UK communes

what about starting off with a plot of land and a large shared house, rented for the first place because then there is no major lasting financial commitment made until everyone is sure that its working for them. then those who want to stay and any others who are interested in joining us move on to a permenant place where we can expand as neccesary.

Like im thinking obviously seperate bedrooms, shared kitchen/living facilities, the garden will be the main focus, growing things, i would like to have free range chickens for the eggs, a workshop(large shed, lol) for bikes/ trailers to carry any surplass produce to trade/sell and just to get us around. i would like to keep a car between us for use in emergencies at first untill we have established other means of getting places fast( i would like to have pasture for a rescued horse to graze, for while i dont believe in enslaving animals to do work man can it would be an excellent way of getting about in a non polluting fashion and giving a loving home to an otherwise unwanted animal)

i would not insist on a vegetarian diet but limited meat use and respect for those who choose not too, especially with thoughts to shared meals. i dont want to live in a very strict environment, personal freedom, of course with respect to the community, is very important to me and i dont want to have to exclude anyone who eats meat, or indeed be excluded myself, as i would take a long time to adapt to a vegetarian diet if it was forced on me. just for the record, lol, i eat meat because i agree with the buddhist view that we all have to eat, and that we do not kill these animals ot of spite or hatred, but simply to survive. i know many people feel differently. i still have strong view on animal welfare.

A strong sense of respect for other community members is paramount to me and i couldnt live otherwise because the environment has to be safe for my son who is only 10 months right now.

thats just some of my thoughts, would anyone else like to talk about their needs?

 

My concept is not really based around the community living aspect as a goal. I want my group to achieve certain things, and it's actually living as a community that I believe provides me to do this.

Therefore, stuff like growing own food or maintaining horses instead of cars is not strictly a goal as such - not if it diverts efforts away from the main cause. Having said that, these would be nice things to begin to introduce in subsequent years.

Repect for each other is very important - I want each member to be an equal to each other for one thing. Because the group would have a set goal, and if this was defined in considerable detail (perhaps by a document!) then I think this would also solve core leadership issues leaving more mundane things to be decided by the group.

Dwelling wise I am looking for something bespoke, probably built and engineered by myself. Self sufficiency is important, but ultimatly the main drive is towards achieving the groups aims over simply living the lifestyle.

Just some general thoughts I'm exploring - not really concrete and not really specific.

 

Have just joined this forum because of this thread - was searching for commune based articles and came across this. Have read thread and am very interested. I think I echo most folks sentiments and say that this has likewise been a recurrent thought and desire. I have visited the diggers and dreamers site a few times but not been inclined to go much further with it. So many of your comments have reflected my own that I am sure there is something here. Do want to keep in touch.

 

hey thought criminal, would love too, its allways good to talk about this stuff with peope, even if you dont end up living with them, i guess its making me explore more of my ideas on what i would want to achieve, the lifestyle, as well as the benifits to the earth and people at large.

 

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Hi - found this site a bit awkward to navigate. Probably not used to it yet. Is there a place elsewhere where u guys chat also, say yahoo or sthg?

 

Hey TC, if you click on someone's username then go to their user profile, it will tell you there whether they have an MSN chat sign in or whatever. But we're not really organised. The only place we're all together is here.

You'll get used to it. It's pretty easy to navigate once you get the hang of it

 

hi ppl,

I am very interested in this too .. I really am looking to leave conventional society . I have been giving it serious thought now for about a year, and believe I am ready. I would love to move onto a piece of land that already had a property on it, communally with like-minded people, and then begin to make our community self-sufficient. Unfortunately, I have nothign, not a penny, and i am pretty sure, most others who have posted here on this topic, are in the same boat. With that in mind, I am more than prepareed to hit a piece of unused land, and build from scratch (survivor style). This is actually not impossible, and not as difficult as one might think, as long as there are the bodies to help who think similarly, and have shared goals.

Personally, I ahve given this enough thought, and do not want to wait much longer to do this. After Christmas, as the spring begins, is when I am doing this. I was going to do this alone, to be honest, as I have yet to find somewhere I feel I would fit in 100%. I am not sure how far I would get on my own, but would prefer to try, than live much longer in my current life.

I would love it if like-minded people agreed to do it too, for real, and for definate. As I truly believe it will be hard to fail with a small mix of people. I am thinking about February-ish, or latest early-March. If anyone wants to just do this, and see where it takes us .. please, please contact me and we will find a way to talk communally about it. Either in a mirc channel, email, MSN, etc ..

My email, for initial contact is : russellsmith23@aol.com

If you are serious about this, and have the bottle to just 'Do-it'.. then please, lets just get it done .. contact me now ..

 

Open and out there for a good bit
http://www.hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2917
speaks of a within 20 miles of where we are and our posts pretty much speak from the heart and let you See us. oldwolf, old crone, And moving Cloud are the only actively working on making it happen - have the land and some supplies, much equipment but over-extended on the last and paying off that debt stops extra spending from our end for more building supplies for more permanent dwellings, so we think tarps, poles in the ground, viga roofs with more tarp and pine bows from our large pines that need to come down around the building site for the community center (shop, water usage, work and gathering space, and food preparation and storage area) where the old homestead already has a cellar hole.
One draw back for you is USA and immigration controls But we are mostly talking similar like-mindedness.
you get a chance to visit - give us a short advance shout to make sure we're open to you or any questions either in forum linked to or email as in signature or PM.
If it's meant to happen then we should be able to be part of it aye ?
Guess it's up to us to Do it though huh ? - sigh - you up for it ?
Blessings along your Way

 

Hi Resin, Great sentiments and I think I'm with u in a lot of ways. But (and here comes the big but) I'd give what u want to do plenty more thought first. Y? 'coz if u want your ideas to last they need to be right. Why stuff it up by being over-eager - and I'm not trying to knock the enthusiasm either See, u gotta think long-term and it could only work if u can survive. To survive u either need to be fully self-sufficient or u need to be part self-sufficient with some form of external income. To be fully self-sufficient u will need good quality arable land and after 000's years of humans being on this island, trust me, there ain't none of that just going for free. Ok u could 'adopt' some shit growing land, build some habitat and then what? U will now be part self-sufficient growing a few meagre crops and having to have some outside job to pay for things (and no matter how much u might wanna drop out of the rat race, money is still one of life's essentials). So its the seven P's - proper planning and prep prevents piss poor performance. Get it right and it'll last long time. Get it wrong and u wont last longer than a year and you'll get so pissed off u'll never go back to the idea again. Which will be a shame if ur heart's there in the first place.

 

Thanks Andy for the feedback and Enigma (also for getting this thread kicked off in the first place ) - sorry for not getting back I've been giving this some thought. I can write a bit of http, not much but good enough. What I think we need is some form of visualisation, some focus upon which we can all rally round. Perhaps I could write a website that will allow us to build up a model of what it is we want, in all aspects - organistion, planning, construction etc etc and at the end we will have a 'virtual commune' of our own. From that blueprint we can start to organise ourselves to a point of either using this model as a focus of creating some or other commune, at some time, in some place with some people or, a specific commune, with us as a group, at some definite point in time. I leave it with u.

 

I agree about planning... it's not something you can leap into, although people have in the past and it's all worked out for them, if not without some dramas!

 

I too agree with planning .. And I have been doing just that for a while now. Going out into the wilderness on my own (except for my dog), and camping .. reading survival guides and watching appropriate programs (including al the survivor series .. :/) ..

What do we really need that the land cannot provide ? every single thing comes from the land .. and we only need basics to live happier than we are now . I believe that with hard woirk, dedication and material bodies we cannot go far wrong .. We don't even have to stay in the UK once we have it set up and have lived the life for a set time .. we could go anywhere that is readily perepared and vacant .. pearl islands, guadalmuala, etc .. there is is really ploads of places .. the highlands of Scotland , I believe, are a fantastic place to start a tribe ..

I do agree with planning though, and I see that just because I have looked into it, and believe I am ready, others may need convincing, and will neeed to see plans, mettings, etc ..
well, as I said .. I am looking at March-ish next year (2006), so that gives 6 months-ish to pln .. that is surely time enough ifw we get the ball rolling ..

agreed .. ppl ..??

 

Hi Oldwolf ..

Thats the type of offer I was looking for .. my only concern is .. it is the USA , and I admit I have had a colourful past (part the reason I want a new life, away from my current tlifestyle) .. and I am pretty sure I am not allowed in the USA, even on holiday .. I Know I I could not emmigrate there .. :< .. but .. there is better land Europe side anyway I think (free land, uncontended anyhow..) .. as I said pearl islands, etc .. they are all empty of peopel (many islands), have lots of natural big fish, fruit and such ..

Fancy moving your locale Oldwolf ? .. Highlands of Scotland even are very beautiful (if not weather threatened nrear winter.) ..

;>

Peace out ...

 

I wanna join as well!!!!!! i would love to do something like that - living free, happy, living as a family. It would be amazing - just one question can i bring my cat? I agree it does need alot of planning etc. but when that is all done the efforts people have made would well and truely be worth it.

 

resincake.

Ahh ... T'is not that I have not thought of it.

Must admit to bein partial to the Southern Hemisphere.
Hope to be moving to at least visit within the next few. But then there is never a guarantee as to just where ye might be in the next few - aye Now ?

We got the Now - don't know about the future..... Doing is the only way it gets done.
Check it out and see if you can visit - think you'd find some like mindedness - y'Know ?
Blessings along your Way

 

ok ..

It seems like we have a mutual feeling here, amongst a fair few of us UKers .. Oldwolf, you offer is great, and I certainly am not discounting it, but I think it is best for me to first get a group of like-minded UKers togetehr, and in a group, decide which path we will take .. Together.. :>

I am going to start a new post in this forum, outlining a basic plan (or two), that I have. Anyone who is seriously interested, please take a look, have a read. Give proper thought, before giving an answer, and then reply in the new thread. I really believe that together we can have a great life .. whether it is in the highlands or somewhere more tropical .. whether starting a place of our own , or joining an existing family .. I it should be a group decision..

so, without further-ado .. I'm gonna make the post ..

;>

Look forward to getting this going .. I cannot wait .. Just do it ppl .. we only live once, may as well be how we want, and happy .. :>

 

hey everyone....sorry its been so long since i've posted, the stresses of living have been extreame lately, which makes me want to do this more than ever, however, i have a VERY conventional upbrining, with such factors as, security, having a plan and not taking risks drummed into me all my life, if i was alone....these would no longer matter but i have a son to think about, therefore i cannot leap into anything that is not thouroghly planned for the sake of my son, that said, it is also for the sake of my son i want to escape this life.

i dont believe six months is enough time to get to know people enough to leap into such a commitment, (although i can really justify that, i met my husband two years ago and i was married with a child within a year of meeting him, lol ) i think the idea of having a website is fantastic, my husband is learning web design right now so if he and though criminal could get chatting more it could soon become a reality (i'll get him to post asap, lol)

i think if we talk a LOT more, really find out what we want and how we want it this thing can become a reality. i know the date of feb next year is high on some of you guys lists and im not entirely againt it, i just want us all to be sure we will get what we seek from the community. we have New Zealand connections, my husband is a NZ citizen and so we could get land there a few years down the line but that is at least 5 years off, so a UK base would be better for us for the near future.

One thing i will state is i am not looking to withdraw from the world at large entierly, i want to be an example to people, show them there is another way by being active in the local community and allowing others onto the site of our community, i am training to be a holistic therapist at the moment and will gladly use my skills to bring outside funds into the community (i also hope to be a midwife and herbalist one day .....i think i have a secret longing to be some kind of wise woman, lol, but i think these things will benifit of benifit to the community)

ok, so ill leave this post there for now (i have a horrible cold and mountains of college work to do), but keep talking here as well as in the new thread, and well see about getting ourselves our own website.

peace peoples.xxx

 

I made another post and have left it open for a week,come on people, I really wanna do this soon, and not plan it for the next couple of years .. I believe the best way to do anythign is to just do it, rarther than not ..

Peace out ..

 

Being fairly busy I have for the first time been though your other thread, Resincake. I must agree in pretty much all respects to cymru-jules with her temperance. My understanding, or vibe, from this current thread has been a group of people who are perfectly in tune with a vision of where they want to be and where they want to go and are, piece by piece, putting their own puzzle together. We will all get there becuse we all have the heart to do so. The when is down to events, loose ends and that big piss-off 'p' word, planning.

I appreciate your energy and your enthusiasm but you are demonstrating the sort of brash, flakiness that makes me worried and concerned that you would be the kind of person that I would want to live with in making in a stable commune. Lets thing about some realities. 1) Personally I couldn't up sticks in six months even if I wanted to - I have something called a mortgage and a future and I for one do not intend to imperil either whimsically. When I am ready I will sell up and use whatever I have left into making a strong commune. I'm sure other people have their own situations and each need to be dealt with accordingly - this isn't being dreamy, or timewasting, its about being realistic. 2) I said about a future. Think ahead. One day we are all going to be old and decrepid. What then? We just slink back to the 'real world' and ponse off the state? I don't want to do that and I intend to ensure that the commune and I am a part of has enough depth to it that it will see me right in my old age. Read Animal Farm and see what happens to Boxer when he becomes too old! 3) We all have ideas about what a commune is to mean and what work it is to do. If it is just about escaping reality then just go and buy a PS2. If its about shirking work then realise that a commune is going to be very hard work indeed. The idea of a commune is not a romantic ideal with an end unto itself. It is just a means to an end of some kind, and before we think about living together we have to be sure we understaing what that 'end' is, ie what the purpose is, what the work will be and what the net effect and product of coming together will be. We haven't even started to do that yet.

So I suggest, in the best possible way, that you do some touring, reflect a little, mature and by the time you've done all that, we may be at the right stage for one another.

And yes, peace - and plenty of it.