The Biggest Challenges of Intentional Communities

In this video I speak about the biggest challenges of intentional communities and the why to why most intentional communities fail within their first year. These points are really good to keep in mind both before going to visit an intentional community but especially if you want to create your own intentional community! If you have more points to add to the list please share in the comments!

► SOCIAL MEDIA

► Business Inquiries or collaborations

(this video is about: rebeckacelastrina,intentional community,eco villages,life in an eco village,biggest challenges of intentional communitites,common myths about living in an eco village,how to move to an eco village,living in an intentional community,what intentional living is like,what it's like to live in eco villages 2023,moving to an intentional community,how to become self sufficient 2023,damanhur spiritual eco community, Life in Damanhur community, 5 Things I didn't know before moving to Damanhur, myths about the eco village movement, tips on how to start your own intentional community)

[stephseckold]

I live in an area (in Australia) which has vary many intentional communities of all kinds. One of the biggest challenges I've observed is that we are products of modern individualistic culture and despite recognizing the failings of that culture, when under pressure (such as seemingly unresolvable conflict) most default to that programming (effectively putting a "fence around their plot") On the whole, we have not grown up with a tribal 'council of elders, who might adjudicate final decisions with the wisdom of experience, or are prepared to forgo our particular positions for the good of the collective. As re your first point, too often, we might agree that current lifestyles are failing us and wish to create better (and everyone may have a different idea of what that looks like) but the common 'vision' to which we're dedicated to creating is not clear enough.

[seraphx]

Having a shared vision and being practical are the two biggest issues.

[johnnynick]

While I don't believe I would enjoy living in a community like this myself, I am glad these communities exist and would encourage anyone who is disenchanted with Capitalism to explore this alternative lifestyle. I also encourage community leaders to be more accepting of these sub-communities. Freedom is important to man's life, and the freedom to live as one chooses without intentionally causing harm to others should be a fundamental right.

[jamesskinnercouk]

Thank you for this important information. I was drawn to this video because me and my wife are now leaving an intentional community because it turned out to be a narcissists honey trap where the lady who owns the land can mentally abuse families and it’s extremely sad that something so beautiful with such immense potential was simply abused like this. I get the feeling (from talking to others who’ve tried living in intentional communities) that poor conflict management and mental traumas are what causes these communities to simply collapse. Maybe communities should not be intentional but simply form organically and let to die naturally or else we are creating structures of self suppression (sugar coated in fake smiley happy people living on grassy green fields) as we act out roles and wear masks that are not aligned to our heart and soul and end up building something inauthentic.

[amitbarve]

Very deep study you have done on the subject. In India we found there is no legal structure for such villages. /communities. Creating Constitution is very important part of creating community.

[ANewDay-mq]

This video should be a prerequisite for all who wish to attempt such an endeavour. I have lived very near to a Land-Trust for 11 years now. It is an absolute nightmare due to the founder's belief of "No Ands, Ifs or Buts". And by welcoming everyone, he ended-up getting 90% takers, conflicts, high turnover rate and more!
I came across this video that was as if recorded by myself, lol, when searching for intentional communities, as I am currently attempting to start one in New Brunswick, Canada.

[davidschwarz]

Hello from the USA! I don't know if you'll read this comment, but I would like to add my thoughts as I have been focused on MANY aspects of communal living for the majority of my life @ 45 years of age at this point. Firstly, I would like to say, that especially in the USA, there is a lot working against communal ideals just in public opinion, and that manipulates what people's expectations are when they choose to look into such a thing. I drove 18 wheels all over the USA with a hope to find something more communal that could work well for me, and I could finally settle. I lived in the Philippines for a year, and I like how they had a much more neighborly design than the USA. Yet, I have only my driving skills to offer which wouldn't be enough to keep me in the Philippines so now I am back in the USA.
I'm sure much of what I have to say would sound redundant to you, but I've observed infrastructure everywhere very closely with the thoughts of communal living in mind. While there aren't really all that many intentional communities readily available for someone such as myself, I've taken special interest in things such as metro cities, RV parks, campgrounds, and people who do jobs such as working on a cruise ship. There are a lot of middle of the road ideas which share many principles of communal living yet rely 100% on capitalism. Some RV parks for instance, have a large community center where they will have a lounge, gym, a place to play games, and for people to meet on Sundays to have their own little worship service etc. Getting people connected opens up a lot of potential for sharing, all on its own, without even changing capitalist infrastructure. One idea I've had that I would like to share with you is in how to make capitalist infrastructure slowly benefit from the positive aspects of communal sharing and living. Think about what a library is. It is a place where you can go get a card, and as long as you return items responsibly, you can check them out and use them while paying literally nothing. Angry Capitalist on social media at the idea of social responsibility fail to realize that they've actually utilized such things in their life without hesitation. The painful reality for some people is that the reason they can have a lot more than their work is worth (though they may refute this) is because someone must work for less and to be a much better value to the design. Yet, the way we expect things to grow in a capitalist environment, the people of good value are being DEMANDED by these hard-hitting capitalists to be an even greater value so that those who are "blessed" as they call it can continue to be so and more so. It starts to create a lot of holes in the angle of faith they've successfully gotten nearly everyone on board with. Now, consider if we build something like a library that offers a lot more to be checked out than books...
The problem with promoting self-reliance, doing everything for yourself, getting as much as you can, and working hard to own things for yourself is that we now have way too much stuff, and most of it slowly goes to waste with very little use. Consider kayaks for a moment. I like kayaking, and I own two of them. Last year I put one of them in the water once. yet, there are so many Kayaks in the USA owned by people, that if we could just convince people somehow to donate 10% of them so that they can be placed at every kayak launch point, at every lake or river in the USA, to be checked out by responsible people, then it'd probably be too many and we'd have to send some of them back! It is not unusual for people to find ways to live communally and minimize waste. Assuming that the reason people have advanced is because of how hard we make everyone work by keeping things excessive enough to make most people desperate to get ahead is very farfetched. I do believe that more useful advancements would be made if people were working for that purpose rather than for the purpose of capitalisms survival. Mass production would still exist, but on a different level. Quality would quickly become more important than quantity and people would be motivated by quality sharing. Granted, liberty should still remain intact, and all of these things must remain optional. However, I believe strongly that most people would agree to join in on such a design as they see the benefits AND potential. Really, when people are living efficiently with both a strong respect for quality leisure time, and good work ethic, there are millions of ways we can design society, and there will be a lot of options as to what KIND of community you want to live in, and just about anywhere in the country, or the world?. Utilizing all available resources, the same idea could appear in unlimited different forms. People could make a commune look like a Disney resort, or they could choose primitive camping. It really just comes down to the desire to reduce waste and live better by sharing, while understanding the energy and effort that will still be required to do so (which would generally be far less than what is currently required of people).
All of those other problems such as relationships, religious beliefs, etc. would be worked out no differently than in any other design. Capitalism has proven to be really bad for marriage, relationships, and infidelity all on its own, so I doubt those problems would be any worse to say the least. However, when people are very open to each other, congregate and talk about solutions as a team, it should really lead to a better situation than where people are just building walls to keep other people out. Forgiveness is meant to heal, not to excuse. We should be very forgiving once we've made it clear that this is the purpose of forgiveness. Forgiveness should come with understanding, answers, and solution. Make a sign of that in your community, and people could fix nearly anything. We are looking for ways to fix bad habits, not to condemn them. Exile is a last resort, communicating ways to heal a person that works for both them and everyone they associate with, then to keep these things from effecting future generations should always remain a part of our life.

[TheAlchemista]

Thank you for this video! I live in an intentional community (one that’s been around since 1945!) and each point you mentioned resonated with me! I completely agree that having a purpose/vision for the community is key.

My community is also a spiritual community, that lies outside of traditional religion. There are a lot of rumors that we are a cult. It’s interesting to see how people respond to things they don’t understand.

I’ve been on our “restorative circles” team (based off of Restorative Justice from Sylvia Clute) for many years now… it’s so important for the fabric of the community. Sometimes this team is very busy and other times, it’s quiet for long periods of time.

I know about Damanhur and would love to visit one day!

[larzhitchcock]

I've lived in communities, am an Architect, Builder and LEED AP also a dedicated spiritualist - so have seen this from all sides.
Celastrina has done an excellent job of hitting all the points that I have also talked to others who have come to me for advice about building community for many years.
The Key Three for me are always location (One person wants ocean, one the mountain another the forests), Vision statement with all resolution paths and rules cleared spell out and Economics - as she pointed out we are under this system whether you like it or not and just buying a piece of land is only the beginning.
Great Job of Putting this together!!

[ronaldkable]

I live 8 years now in a community, and what you say is sense and wisdom

[SuerteDelMolinoFarm]

Thanks for sharing. Here at LooseNatural farm in Andalusia Spain we found that most people only change their minds when they die. We western people really struggle with group identity. Next to us is an opportunity to buy 12ha with 12 different ground papers. I really wish that people can share more. Wishing you the best.

[flaneurable]

Nice to see your awareness. Only two lovers destroyed our cause. Then there was the silent predator, hitting on members.-- and those 'no intention' members who sabotaged every move. I was a Member at Braziers with Norman and Glyn and also used to visit Minstead Lodge. Fircroft College fulfilled some of the criteria.

[vinnyd]

Wow.. what a video. This video creator has created an amazing resource for anyone thinking about intentional communities. She is so articulate and eloquent. The structure and delivery of the information is fantastic; I'm lost for words. She started of with an abstract concept and then brought it back to her experience. Well done.. amazing video.

[LionKimbro]

I think that -- I think that all communities are retirement communities: People join community because they want to go deep, and in going deep time passes, and as time passes people become old, and when people become old they retire, so the people that they went deep with, are now all retired together. For a community to go beyond its source generation, it needs to focus on being something more than a community: It needs to focus on being a lineage. And being a lineage means looking beyond the people you know and your relationships; it means intimately relating with people who are NOT your community.

[mntnwzrd]

Seems to me a year is nothing. People take longer than that just to unload their baggage and start being the version of themselves to be in community. It's not like any other Role we are asked to play. Not leading or following, not uncaring, but not super-attached to the minutiae of how things work out, not putting self first, but not last either. Roles take a while to gel, continuing to respond to each other. Our community has 5 people, my wife and I and 3 younger people. We are all 'becoming ourselves' yet, learning new skills for dealing with Community. But a year is not enough time for the adjustment. Having too many other good options too easily at hand may actually work against community.

[bogatasuma]

At our place, Bogata Suma croatia, we have been underway 14 years now to create a community. Many people come and go. We do experience all the differences and also how to point to instant quality that come directly when a small group of volunteers come together. Usually the energy of the start is the right energy. Everybody is new to each other. Using that first moment and maintaining that quality while getting things done is a challenge. Fascinating for me and Barbar anyhow. Thank you Celestrina for putting your view in a number of points. Without a system people agree to as part of a group instead of necessarily maintaining individuality might be a direction. A good combination of 'my way' to 'group way' can create well woven initiatives.

[pixelboy]

Thanks so much Celastrina; That was very enlightening and you hit the nail on the head with working together with modern society.

I noticed that in intentional communities people involved often have a higher vision that see things black and white towards traditional society: It HAS to be off-grid, it HAS to be collective, it HAS to be ecological, it HAS to be political or it HAS to have everyone contribute. Which complicates things and sets things up to be unpractical.

Rejecting all what has modern society has brought, you also reject that great things that have come with it; science, architecture, education, resources, trade, technology, healthcare, hygiene, energy. The irony is that many intentional communities have borrowed the inventions and know-how to make their living possible.

Which is a shame because right now we are so technologically advanced that good, comfortable, social community living is possible. As long as we accept that using the modern system to an extent is perfectly fine! Let's call it semi-off grid or dense grid living; That makes it possible to live with people you share a connection with, to have a healthy carbon-foot print and provide a living which makes us be almost independent from this unstable global hyperconnected system.

[Paulonius-je]

Wow, Celastrina, your insights and overall presentation, is brilliant. Thank you for sharing! You could save people a lot of unnecessary suffering if they would simply heed your counsel. You could also do reviews on successful eco villages/communities as well to provide examples of how they've succeeded. 😊💙

[tommoeyre]

Such a comprehensive and refreshing honest view on these elements of community that are so vital to their existence but are so infrequently talked about

[kiwidenk]

Excellent, turning existing suburbs or parts of suburbs or cities into (eco) communities also seems necessary, and very hard.