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| intc:intentional_communities [2026/03/11 22:46] – [Related topics] Katja Durrani | intc:intentional_communities [2026/08/19 00:24] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1 |
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| # Intentional communities | This topic is part of [[gt:community|Community & culture]]. |
| | ====== Intentional communities ====== |
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| ## What are intentional communities? | ===== What are intentional communities? ===== |
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| There are lots of ways to live communally, from shared houses to communes to traditional villages, but we're talking here about _intentional_ communities - groups of people who come together _intentionally_ to share various aspects of their lives; the extent of the sharing depends on the community. | There are lots of ways to live communally, from shared houses to communes to traditional villages, but we're talking here about _intentional_ communities - groups of people who come together _intentionally_ to share various aspects of their lives; the extent of the sharing depends on the community. |
| </WRAP> | </WRAP> |
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| ### History | ==== History ==== |
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| There have been, and still are, many traditional and tribal groups in which people live communally, but the first known example of intentional communal living was the [Essenes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes), on the shores of the Dead Sea over 2000 years ago. Since then, famous examples include the [Diggers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diggers), religious groups like the [Shakers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakers) (who are no longer around), [Hutterites](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutterite), [Mennonites](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mennonites) and [Amish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish) (who are), and the 19th century utopian communities of [Robert Owen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Owen) and [Charles Fourier](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_fourier). Mexico ([Ejido](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ejido)), Israel ([Kibbutz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibbutz)) and Tanzania ([Ujamaa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ujamaa)) introduced (or in the case of Ejido, re-introduced) large-scale intentional communal systems in the 20th century; and China ([People's Communes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_communes)) and Russia ([Kolkhoz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkhoz)) introduced decidedly unintentional ones. | There have been, and still are, many traditional and tribal groups in which people live communally, but the first known example of intentional communal living was the [Essenes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes), on the shores of the Dead Sea over 2000 years ago. Since then, famous examples include the [Diggers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diggers), religious groups like the [Shakers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakers) (who are no longer around), [Hutterites](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutterite), [Mennonites](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mennonites) and [Amish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish) (who are), and the 19th century utopian communities of [Robert Owen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Owen) and [Charles Fourier](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_fourier). Mexico ([Ejido](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ejido)), Israel ([Kibbutz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibbutz)) and Tanzania ([Ujamaa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ujamaa)) introduced (or in the case of Ejido, re-introduced) large-scale intentional communal systems in the 20th century; and China ([People's Communes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_communes)) and Russia ([Kolkhoz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkhoz)) introduced decidedly unintentional ones. |
| <figure> | <figure> |
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| {{url>https://www.youtube.com/embed/XgVvFhGIXQo 560,315}} | {{url>https://www.youtube.com/embed/XgVvFhGIXQo}} |
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| <caption> | <caption> |
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| ## What are the benefits of intentional communities? | ===== What are the benefits of intentional communities? ===== |
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| ### Personal | ==== Personal ==== |
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| - Counters the loneliness and alienation that many people experience in modern consumer society. | - Counters the loneliness and alienation that many people experience in modern consumer society. |
| </WRAP> | </WRAP> |
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| ### Environmental | ==== Environmental ==== |
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| - Shared resources - such as laundry and kitchen facilities, vehicles and tools. | - Shared resources - such as laundry and kitchen facilities, vehicles and tools. |
| </figure> | </figure> |
| </WRAP> | </WRAP> |
| ### Financial | ==== Financial ==== |
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| - Can provide affordable housing. | - Can provide affordable housing. |
| <figure> | <figure> |
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| {{url>https://www.youtube.com/embed/EusOgAAlFG0 560,315}} | {{url>https://www.youtube.com/embed/EusOgAAlFG0}} |
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| <caption> | <caption> |
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| ## What can I do? | ===== What can I do? ===== |
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| If you think you might be interested in living communally, think about what kind of community would suit you best, and do some research about what kinds of intentional communities are out there. It doesn't matter in which order you do this - you might find a community that you really like, maybe because of the people living there, that on paper, doesn't tick all your boxes when it comes to the criteria you're looking for. | If you think you might be interested in living communally, think about what kind of community would suit you best, and do some research about what kinds of intentional communities are out there. It doesn't matter in which order you do this - you might find a community that you really like, maybe because of the people living there, that on paper, doesn't tick all your boxes when it comes to the criteria you're looking for. |
| Here's a [guide](http://www.thefec.org/starting-a-community/) to starting a community, by the Federation of Egalitarian Communities. It's US-centric, but with lots of useful general information | Here's a [guide](http://www.thefec.org/starting-a-community/) to starting a community, by the Federation of Egalitarian Communities. It's US-centric, but with lots of useful general information |
| . | . |
| ## Further resources | ===== Forum ===== |
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| | This topic belongs to the section [[gt:community|Community & culture]]. You can ask questions or add information on the corresponding [Forum section](https://forum.growingthecommons.org/t/community). |
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| | ===== Further resources ===== |
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| * [Diggers & Dreamers](http://www.diggersanddreamers.org.uk/) – UK directory | * [Diggers & Dreamers](http://www.diggersanddreamers.org.uk/) – UK directory |
| * [Global Eco-village Network](https://ecovillage.org/) – global federation of ecological communities | * [Global Eco-village Network](https://ecovillage.org/) – global federation of ecological communities |
| * [Foundation for Intentional Community](http://www.ic.org/) – listing of US and international communities, plus ‘Communities’ magazine | * [Foundation for Intentional Community](http://www.ic.org/) – listing of US and international communities, plus ‘Communities’ magazine |
| ## Related topics | |
| | ===== Related topics ===== |
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| - [[hcoo:Housing co-operatives]] | - [[hcoo:Housing co-operatives]] |
| - [[coop:Co-operatives]] | - [[coop:Co-operatives]] |
| - [[smal:Small|Small is beautiful]] | - [[smal:Small|Small is beautiful]] |
| - [[coho:Cohousing]] | |
| - [[pers:Personal development]] | - [[pers:Personal development]] |
| - [[wwoo:Wwoofing]] | - [[wwoo:WWOOFing]] |
| - [[soci:Sociocracy]] | - [[soci:Sociocracy]] |
| - [[smho:Smallholding]] | - [[smho:Smallholding]] |
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| ## Specialist curators of this topic | ===== Specialist curators of this topic ===== |
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| * [[p:Dave Darby]] | * [[user:dave|Dave Darby]] |
| * [[p:Simon Grant]] | * [[user:asimong|Simon Grant]] |
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