Yup, have a look in the directory/search here: http://www.diggersanddreamers.org.uk There is also this more international site, but still had a list of 1.5 pages of UK based ones: http://www.ic.org The UK one seems to have more detailed information and the odd piccie too!
I've certainly spent plenty of time on those sites reading about other peoples communes - some of it is fascinating. It also shows that although they all have a common theme, there are also big differences such as aims, social structures, and expectations, etc. It's also a great web directory to websites made by the communal types themselves.
I have been planning on visiting the UK sometime this year,and I hope to still do that. Anyways,I found both of those sites,while looking for communes/hostels/work exchange programs. Very informative,about communes all over the world. You're right,it's interesting to see how different they can be..especially when some are revolved around religious or spiritual ideals. Also,how they handle decisions is interesting..some have a mini democracy going,but a few I've came across seemed to have a dictatorship! Edit: So,you're interested in starting your own commune? That's great!
I don't think there is any perfect way to handle decisions. Democracy of course is going to be popular and the first choice. However, I was reading about the "democracy" in dubai, where basically they currently don't vote for their leader. Surprisingly, the people love it - as it cuts out the concept of having politicians do or say stuff to "win votes". Another disadvantage of democracy's - and this relates more to communes - is that you can end up in a state of indecision (nothing get's done) or worse - division Having a central core leader is potentially dangerous with the wrong person, but on the other hand at least things get done. I guess loyalty and trust are just as important. If the core leader is the founder and has put a lot of time and money into the project, then they're unlikely to fritter that away in power crazed megalomania! Ultimatly communes are collections of people with the same ideas and aims, so if there is any severe friction and disagreement then it's probably because one or more of the members are perhaps not in the right commune! As I say, no system is perfect. In an ideal world a commune would promote a lot of freedom anyway, so there is no need for much leadership that interferes with an individual. I guess this depends a lot on the viability of the commune and how much each person has to put into it for it to survive. PS - Yup, I want to setup my own commune! Havn't created a topic about it yet because it's not going to happen this year, so don't want to create a lot of chatter about something that isn't in place and with no fixed schedule. You read quite a lot about communes that are "forming" or being setup both in those links and on here, then never hear about them again!
