A decision making body of a community needs to be selected very carefully because if someone owns land and has invested money in developing it so that people can live there, there is a risk of someone hijacking the vision and the founder having to leave. Getting to know people and how well you can work with them is a long process. Partnering with people with whom you are going to share decision making is a big decision. The way to find out if you truly do share values and vision is to have experiences together which can build trust and cohesiveness.
From an essay written by Alexa Clay for the journal Aeon:
“… having a visionary founder as a figurehead is almost always an essential ingredient of success – someone who carves out a coherent vision, empowers organisational ability among others, and acts as a publicist and propagandist of a company (or community) to the outside world. Over time, a founder’s role can be disassembled and distributed, but in the beginning it’s critical, keeping a community focused on what’s important, while overcoming a lot of the pettiness that can creep into everyday life.”
“If you are a founder of a community, and you don’t have someone else who already shares your vision and values, you may find yourself in a difficult position. If you have specific values or goals that you want to live with, and those who join don’t share some or all of these, what do you do? This is not an uncommon situation community founders find themselves in. You may find it very helpful to create a personal list for yourself of your “non-negotiables”. These are the values you hold very strongly and would not be willing to live without. If that list is long, you should create the vision first, incorporating these, then find people who share the vision,” states a wiki on how to create a vision for a community.
If you are in the fortunate position of having someone with whom you know you share the exact same vision and values, then you can together proceed to find others who can join you. Otherwise, a founder must articulate his or her values in a way that can attract at least one other person who is in alignment. Even then, it will take time to see if that person lives out their values.
When people share the same vision and values, much conflict can be avoided. When people have conflicting values, conflicts will arise that simply can’t be solved. Thus, it is important to have ways of screening people which usually consist of an application process, visiting period, provisional membership and then full membership.
Once a person is a full member, which often takes a year or longer, people can qualify to make decisions which affect the whole community, such as changing values, governing structure, land use rules, membership and even whether or not to dissolve the community. Yet even if a person is not a full member, it is important to have them engaged in various activities where they can make decisions which are won’t affect the core structures, but will give them opportunities to use their strengths.
Deciding on decision making process from the beginning is essential. Many communities are finding that consensus with unanimity has not been effective. One of the more well-known communities such as Earthaven are starting to use a modified consensus method. Lost Valley Educational Center found that sociocracy was helpful in saving their stagnating community. We who are starting communities now can learn so much from these communities and the mistakes they have made.
Resources:
“Starting a Community”. Federation of Egalitarian Communities.
“Starting a Community”. Fellowship for Intentional Community.
Intentional Communities Manual, 1st Edition
“Systems and Structures”. Federation of Egalitarian Communities.
Clay, Alexa. “Utopia Inc.” Aeon
Kozeny, Geoph. “Intentional Communities: Today’s Social Laboratories”. (History of)
