our project to be successful, and that means taking a hard look at what can go wrong. In another discussion, I’ll want to talk about how to ensure that the failure state is a soft landing.

For this discussion, I’d like to try a little structure. List the reason why you think a community could fail. Then, give your best guess assessment on the likelihood of the risk on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being unlikely , 10 being most likely. Feel free to disagree with each other on the scale. I might put Godzilla at 1, and Punkin-Chinkin-Gone-Wrong at 7. You might put Covid-Rabies at 7 and Devastating-Yo-Mama-Jokes at 10.

Actually, make it 11. This scale goes to 11. 1 - 11.

OK. Some reasons for failure I can think of. Some of these overlap and are redundant. Feel free to contribute your own and evaluate each others. I’ll compile them and make some notes.

Reasons why it failed:

1. Poor relationships with the local Town government
2. Not enough income to sustain.
3. Unable to attract new members when vacancies open.
4. Unbalanced, age groups, putting too much of a burden on a younger generation.
5. Poor management, poor, entrenched management.
6. Unhealthy overfamiliar relationships.
7. Financial resentment.
8. Covering up something horrible.
9. Rush job. Poor design that drains resources.
10. Not enough kittens.
11. Not screening new members.
12. Not enough decision making put in writing.
13. Not sharing power, not delegating, not following up.
14. One person doing “everything”
15. That guy. You know the one.
16. No follow through on dealing with members who aren’t doing their part.
17. Underestimating cost or time spent.
18. Geographic isolation
19. Legal constraints
20. Infighting
21. Jealousy
22. Monocrop or single business failure.
23. Overemphasis on purity instead of pragmatism.
24. Social Isolation, becoming too weird for outsiders to grok.
25. Evolving into just another subdivision.
26. Diverging expectations.
27. Lack of specialists in member skillsets. Einsteins
28. Not enough generalists in the member skillsets. Ben Franklins.
29. “Lazyness” (overwhelmed)
30. “Karen.”
31. Charismatic Monorail Salesman.
32. Never tried, failed before it began.

Second part.

How would you prevent or mitigate these?