To live with minimal harm to others (human, animal, plant and system) as possible

To be part of an eco-neighbourhood, where the common ground respects free-will, where the people and the nature are integrated, and the common goal is cooperative sustainable living.  

To be a model of sustainable living, reviving the old ways that worked with new ways such as permaculture and solar energy.

I think the main purpose of my ideal community should be the same purpose, or at least driving force, I think live have in itself and that is love. Love for oneself, love for other people, love for the planet and all its inhabitants, because only when you love you are able to live without feeling somehow you need to cause harm to other beings for yourself to be able to be happy or to fulfil your own needs/dreams. Only when you love you are able to fulfil any other purpose or need you may have. Now if you ask me how love manifests itself in a community, I would say it does in many different ways, all of them very important, to name but a few: sustainability, love, tolerance, truth, friendship, care… and a big etc.

Quality of consciousness and trust, personal integrity and individual response-ability, respect for all, leaving people and things better than before, law of “enough”,  giving and sharing, tolerance, non-judgement, all for one and one for all, True speaking, compassionate, inner-sense.

Open, energetic, imaginative, creative people.

Givers not takers, self-reliant, group-minded, families+children, mostly veggies, anyone sharing our core values and aims.

Home... the sort of place where everyone feels happy, comfortable and

Firstly home. Somewhere people can reconnect to a simpler, more

Happy, safe, stress-free (or low, at least!). Fun, inspirational, ground-breaking.

I would like to go into my dream place here, a combination of all the best bits of all the habitats where at different times I have felt an incredible calm happiness.... However, practically: fertile soils, clean fresh water, resources for building a home and naturally, wildly, beautiful!

Eco-settlement in open countryside with some trees, hills and valleys not far from nearby hamlet or town and the coast and ocean, fertile soil, good weather, pollution free and out of mainstream society.  People live freely here with animals and plants, and elements co-existing in symbiotic harmony.  A settlement with natural boundaries but also integrated into the larger community, on the edge of change in the world, i.e. life guided.

Reasonably near to the coast, a centre of population and with a climate

Arco-Iris, Alentejo, Portugal !

Starting small-scale later larger land space limited only by natural proximity and compatible population.

As low impact as possible, individual dwellings with perhaps some

MoMostly green building but in a sustainable way. Not importing green materials just to be green.  It could be with little houses, just for sleeping and privacy and then buildings with common spaces like, kitchen, leisure and work.

Clusters of natural dwellings intuitively located (people + earth-sensitive).  These include low-impact (temporary) structures such as yurts, tipis and domes; as well as more permanent buildings made out of traditional materials such as rammed earth, cob, timber and straw-bale to any design acceptable to the community.  Low-impact, energy-efficient, using renewable energy, easily repairable structures.  Homes for people and their animals, structures for workshops, and community spaces.

Open spaces (shared and private) for food, crops, grazing and wilderness * homes * community * and access.

Mixture of growing, animal husbandry and landscaping, some wild areas.

It depends on the size of the land and on the purpose of the community. But it should contain the following.

Sustainable agriculture – As much as needed to provide for the needs of the community (trying to be as self-sufficient as possible) and some for direct sale of the products or as raw-materials for other products processed/manufactured in the community, either for community use or for sale (bringing the profit into the community and its members and allowing both the community and its members to buy what cannot be grown or made within the community.  

Private homes – Sustainable, low-impact housing, occupying as little space as possible (attending to what its inhabitants really need).

 Renewable energy production – The biggest effort should be made so that all the energy used in the community comes from renewable energy sourced within the community land.

 Water systems – Be it for capture, purification, irrigation, etc. Water should be sourced as much as possible inside the community, and it should have its use carefully thought, leaving the community as clean, or if possible cleaner than it entered it.

Community space – Spaces used by the community every day, like workshops, greenhouse, healing space, cultural/arts space, educational space, children space, etc

Events space – Spaces that are used as often as possible, but that are already made thinking on being used in events with people coming from outside the community.

All of the spaces and activities of the community should respond to the highest standards of sustainability.

A mixed economy of part private money and part shared labour credit/Lets. It’s important to learn and demonstrate alternatives to our money/interest rate/fractional reserve/third-party controlled conventional system of trading/currency exchange.

Neighbourhood barter economy, alongside national economy.  Private and shared income possibilities.  (Some ideas suggested for “the Rainbow Traders Exchange” on the web site.  Briefly: In a community skills need to be pooled and shared if it is to grow.  Trading can be done freely given or by exchange. People who are doing work for their community may often get paid in “Rainbows”.

Any decision likely to influence others – discussed and resolved in circle/council meeting.  When a circle is called true speaking and listening is encouraged, with empathy + respect.  Non-consensus moves to co-counselling with volunteer facilitator if necessary and second circle where decisions may be made by consensus if possible.  Volunteers can help decision making but not to make decisions on others’ behalf. Sometimes individuals have to follow an initiative despite adverse opinion so this is a learning experience.  Best decisions are when everyone + nature wins.  Leaders for certain tasks like gardening, tree management as needed, but always to train and pass on skills to others.

For me one of the main aims is to become an intermediate training centre. Organising a good programme of workshops will share sustainable living skills amongst us neighbours, train others and help with creating our infrastructure.

10% would be a good starting point, hopefully less as capital investment is paid off.

10% of production is the old medieval tithe. I think tithes should be paid for capital expenses but not as ongoing rents of capital. Eg, the site’s provision of water is a gift from the earth. The site’s provision of pumping is a capital expense provided by some members for other members and should be paid for by tithe until the cost is recovered. The tithe for it should not go on beyond that (otherwise all capex totals become cumulative).  Ideally, the tithe should be, say, 10% maximum and should struggle to be minimal.

I’m not sure what % of what? Of income? Of usage? 

Perhaps a % for use of land that is collectively owned, for crops?

Also, perhaps the community should follow the example of Earth itself, which provides many essentials at no cost. So perhaps it is only those things that Earth cannot provide at no cost that should ever be tithed.

In this scenario, I guess facility-providing would be the arrived at from the consensus (or near-consensus) of members (and tithe size should follow - within a, say, 10% of production/or income limit.)

If people are building their own homes, then they will probably want independent facilities and will provide them for themselves.

What will need to be resourced depends upon how much the community wants to invest in making itself its own business: for example running courses (activities as above). These can only be decided when there is enough of a community to make this happen.

Cars? If we have the luxury of affording a communal sustainable vehicle that supports creating an income we should. In the meantime we stay aware of our impact and keep it minimal on all appliances without getting impractical.

Basic but good camping/accom, communal washing and cooking facilities.  Welcoming hospitality.  Support for and seasonal programme for Woofer volunteers, Workshop participants , and Visitors.

Only shared skills in smaller units.  If much larger then power, laundry, office. Car parking.

On pooling, we should probably look at existing models to come up with a starting point and modify it from there. Eg, FlexCar systems. I don’t think cars should be allowed on site except in parking areas. I.E having minimal car-sized roads on site frees that “road-land” for other, more productive, sustainable activities.

Cars in a shared car space preferably.  Car sharing, maybe a community jalope, donkey + cart.

I don’t know. Happy to work on this with members.

Respect of residents ensured, otherwise welcomed.  Later accepting communities guidelines if becoming residents themselves.

Welcome as long as they are aware of others privacy and the values by which the community is built.

I don’t know in detail. Consensus and “try-outs” are likely to be key.

For the selection this questionnaire seems important. Also the 6 months experience can prove to be effective. About money, I think that after acceptance by the members (after appreciation of the questionnaire and experienced work together). If the person has money to pay straight away fine, if someone is really motivated and have a love for work within the principles, and there’s a will for acceptance from the community side, maybe it could be created a formal or informal deal between parts.

First possible deal: The person would pay the amount (without taxes )in parts during certain amount  of years agreed among parts (almost as a rent).

Symbiotic attraction!  Sharing thoughts via the Eco-Questionnaire.  Mutual acceptance in circle.  Volunteering and woofing.  2 to 6 month Trial period? People buy in as a member/shareholder of the Community Association which owns the land in Portugues law.  A Share gives rights to a part of the land, for specific use, to the community land as well.  People sell back to the trust at market value but the Share provides "equal-ownership".  Requested notice of leaving should be 6 months or more to give time to find a new member. Also, some people with no capital, but with values in their skills or labour, may join and become resident – able to live in their own temporary structures or permanent built structures - provided the community develops in a sustainable way.

We probably need to measure the net effect of having visitors. On one hand, every visitor is potentially someone who goes away feeling safer about giving up harmful conventional practices and adopting a more sustainable lifestyle. This is a goal of the community, I think. Perhaps some visitors or a certain visitor number will become a heavy load. If we are successful in living resiliently and productively, we may be able to test how heavy a load visitors really present and make consensual decisions based on that.

I see guests I would invite as my responsibility but that in knowing me and my family other community members would be welcoming.

Welcoming, need to agree guidelines, i.e. strangers need to book provisional dates.  Group sorted but maybe hosted or looked after individually.

Welcomed, either by friends dropping in or by booked courses, working holidays etc.,

Short-term visitors pay for their food and accommodation either in work, materials or money.

Long-term visitors provide their food and build their shelter paying an amount or percentage previously agreed with the community for the used of the shared land and facilities (this can be paid in money, materials or work).  

WWOOFers follow the normal WWOOFing rules.

Visitors that are relatives of residents or long term visitors (or personally invited by them), are the responsibility of the resident they are visiting and the resident should provide for accommodation, food and other needs, or they can be seen as short-term visitors if they wish to be and the community agrees.

Encourage everyone to learn non-violent communication skills (www.cnvc.org), very beneficial.  Perhaps if necessary the dispute can be shared in open circle (see also 10).  Willingness to agree to whatever process community decides, before joining!

Solved together as a whole if this is not achieved by outside mediation.

I don’t want to bring pets on to site but I don’t mind other people doing so as long as they keep the pets from damaging resources.
I think a key goal is to communicate what we are doing to the outside world, along with how we doing it and how successful we are. This is part of marketing our ability to earn class income.
This ability to communicate with people outside of the community is important to me, not just for extending the community’s goals but to provide to members the closeness they have to family and friends outside the community. The ability to stay in touch over long distances is one of the few, obviously great blessings of technology. I also think that we should use good communication links to bring us closer to others who are working for the same goals as we are. We will have much to share!

We are each free to live how we choose, to respect our choices!  By living together we may begin to move to a sense of extended-family and the life living through us shaping how we live together.  In this way what I do effects you and vice-versa and so there is always that to learn from and guide us.  

Dogs must be kept to a minimum and kept under strict control (sheep worrying for other local farmers and fouling).  Any other animal is earning its keep !  If this model works, the influence on the outside world will have a knock on effect, (everyone will want to be a part of it).

I think members