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Since 1972, Communities has been the primary resource for information, issues, and ideas about intentional communities in North America - from urban co-ops to cohousing groups to ecovillages to rural communes. Communities now also focuses on creating and enhancing community in the workplace, in nonprofit or activist organizations, and in neighborhoods, with enhanced coverage of international communities as well. We explore the joys and challenges of cooperation in its many dimensions. Below is a selection of articles from our most recent issues.  After a painful period stranded in “permaculture heaven,” an Earthaven founder finds her community finally moving back towards balance with its eco-spiritual roots. (From Issue # 153 - Permaculture)  On Hawaii’s Big Island, La’akea Community explores sustainability through myriad experiments—from keeping wild pet pigs in the garden to eating 100 percent locally to mowing with sheep. (From Issue # 153 - Permaculture)  An organic farming volunteer learns surprising new lessons from his Argentinian hosts—such as how to relax, how to enjoy practical labor, and how to contribute more sustainably by putting personal work first. (From Issue # 153 - Permaculture)  Lost Valley Educational Center avoids collapse and reinvigorates itself by applying a new approach to governance combining the best of diverse models. (From Issue # 153 - Permaculture)  Drawing on its long association with permaculture, The Farm in Tennessee institutes on-the-ground projects designed to provide resilience in times of climate change. (From Issue # 153 - Permaculture)  The editor provides a refresher on our theme and suggests some new Zone Zero guidelines to help keep permaculturalists in the game for the long haul. (From Issue # 153 - Permaculture)  While expert at understanding ecological connections, permaculturalists often founder in relating with one another. Applying permaculture principles to group dynamics can help us work together more effectively. (From Issue # 153 - Permaculture)  Degraded slopes, crumbling logs, plenty of trench-digging, seven blueberry plants, and an unanticipated drought combine to teach some important lessons. (From Issue # 153 - Permaculture)   An innovative approach to collective community gardens nurtures a culture of giving while allowing participants to feed both themselves and those in need. (From Issue # 153 - Permaculture)  Believing that the next phase in human evolution involves a return to the “local” and to community with neighbors, the author focuses his job search close to home, and includes any useful type of work. (From Issue # 152 - Right Livelihood)  When a cohousing group's honeymoon ends, and economic stress dictates selling units to any willing buyers, can a community's core values and connections endure? (From Issue # 152 - Right Livelihood)  Overcoming her resistance to waking up at 5 a.m., a veteran community seeker learns transformative lessons at Deer Park Monastery. (From Issue # 152 - Right Livelihood)  By reducing our economic impact, we can shrink our ecological footprint, while freeing up time and energy to contribute to community and a more sustainable world. (From Issue # 152 - Right Livelihood)  A collective financial approach that allows individuals to pool their resources in support of favorite projects, crowdfunding both encourages and thrives upon community. (From Issue # 152 - Right Livelihood)  A fifth-grader takes initial steps toward right livelihood by creating a neighborhood newspaper that embodies and helps bring together her local community. (From Issue # 152 - Right Livelihood)  Finding meaningful, socially and ecologically responsible work cannot be done in a vacuum. Right livelihood depends on networks of relationship. (From Issue # 152 - Right Livelihood)  In Brixton, South London, and Edinburgh, Scotland, right livelihood finds a home in innovative, resource-conserving, grassroots projects. (From Issue # 152 - Right Livelihood)  To the Compostmeister at a collective house, the cycles of compost embody a new economics that focuses upon human needs and relationships. (From Issue # 152 - Right Livelihood)  Despite widespread desire for community, structural and cultural obstacles to intentional community in the modern world loom large. (From Issue # 151 - Intimacy)  After a journey from nuclear family life through student coops, an ecovillager finds rich opportunities for intimacy, in many diverse forms—not just with lovers and family. (From Issue # 151 - Intimacy)  In the author’s first, very intense intentional community immersion, revealing the truth led to love and intimacy. He left that group, but, in many spheres of life, emotional and intellectual honesty became his religion. (From Issue # 151 - Intimacy)  The author recounts his personal history with the “mentally ill”—social misfits who can show us the way to a better world, if they are allowed to make the journey. (From Issue # 150 - Mental Health: Challenges and Hope)  Howling, shouting, cries of despair, and The Pierced One greet a parent on her first visit to her daughter’s adopted community. Luckily, through lots of talking and listening, things improve. (From Issue # 149 - Elders)
Upcoming Communities themes:
Spring 2012, Issue #154: Spirituality
Summer 2012, Issue #155: Diversity
Fall 2012, Issue #156: Ecovillages
Winter 2012, Issue #157: Endings and Beginnings
For submission guidelines, please visit our submissions page. To advertise, please visit our advertising page. And to read our quarterly print edition, including many additional articles, please subscribe! |
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