For anyone interested in starting an intentional community (including housing co-ops, co-housing, eco-villages, etc.), hands down the most valuable resource out there, and the most important place to start, is Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities, by Diana Leafe Christian. There is tremendous wisdom in this book, and we highly recommend coming back to it time and time again.
For those interested in joining an existing community, definitely read Finding Community: How to Join an Ecovillage or Intentional Community, also by Diana Leafe Christian.
The Federation of Intentional Communities website is THE place for info on almost any aspect of community living you can imagine. The following is a small sample of their useful articles:
What's True About Intentional Communities: Dispelling the Myths
Intentional Communities: Lifestyles Based on Ideals
Who We Are: An Exploration of What "Intentional Community" Means
Starting a Community
Finding Your Community
What is Cohousing
Eco-village
Promote Your Community
Communities Magazine is a fabulous resource the FIC puts out every three months. It provides practical how-to articles on cooperative living as well as personal stories. You can order a sample issue, subscribe, or read the current issue and a large number of past articles on their website.
The Communities Directory (also put out by the FIC) gives descriptions of more than 1,000 communities, whether you’re interested in visiting or joining a community, or just learning about the tremendous diversity of communities out there.
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