…For many, “intentional community” is synonymous with the hippie communes of the '60s, but that notion is extremely misleading--the '60’s communes were just one large blip in a long and impressive history of intentional communities. The fact is, efforts to create new lifestyles based on lofty ideals have been with us for thousands of years.
Although the earliest humans are thought to have lived in clans or tribes, they were probably just "doing what came natural" rather than consciously designing a social structure. However, by the 6th Century BC, Buddha's followers began living in ashrams--communities intentionally designed to foster an orderly, productive, spiritual life. Community, also known as the "sangha," is one of Buddhism’s core teachings, and represents the most longstanding form of intentional community on record.
However, in spite of their criticisms of the status quo, most intentional communities that have withstood the test of time have eventually become accepted and well respected by their neighbors. With that in mind, here’s a brief overview of some of the better-known intentional communities that have flourished over the last 2000 years...
The Essenes lived in communities based on simple living, extensive sharing, and nonviolence. Many scholars believe that Christ studied with the Essenes before he began his ministry, and Essenes were probably the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
After Christ, early Christians banded together in “communities of goods” as described in the book of Acts, which says that all who believed were together, and shared all things in common based on individual need.
The first Christian monasteries, with shared prayer, worship, study, and work, provided a religious life sheltered from the distractions of the secular world. In the 4th century, with an emphasis on “service," monks in St. Basil’s Order opened public hospitals, hospices, schools, & orphanages.
Some early Anabaptists, most notably the Hutterites, lived in communities with all possessions held in common. Over the years, several denominations were formed based on differing interpretations of the same core beliefs. Many of these, including the Hutterites, Mennonites, and Amish, are still thriving today.
Puritans crossed the Atlantic seeking religious freedom, and at Plymouth Rock they signed the Mayflower Compact--the colony’s first written code of self-government. The Puritans were very creative, originating many things that we now take for granted, including the town meeting, elementary schools, and compulsory public education.
The Diggers were British commoners who revolted against the nobility, communally occupying & cultivating Crown land to make it available to the poor. Harassed by legal actions and mob violence, they dispersed after only one year.
The Shakers came to America seeking religious freedom, focusing on simplicity, purity, and perfection in their work. By the 1830s, there were 19 Shaker Colonies with 5,000 members. Today, only one colony remains. The Shakers, still known for their elegantly simple furniture design, were also prolific inventors, coming up with ideas for such useful items as propellers, waterwheels, threshing machines, clothespins, and the packaging & selling of seeds.
Robert Owen’s New Harmony was to be a cooperative village where all citizens would own the property in common and share labor equally, with no classes, no division of labor, and no crime. Owen’s ideas led to widespread reform in labor and education, both in America and abroad, and New Harmony operated one of the first public libraries.
Appalled by slavery, Frances Wright bought land in rural Tennessee to establish Nashoba, a community for emancipating slaves by teaching them life skills and helping them earn their own sale price. When the settlement collapsed three years later, Wright emancipated the slaves and paid for their transportation to Haiti.
Brook Farm was based on cooperative living, education, and self-reliance. The intellectual life there was stimulating, attracting Nathaniel Hawthorne, and regular visits from the likes of Horace Greeley and Ralph Waldo Emerson, who later wrote about having many collective schemes for a better social organization that would promote the development of our physical, intellectual, and moral natures.
John Humphrey Noyes founded Oneida with a focus on work, education, recreation, and Bible study ... a model members hoped would spread worldwide. They owned all property in common, and practiced “complex marriage,” where each adult was married to every adult of the opposite sex. Oneida lasted for 33 years, with membership peaking at 300 members.
German Protestants established seven Amana Colonies in Iowa, owning all land and buildings in common, and requiring that all members work at assigned tasks in the kitchens, fields, factories, or shops. In 1932, after 90 years, members of the Amana Colonies voted to end their communal lifestyle.
The town of Fairhope, Alabama, founded in 1894 by a group of creative, independent thinkers, was based on the Single Tax Theory proposed by economist Henry George. Instead of owning the land privately, members received 99-year leases and paid no taxes other than their land use fees, which were sufficient to fund the local government and pay for all amenities such as schools, sewers, roads, and a community art center.
Degania, founded in 1910, was Israel’s first kibbutz. Their model, supported by the Zionist movement, was used to pioneer many facets of the Jewish national revival. Degania’s innovative economy--a mixture of agriculture and industry--is still thriving. Today some 270 kibbutzim are home to about 2% of Israel's population.
Gould Farm, founded in 1913, provides a family-like community environment where the mentally ill can learn to live meaningful lives. Any family willing to be involved can obtain care there for a family member. With caregivers and caretakers working side by side, Gould Farm has become an internationally recognized prototype for psychiatric rehabilitation.
In 1932, grad students needing affordable housing bought the first of the Inter-Cooperative Council’s 20 student housing co-ops. Each house is self- managed and democratically run. In the late ‘80s, the ICC helped establish the Campus Cooperative Development Corporation which creates student housing co-ops in the U.S. & Canada.
The Catholic Worker movement was founded in 1933 by Dorothy Day & Peter Maurin to serve the needy and provide hospitality for the homeless. Several years later they also began work to raise public consciousness through political agitation, nonviolent resistance, and voluntary poverty. Today there are over 140 Catholic Worker communities committed to serving the needy and promoting peace.
In 1937, Greenbelt, Maryland was opened as the first "new town" in FDR’s "New Deal" program. The 885 low-income families worked together to create a town government and develop all necessary community services. It was said that ”No one could live in Greenbelt a week without becoming a member of at least one committee.”
Koinonia Partners, an interracial Christian farming community, was founded in 1942 by preacher Clarence Jordan to promote reconciliation between whites and blacks. Koinonia developed the idea of "partnership housing," where the poor worked side by side with volunteers to build new, affordable homes. In 1976, Habitat for Humanity was founded on the "partnership housing" model pioneered at Koinonia.
Mitraniketan is a non-political, non-sectarian rural educational community, established in India in 1956 to develop the whole individual, to improve the lives of nearby villagers, and to offer a replicable model for Third World countries. Mitraniketan’s initiatives have led to significant local developments in village industries, agriculture, health care, & education.
In 1957, the first of the Yamagishi cooperative communities was founded in Japan to bring about a sustainable, harmonious society. Rooted in large-scale agriculture and industry, they pursue a non-religious and non-political philosophy--relying on science and human intelligence to provide programs in health care, education, and social welfare. Today there are 40 Yamagishi communities, ranging in size from 20 to 1600 members.
Findhorn, founded in 1962, became a center for education and transformation in the '70s, working to create a sustainable lifestyle that combines spirituality, ecology, and economics with rich cultural and social experiences. Since then, several hundred people with a wide range of interests have moved into the area to take part in an “open community” working together to create a cooperative culture. Famous for its organic gardens, ecological buildings, and natural sewage treatment systems, Findhorn is also an NGO recognized by the United Nations.
"Cohousing," originating in Denmark in 1964, features self-contained private dwellings and extensive common facilities. Designed and managed by the residents, most cohousing communities have 20 to 30 single family homes on a pedestrian street or courtyard. In a typical week, residents share several optional group meals in the common house. In North America today there are more than 50 occupied cohousing communities.
Intentional Communities in the ’60s & ’70s The “Summer of Love” in 1967 gave rise to thousands of hippie communes in a movement that sent ripples around the world. At the same time, and over the following decade, there were also thousands of new intentional communities started based on other visionary ideals including: spirituality, simple living, affordable housing, social activism, and sustainability. Most did not last five years.
The first “ecovillages,” evolved from the cohousing model, appeared in Europe in the early ‘80s, emphasizing a lifestyle that was environmentally and socially sustainable. By the mid ‘90s there were prototypes on five continents, and today there are several thousand self-identified ecovillages worldwide, with many intentional communities re-designing themselves based on the ecovillage model.
Of the 25 groups described above, it’s interesting to note that all but four were started before 1960, and all but six are either still in existence, or have descendent communities that continue today. Most have changed substantially over the years, and I encourage you to keep that in mind as you watch: Think of each segment as "a snapshot" where most of the images--the people, the buildings, the activities, even the goals--are subject to change. As you’re about to see, sometimes those changes can be quite dramatic.
Occasionally, major changes do happen overnight, but it’s far more common for the large shifts to unfold over years or even over decades. For example, I've visited at least a dozen communities, started mostly by folks in their twenties, that were politically radical in their early years, yet within two decades the members--by then in their forties--had shifted their focus to issues such as improving their children’s education, worrying about health concerns, and making plans for their old age.
Though most people are drawn to communities by the vision of a better and more fulfilling life, the reality is that we all have roots in the prevailing culture, and every one of us brings along some baggage from our upbringing. In any close-knit environment, our egos, prejudices, and unresolved hurts will inevitably surface, and will need to be faced-- sooner or later. So if you hear a glowing report about a "perfect" community somewhere--one with no rough edges--assume that you're not getting the whole story.
Any culture, whether traditional or alternative, is going to have conflict-- disagreement backed by strong feelings. In mainstream culture, conflict tends to be handled so poorly that most of us have learned to dread and avoid it-- hence we also learn very little about how to work with it effectively. One of the exciting things being explored in intentional communities is how to work constructively with conflict, using it to gain insight into who we are and what we can be.
And one final caution: History is full of examples of starry-eyed dreamers who have attempted to "live in community"--only to discover that the reality is challenging, hard work. Many have retreated from the idea, convinced that it’s naively idealistic and unworkable. However, for those who can see the bigger picture--that community living will always push us to grow toward our greater potential--the rewards will far outweigh any frustrations encountered along the path.
Ultimately, community should not be seen as an end in itself, but as a tool for how we organize our lives. Being social animals who crave our own kind and want a sense of connection, we need better models for how to get along. Hopefully the examples I’ve shared will serve as an inspiration for what’s possible. I invite you to pick from among the many ideas presented, mixing and matching them to suit your own needs and interests--so that you can access a greater sense of community in your own life, and make the world a better place.