A couple friends and I are thinking of starting a commune. We think that in order for this to work that we need a fairly large group of people on board. Anybody down?
it sounds like you've really thought this through....count me in.....I need some good soil and a bunch of hippie chicks
Well.. darlin'.... I had a small commune until recently. Down to just 2 people now.. so I guess that means we're roommates, until we add more members. Mine lasted 17 years, though. I recommend smaller communes rather than the larger ones. It is lovely to think about living in a commune. Sharing the laughter and good times. And that DOES happen. But, you'll also share the bad times, somewhat like a marriage. Only in communal life, things are exponentially great or goodgoshamighty awful. With the right people it can be a wonderful, enriching experience... and you'll find that the good times outnumber the bad... with the right members. Plan it well. Take care of the practical in your design...infrastructure costs, etc. The days of living off the land without an indoor toilet or running water are long gone. And then look for people with similar interests and goals. People on the same wavelength, so to speak. And THEN (this is the hard part).. get to know them, as much as one can know anyone, before you commit. If even one member has serious baggage or a huge ego, it probably won't work out in the long run. Best of luck to ya!
Ever hear of "the farm" commune in Tennessee? I've been there back in the 70's Still going I guess..... http://www.thefarmcommunity.com/
Nope.. never visited that place, RJ. There's a huge commune leftover from the sixties somewhere here in the Ozarks. From what I hear, they still haven't addressed the plumbing issues. Hundreds of people using an outhouse?? Oh hell, no.
You should check out the Rainbow Gathering. They don't have out houses, they have 30 foot trenches for 15 to 30 thousand people. Shy people dig their own little hole, but usually not deep enough.
So make some dangit! (Was thinking Soil, but Hippy Chick offspring is entirely your choice as well. ) http://www.biochar-international.org/bocashi
I don't think you need a large group of people, you could start with 3 or 4 people sharing rooms in an apartment and grow your group and your housing over time. If you are seriously thinking about starting a group, I'd recommend this book - its THE book - Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities There are lots of things to work out in a group about living together - how decisions will be make, how money is handled, etc. etc.
Blue lady,so do u have a commune open to THE RIGHT people? I have been looking for somewhere for a while,but some stupid man usually gets in my way. HHurst =life is short, find ur happy place, Communal living can be as close to heaven on earth as possible to achive. All members must be willing to work, and put the needs of the group above the needs of self.
We've been talking about adding new members, Mama Bear40. We haven't really decided if we want to do that or sell this farm and go do something new. I'll probably put the decision off until next spring to be sure I'm making decisions with a cool head. I've lived communally most of my adult life. I'm not sure I can do the 'mundane'. I think it would bore the heck outta me. There are new income possibilities here, too. So,.. we might be looking for a new partner to help us ramp up our organic ACV production. Our farm is sooo far out in the wilderness that income produced off the farm is pretty non-existent here. This is the main problem with adding people. With communal life, each person still has to have some sort of private income source for things like medical expenses. OR.. the farm has to produce enough income to supply that. If you're interested.. we can talk privately.
Would you be interested in re locating and starti g a commune in an area where we could have sell our produce,ect. In town or at a farmers market. There are so many areas in need of good organic food and people. Also, have you considered bees? Not only can the income bee awsome, its needed for our earth to bee healthy. I have done tons of research on bee keeping and if we had a place,i pretty sure i would invest in bees, if the rest of the communal family is good with it. The rewards from the bees could be sweet
yeah.. we do one big project a year, usually. Last year it was adding a catfish pond. Next year, I wanted to add bee colonies. If we don't sell this place.. I might still do that.
I think I would fit right in to communal type living. I'd love to live with like minded people, who all have skills or talents to offer. Hippie types...of course, no outhouse, I am too old for that shit. A large farm area with small houses would rock.