Community in the Classroom

Part of our mission is sharing insights about our experiences so that
others may benefit from what we've learned about the day-to-day
challenges of cooperative living. We invite you to look over our
educational resources and to contact us to discuss your specific
situation.

Face-to-Face Learning

You visit us:

Tours:
Each community offers tours of about two-three hours, led by
knowledgeable community members. Please call ahead. $5/person. Fees
negotiable.

Work-weeks: Sometimes we are able to
host groups of eight or fewer students for multi-day visits if they are
willing to join our work for about five hours a day. A liaison will be
available for tours and discussion sessions. For a suggested fee of
$5/person/day, we will provide simple housing and meals. Exact details
will depend on size of group, season, and class goals.

Internships: Some
of our communities make arrangements for students to share our work and
lives for longer periods (usually three to twelve weeks), concentrating
on skills such as organic gardening, alternative construction, and
community organizing. This must be tailored to the student, community,
and season. Please write a letter explaining your interest, or contact [email protected]

We visit you:

Students
can meet with and ask questions of someone who lives the lifestyle they
have been studying. Our members are happy to give a presentation about
our history, present lifestyle and challenges. Format could be a slide
show, lecture, question and answer, or all of the above! We ask hosts
to cover travel costs, simple meals, lodging and $200/day stipend. If
costs are prohibitive, please contact us to negotiate other
arrangements. Contact the FEC Secretary, or the community nearest you.

Written Resources

Books by our members: Is It Utopia Yet? An Insider’s View of Twin Oaks Community in its 26th Year, by Kat Kinkade, 1994, 322 pp. $18 postpaid.
Community Bookshelf: Free catalog with over 100 titles on community living and alternative
lifestyles available through the mail from FIC.
[email protected]
http://bookshelf.ic.org
Communities Directory:

The book Communities Directory: A Guide to Intentional Communities
and Cooperative Living
is the essential reference tool for those interested
in finding or creating community. Compiled once every 5 years by the nonprofit
organization Fellowship for Intentional Community (FIC). It’s over 400
pages long - contains information on more than 700 intentional communities
from North America and other continents - features 33 articles about community
living - includes community resources, maps, a cross-reference chart,
reading list, and index.

To order: order at ic dot org , 800-462-8240,
or http://directory.ic.org

Communities Magazine:

Since 1972, the primary resource for information, issues, and ideas about
intentional communities in North America - from urban co-ops to cohousing
groups to ecovillages to rural communes. Published quarterly. Typically
80 pages long.

To subscribe: order at ic dot org, 800-462-8240,
or http://fic.ic.org/cmag

Internet: Website: http://www.thefec.org
Newsletters:

Current news and happenings in our communities, published periodically.

Leaves of Twin Oaks (Twin Oaks)
Windfall
(East Wind)
March Hare (Skyhouse/Dancing Rabbit--free via e-mail), Soundings
(FEC)

 

Audio-Visual

Slideshow and Video:

Our slideshow offers a view of life at our communities. On the accompanying
15-minute soundtrack cassette, students will hear members discuss our
core values and practices, including how we raise our children, how we
make a living, and how we make decisions. If you do not have slideshow
capacity, we have a digitized video copy. Both are available for a negotiable
rental fee through the mail or with a presentation by a community member.
Deposit is $50, returned when the slideshow is returned.

 

Other Resources

Systems and Structures: We keep a file of policies and documents that have been crafted
by member communities. For the cost of photocopying and postage, we are
happy to send you copies. Please contact East Wind Community. Most of these
documents are now also available online http://www.thefec.org/sns/.
Poster: Photos and descriptions of our communities. Free
Brochures: A 20-page brochure with photos and full descriptions of each
member community, entitled Sharing the Dream. Free
Living Routes:

Living Routes is a non-profit organization that offers accredited, college-level
programs based in ecovillages around the world.
http://www.livingroutes.org
[email protected]
Phone toll free at (888) 515-7333.

 

Evaluations from Students

“I really liked talking
to someone ‘real’ and ‘live’ about their experiences in a community.
It made the whole course come together for me.”

“Besides informing me in
detail about communal life, she helped me to think about where I am in
my life right now. Her visit was extremely beneficial to the entire class’s
understanding of utopian life.”

“She managed to create an entirely new version
of what contemporary intentional communities are in my head.”

FEC Communities