Homesteading


Village-Building Stumbles: A few of the things Earthaven Ecovillage has gotten wrong

Posted on October 1, 2019 by

Those of us privileged enough to find ourselves in an intentional community often imagine that our environment will be free of the horrors and evils of the world. But alas, we bring it all with us.


How to Stop Climate Change and Never Be Lonely Again

Posted on July 30, 2019 by

Empowered, sustainable communities are the antidote to isolation. And they are the pivotal technology that makes renewable energy, essential for reversing climate change, actually renewable.


What Can We Learn from the Amish?

Posted on April 23, 2019 by

Touch the soil, live simply, and be satisfied with “enough”: it’s worked for the Amish for almost 300 years and it can work for us as well.


Community, Land, Self: We’re Part of the Same Elephant

Posted on April 16, 2019 by

Escaping to an ecotopian or intact natural world proves neither possible nor effective as a way to avoid the realities of human and planetary suffering. Instead, a communitarian receives lessons in interconnectedness that he will never forget.


Growing Together through Trauma, with the Land

Posted on April 9, 2019 by

When La’akea Community’s stability is disrupted and its existence threatened by the aftermath of an earthquake, members discover that their land is a much larger source of “glue” to keep them together than they had thought.


Regenerative Victory Gardens

Posted on October 15, 2018 by

Stacking Benefits of Gardens When you plant a garden, you are doing more than practicing a resilient skill, and cultivating mouth watering beefsteak tomatoes. You are reducing food miles by… Read More


Earthaven Experience Week June 8–13, 2018

Posted on April 17, 2018 by
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The FIC is proud to co-sponsor the School of Integrated Living’s Earthaven Experience Week This residential service-learning program immerses learners in the life of Earthaven Ecovillage. Participants join the homes, lives, businesses,… Read More


Colonists Wanted: The Story of the Llano del Rio Commune of LA County

Posted on February 20, 2017 by

“Colonists–Wanted,” the ad proclaims. “Llano del Rio, in the Antelope Valley, Los Angeles County, California, needs 900 single men and women and married men and their families. This is an… Read More


Are Seasteading Communities the Next Wave of Sustainable Living?

Posted on February 13, 2017 by

Wayne Adams and Catherine King, two artists living in Tofino, Canada, couldn’t afford to buy a house of their own. Instead, they took their assets offshore — literally — and created a floating paradise… Read More


ThePOOSH Connects Volunteers With Natural Building Projects

Posted on January 23, 2017 by

Lots of intentional communities are connected with the WWOOFing network (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). It’s a great way for volunteers to gain experience living and working on an organic… Read More


The Untold Story of Utopian Communes In America

Posted on November 24, 2016 by

It was a time of great change and social experimentation. Groups of like-minded people pooled their money to buy property in what one writer called a kind of “socialist land mania.” Another philosopher… Read More


The First Seasteading Community May Be Closer To Reality Than We Thought

Posted on November 17, 2016 by
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In June, I wrote a blog post about the Ephemerisle Festival, a gathering on the Sacramento River Delta that imagines what a floating city might look like. The festival hopes… Read More


The Micro-Nation of Liberland Could Be The World’s Biggest Planned Community

Posted on November 3, 2016 by

Picture a country built from scratch: a city-state with open borders, where paying taxes is optional and there are no laws other than “live and let live.” At just three square miles, cars… Read More


How A Mystical Novel Spurred the Ecovillage Movement in Russia

Posted on September 15, 2016 by

Over the years, many intentional communities have drawn on works of fiction for inspiration. They can serve as cultural touchstones, helping connect the communities in a particular region with a… Read More


This Alaska Community Took Its Own Approach To Treating Mental Illness

Posted on August 15, 2016 by
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The philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti once said, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” It’s a quote often repeated by alternative healers and… Read More


The Community Land Trust That Arose Out of the Civil Rights Movement

Posted on August 1, 2016 by

So many of the community structures that we write about here at FIC – such as community land trusts – have a long, but often overlooked, history. That’s why it’s… Read More


This 1800s Commune Tried Free Love and Income-Sharing Long Before It Was A Thing

Posted on July 11, 2016 by

Many of the intentional communities that we hear about are recent ones: the back-to-the-land communes of the 1970s, the student co-ops and cohousing spaces being formed today. That’s why it’s… Read More


Former Residents Call on Black Bear Ranch to Unsettle The Klamath River

Posted on March 30, 2016 by

Eight years ago, when I moved out to the West Coast for the first time, I wasn’t yet aware of the intentional community movement. I’d always imagined living collectively, but… Read More


Rough Start to Rural Community

Posted on May 28, 2015 by

Rough Start to Rural Community Christian and Johannes Zinzendorf call themselves Harmonists, with central beliefs around the value of hard work in an agrarian life, and a communion with the… Read More


Permaculture Resources at Your Fingertips

Posted on April 27, 2015 by

Self described as a big crowd of permaculture goofballs, Permies.com is chock full of forums, links to resources, videos, and helpful information about smart ecosystem design! Check out Permies.com for… Read More


Family Grows 3 Tons of Food on 1/10th Acre

Posted on April 4, 2015 by
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Family Grows 3 Tons of Food! The Dervaes family turned a “regular city home” into a thriving garden ecosystem that provides more than enough food for their family, and plenty… Read More


Improve Your Soil – Bury Yard Waste

Posted on April 1, 2015 by

What can you do to repair or improve your soil? Hugelkultur is a technique that works by burying logs, sticks, and yard waste, which then decomposes into fertile, aerated, moist… Read More


Couple Builds Cabin of Windows for $500

Posted on March 23, 2015 by

A Cabin of Windows Wouldn’t it be cool if a house had a wall of windows, so it couldn’t confine the sunset to just one little space?   Lilah Horwitz… Read More


How to Thrive on 10%

Posted on March 13, 2015 by

How to Thrive on 10% It is often taken for granted that the United States consumes and wastes 5 times more than the rest of the planet. At the same… Read More


Free Land on a Tropical Island!?

Posted on March 6, 2015 by
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Free land on a tropical island!? Pitcairn, a small remote paradise-like island in the South Pacific is running out of people. They are giving land for free to people who… Read More


UN Report says Organic Farming is Key

Posted on March 3, 2015 by

UN Report says Organic Farming is Key In a new report, with the dramatic title, ‘Wake up Before it’s too Late’, “the United Nations is once against sounding the alarm… Read More


New Beehive Design does not disturb Bees to Harvest Honey!

Posted on February 22, 2015 by

For those who harvest honey, “the worst part of being a beekeeper is pulling out the honey-laden frames from the box and tearing them up to get the honey. The… Read More


Property For Sale

Posted on May 10, 2013 by

A dear friend on the Tri-communities scene in Rutledge, MO has just put her house on the market. Want to be a neighbor to Sandhill Farm, Red Earth Farms and… Read More


Uses of Vinegar In Your Home

Posted on April 12, 2013 by

A safe, cheap, and easy cleaner for all number of things! Here’s a list of cleaning tips for your home: http://thehomesteadsurvival.com/45-vinegar-home