Customer Reviews

Communities Directory: A Comprehensive Guide to Intentional Communities and Cooperative Living

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This publication contains listings of contact and descriptive information on more than 600 Intentional Communities (ICs) in North America and is unquestionably the best available directory for Intentional Communities (ICs) in print...

I've been lived in an IC for many years and the 1990 edition of this Directory was VERY important to me - and perhaps owning and using this new edition will be so for you. If you live in a "nuclear family" (or live alone), you can dramatically improve your life by joining and/or starting an authentic community. And adding your energy to one of the communities in this directory could even be your best way to help save the world!

This directory is published by the Fellowship for Intentional Communities (FIC), which has published these directories for years, along with Communities Magazine - the only magazine that directly addresses the IC movement.

This print edition is the first to publish output from an online version of the directory and involved the least amount of editorial hand-work as compared to any previous version. The data in the online directory (and by extension, within this print directory) is now largely maintained by the communities themselves.

Despite its importance, I was tempted to only give it a 4 out of 5 stars - why? read on...

I am responsible for the online directory database record for my IC (Songaia Cohousing Community). I edit our online record and am pleased with the editorial work of the FIC editors as they modified the online listing for the print edition.

Unfortunately, the ease with which the many contributors can now add/edit information is not balanced by much fact-checking by FIC editorial. My community's listing is scrupulously honest in the objective information - I continue to maintain it carefully, changing the data as our community changes. I have personal knowledge of several listings which are blatantly inaccurate. The biggest errors probably involve listings which claim larger community memberships than they actually have. For example, one community claims 8 members in their directory listing... and shows many more than 8 faces and biographies on their website. Talking with the community's founder, I learned that it actually has just one member who has been in the struggle of "building community" for many years, without much progress.

Another challenge is the inclusion and mixing of many different types of communities - in all stages of development. While it mostly contains residential communities (what most expect when they think of an IC), the directory also includes (1) community networks (groups of ICs - associations), (2) non-residential communities, and (3) even some fairly typical charities. And since the descriptions were written by many individual contributors, it can be difficult to tell the difference until you further research the group... visit their website, etc.

Even among the residential ICs, "forming" or "reforming" ICs are intermixed with ones which actually have groups of people living together... right now. Specifically, the directory has listings for communities with people with years of established culture, e.g. East Wind (commune of 75 people, formed in 1970), Nyland (cohousing of 140, formed in 1990), Ecovillage at Ithaca (162 people, formed in 1992), which appear side-by-side with MANY "forming" communities of just 1 or 2 people - that are trying to grow into ICs - some for just a few months and some for many years.

All of this means to get the most out of this directory requires research on your part and that its data should be considered critically and not assumed to be factual... Perhaps it goes without saying, but people seeking a life in an IC should be cautious when they choose with whom they will live.

The Community Directory's Introduction, part of which is entitled "What This Directory Is and Isn't" is totally up front about these limitations and given the web's impact on sales of print references, it is reasonable for the FIC to limit its investment in editorial work.

One reason that you should buy this directory is to help provide FIC with more funds to make the next version better... the people working on it are smart, hard-working, and generous with their time, but the funds available for their time are limited by directory sales.

In conclusion, an earlier version of this directory proved an important way for me to connect with the IC movement. I think it may serve that purpose for you as well - why don't you go ahead and buy your copy and start making your life better by living IN COMMUNITY!

The Communities Directory is an amazing gateway to much that is hopeful in the world. People engaging in all manner of cooperative living experiments; finding a better way to more richly be in this small world. The 4th edition is a testament to the enduring commitment of the publisher, the Fellowship for Intentional Community, to co-creating a more peaceful, sustainable world.

This is a must have volume on you bookshelf and in your road tripping backpack. Be careful - it may change your life.

This is an amazing resource. Not only does it describe hundreds of Intentional Communities in North America, it also has a chart with selectors which make it easy to figure which communities you might even want to research. It also has an extensive resource section which includes info about other continents, and interesting articles as well. There is nothing else like it. Well worth the $30. And that's coming from a tighwad! Definately on my must-have list.

I have used previous editions of this directory several times in the past when traveling to areas where I needed a place to stay and didn't know anyone who could offer one. In addition to providing the necessary contact information, the articles in the front provided enough background in the "lingo" that I could ask intelligent questions about visiting, which saved a lot of time.