Communities Articles
Here is a selection of articles from previous back issues of Communities magazine. All back issues up to issue #184 are available for download here.
For more information about Communities magazine, visit its new publisher at GEN-US.
And I Listen
Posted on December 7, 2010 by2 Comments
Howling, shouting, cries of despair, and The Pierced One greet a parent on her first visit to her daughter’s adopted community. Luckily, through lots of talking and listening, things improve.
On Becoming Elders
Posted on December 7, 2010 byFor many baby boomers, taking on the mantle of eldership means transforming the sometimes rambunctious, in-your-face, empowerment-obsessed energy they worked so hard to sustain.
Elderhood, In and Out of Community
Posted on December 7, 2010 by2 Comments
A disenchanted community founder leaves her group, and finds that her rural hometown farming community and international travel and service better match her vision of honorable elderhood.
It Takes a Community to Grow an Elder
Posted on December 7, 2010 by5 Comments
After confronting an identity crisis worthy of adolescence, a 65-year-old finds a new home in community and discovers that elderhood is a blessing, not a curse.
Call in the Experts?
Posted on September 7, 2010 byAuthor: Beatrice Briggs Published in Communities Magazine Issue #148 Q. Our group is very divided. We need to make major decisions regarding finances, organizational structures, and policies, at a time… Read More
The Community that Dines Together, Aligns Together
Posted on September 7, 2010 byAuthor: Valerie Renwick-Porter Published in Communities Magazine Issue #148 Ah yes, the community meal table. Communal dining can be a glorious bonding experience, as members recreate the feeling of an… Read More
Power and Powerlessness in Community
Posted on September 7, 2010 byA community member transcends a feeling of powerlessness when he inadvertently comes up with a brilliant idea about how to organize cooking groups, and others join him in implementing it.
Balancing Powers
Posted on September 7, 2010 by1 Comment
In a healthy community, leadership and followship are equally important roles, each with vital skill sets that can assure effective teamwork.
Power and Disempowerment on the Ecobus
Posted on September 7, 2010 by7 Comments
Some saw this radical environmental education program as a “cult,” others as an intensely focused experience of challenge and growth. Had participants lost their individuality, or gained a new sense of self?
More Perspectives on Leadership and Followship
Posted on September 7, 2010 by1 Comment
The author identifies additional leadership skills, cautions against blind followship, and reflects on the many types of power in cooperative groups.
Being “Overthrown”—A Celebration
Posted on September 7, 2010 byThe founder of Enright Ridge Urban Ecovillage describes what it’s like to be criticized, marginalized, stripped of leadership responsibilities, and given the opportunity to explore a new role.
Open Meetings: Worth the Risk?
Posted on June 7, 2010 byAuthor: Beatrice Briggs Published in Communities Magazine Issue #147 Q: Our group is committed to education and to sharing our lives in community openly with others. We frequently host visitors,… Read More
Education for Sustainability
Posted on June 7, 2010 byAuthor: Chris Roth Published in Communities Magazine Issue #147 I’m listening to the rain fall on the roof of Karma, the passive solar residence at Sandhill Farm where I’m staying… Read More
How to Add Zest to Your Sustainability Education Program
Posted on June 7, 2010 by2 Comments
A permaculture teachers hits upon a gold mine of effective methods for enlivening her teaching—by drawing from the principles of permaculture itself.
Seeing the Good in the World
Posted on June 7, 2010 byAfter several years teaching about community in the abstract, an anthropologist and environmental studies teacher finds that direct student engagement with intentional communities provides the spark needed for personal inspiration, connection, and the potential for social transformation.
To Learn Sustainability Is To Learn Community
Posted on June 7, 2010 by1 Comment
Strained by difficult economic and ecological conditions, farmers Claudio and Fernando discover new avenues toward prosperity and land restoration through alliances with a peace community dedicated to regional renewal.
Live and Learn
Posted on June 7, 2010 by1 Comment
The residents of an eco-oriented, education-focused intentional community and demonstration site wear many hats, both public and private.
Second Family
Posted on March 7, 2010 by4 Comments
A mother responds to empty-nest syndrome by discovering her new family in community.
Together and Apart; Eden Within Eden
Posted on March 7, 2010 byReviews of two great books on community living, one on life in a convent with surprising insights even for the most secular, and one on the history of utopian experiments in Oregon.
From Visions of Utopia to “The Many Faces of Community”
Posted on March 7, 2010 byGeoph Kozeny’s community documentary brings forth reflections on Hearthaven, discussions among neighbors and friends, and ultimately a new intergenerational family community.
Exploring Family
Posted on March 7, 2010 byWhat do Hopi Indians, John Keats, lost loves, intentional community, and family have in common? For better or worse, they’ve combined to befuddle, enlighten, dismay, and inspire our author.
Growing Family in Community
Posted on March 7, 2010 byTwelve-year-old Jibran has always lived with fuzzy boundaries between “family” and “community.” They became even fuzzier when he came home to discover his mom’s positive pee test.
Parenting in Community
Posted on March 7, 2010 by1 Comment
Though “baby having” had not been a consensus decision, a small community embraces a newborn, survives his infancy, and bonds like any other family: doing each other’s dishes, snuggling on the couch, and fighting over who gets a shower before the hot water runs out.
Nudging at Boundaries
Posted on March 7, 2010 by1 Comment
Easing themselves in and out of each other’s houses, yards, and chicken coops, members of White Hawk Ecovillage find traditional borders becoming more porous.
An Abundance of Dads
Posted on March 7, 2010 byFour very different father figures help guide a communitarian son into adulthood, as he combines distinctive traits of each.
Growing a Culture of Community Health and Well-Being at Earthaven Ecovillage
Posted on December 7, 2009 byAt a permaculture-based ecovillage in North Carolina, care for the earth, care for people, and care for inner health all benefit from a dynamic culture based on local self-reliance, holism, and community.
Health and Well-Being
Posted on December 7, 2009 byAuthor: Chris Roth Published in Communities Magazine Issue #145 This year’s discussion on health care policy in the United States has focused attention on ways to assure broader access to… Read More
Health and Quiet
Posted on December 7, 2009 byNoise and quiet can both affect well-being profoundly. Gordon Hempton’s One Square Inch of Silence offers ear-opening stories and perspectives, practical suggestions, and simple, radical wisdom.
Gut Health
Posted on December 7, 2009 by1 Comment
Both in traditional cultures and at La’akea, close loving relationships, consistent community connection, a life close to nature, fresh non-processed food, satisfying work, regular exercise, clean air and water, attunement to biological rhythms, joy, and laughter all support health.
Garden as Therapist and Community Organizer
Posted on December 7, 2009 byNeither the therapist diagnosing Major Depression nor the psychiatrist prescribing an antidepressant asked the fundamental question: Do you like to garden? When the author discovers this doorway into the natural world, he also finds community and inner and outer health.
