Concept

In these challenging and swiftly shifting times, we can either be dragged along, and likely down, by what is going on around us, or we can come together to cocreate change in our own lives and the lives of those around us. In order to live more authentic, full lives as humans, we need to have our basic needs met, and we need to have community. When we live in proximity to one another, we can create our own microculture and unique community. This unique community can form its own traditions and values, have its own art, celebrate together, support its own children, and look out for each other, and contribute to the wider community around this micro-community. We all have things to offer – village resources – and we can use these to better support each other. We can get to know each other and actively share resources as well as some of our time and labor of love with each other. Let’s see how much of our neighborhood we can turn into a village! 

My Possible Contributions

I would love to provide my fence as a place for a village mural, as well as my front yard for a community board and for whatever use the community deems best. In addition, on an ongoing basis, I could create a community art night at my house once a month, as well as a monthly “personal alchemy” group, as a donation to our village. Finally, I could commit ten work hours a week to village projects and business on an ongoing basis. 

To Be a Villager You:

  • Have an authentic commitment to co-creating a village here in our neighborhood
  • Want to contribute to the building and maintenance of said community in some way – this can be simply showing up, it could be a monetary donation, provision of a service, donation of use of some portion of your real property, or anything else of value. 
  • Value community, and want to build more of it
  • Are ready to bring your whole self, put your ego aside, work with others, and learn to really love and support one another

Some Things We May Be Able to Do to Be Stronger Together

  • Home and yard projects 
  • Learning consensus decision-making
  • Learning to work together as equals (aiming for no hierarchy of power)
  • Learning and growing our non-violent communication skills together
  • Community groups
  • Support for each other’s vocational aspirations
  • Creating common areas – front yards and street murals
  • Growing food and other useful plants to share (shared space and labor/coordinated gardening – work towards our own CSA type thing where we grow our own food and distribute it amongst ourselves, and any extra to the surrounding/larger community)
  • Planting native plants and pollinators
  • Monthly social gatherings
  • Monthly business meetings
  • Tools etc. for lending
  • Tools etc. bought together (joint ownership – think things like larger power tools, landscaping equipment, golf carts, perhaps ultimately vehicles or even a community clubhouse, gym, or meeting space)
  • Create a savings to help community members in rough times
  • Trading goods and services amongst ourselves
  • Create working groups for various projects and/or community service
  • Multigenerational – supportive of children and elders thriving
  • Inclusive – and actively embracing diversity and respecting all
  • Supportive and loving resolution of conflicts/difficult situations
  • Support of individual growth and evolution along with our village
  • Co-own community housing
  • Create space for others to join our community 
  • Shared celebrations
  • Open source our process (share how we made our village with others who may like to do the same where they live)
  • Promote the evolution of humanity and the cocreation of a future way of life that is moving towards ecological soundness
  • Knowledge sharing
  • Recycling better

Getting Started

To get things moving, let’s get all who are interested together (this group will certainly shift over time, and especially at the beginning this will be expected) at some regular interval to talk, plan, and start implementing some co-created village-building projects!

We can start as simply as coming together to get to know one another, with the intention of moving towards building a village. 

Planting a seed and seeing what grows.