“Future Living” – Visit to Coed Hills ‘low-impact’ community

“Future Living” – What we are about Our news & progress		Creating Sustainable Communities Portugal News Update ~ Spring 2004

Our Aims causes * relations * background * land * invitation * next!*

Briefly the aims of Rainbow Communities are to ~

~ support cooperative and sustainable living by “just people” to foster right relations with all beings,

~ co-create eco-settlements and villages as foundational examples that will help seed a new future.

Most people accept that existing society is not working and is unsustainable: because it is founded on motives of self-interest and power to control, not compassion and respect for the whole.

Our relationships support and share some common values:

We seek to lead more natural and sustainable lifestyles,
We believe in the spirit of cooperation more than competition,
We work with nature as our ally always and not against it,
We respect each other for being who truly are, not as separate individuals but part of One Life,
We believe in equality in decision making, of true speaking,
We are willing to share our skills and resources trusting that by giving we are also receiving,
We seek "ENOUGH" and no more than we need to live on.

Our backgrounds are diverse. We have met from workshops and gatherings and by coincidence. What brings us together is a common motive that together perhaps makes a bigger plan. Between us we have many skills, which we are willing to share and exchange as part of a family or group: These include traditional building, forest gardening, permaculture design, renewable energy, plant spirit medicine, spinning & weaving, counselling + communication skills, and many more …

Land in Alentejo, Portugal offers different options for supporting cooperative and sustainable futures. The land is still used for subsistence living and so is mostly natural and organic and the climate is good. Good water is plentiful from springs or bore-holes. Single cottages for rebuilding with land can support self-sufficient living for individuals and their families. Plots with several dwellings are suitable for cooperative housing with some shared land. And larger land for eco-villages is available. Some of these plots can be seen via the Portuguese Land pages at www.rainbowtradingpost.com.

For example, we have found one 4 hectare plot with 4 dwellings near a main town, suitable for 4 units or families with shared land space, pine wood and eucalyptus wood – which could be cropped and replaced with industrial hemp which is about the only crop that will grow after eucalyptus to support a diverse new economy. We are looking for 2 couples or families to join us. The basic purchase cost per unit is about €45,000.

Rainbow Communities is a registered Association in Portugal and is constituted to:

~ enable people to buy in and buy out quite easily as part of the association which is the registered owner,

~ to help create several independent communities as part of a network.

Each land project or community group-led and independent and part of an informal network.

If you would like to know more, you are invited to:

! Read our latest article and news (See www.rainbowcommunities.org: “Future Living News Forum”)

! Read through our individual vision, ideas and guidelines so far contributed by the group wisdom (Eco-village Quest-Answers),

! Share with us your own ideas by completing and sending your own answers (Eco-village Questionnaire),

! Join us on a working holiday, or just send us an email to ola@rainbowcommunities.org.

∞ A free CD of Portuguese Music i"Spirit of Alentejo" s available on request ∞