Thoughts of Communal Living

[peaceseeker]

Greetings to you all!
I am a newer member to happyhippie.com (but Im so glad I came!)I live in S.W. Michigan, my name is Emili and I am 21 years old. I came here seeking new earth and peace concious friends and thats certinally what I've found! I have long been interested in communal living, I think it was a beautiful idea in the 60's and dont understand why people grew out of the idea of peace, love, respect and sustainability. I have done hours and hours of research on everything from the original hippie communes of the 60's, to eco-villages, modern day communitiesto building materials, (I was absolutely inspired by the buildings constructed in Drop City) and what are the best ways to construct glass walls and root celars for year-round food production. I have never visited any communities since I dont really have the funds at this time, but I understand this is the absolute only way to experience it first hand. If there is any old peacemakers out there who has a story or two from the old days, I would absolutely love to hear from you, as well as anyone who currently is involved with communal living. Feel free to send my your thoughts, stories, helpful info, links, ect. I cant wait to learn more from all of you! Peace Out! ~Emili~**:hippie:

[Adam Blanchard]

I've always been interested in communal living. Altho with all the thought that I have put in to it I've seen some potental benefits and some major down sides. Maybe when I get older I'll look more into something like that but not for right now. Too many business plans in the works. I do look forward to reading everyone's experiences and ideas.

[Unkle_John]

Welcome aboard Emili!

Believe me, there are a lot of great discussions here in this section of the board that will help you live off the grid and such. JuJu and I are two people who plan on doing this in the near future. I wish Alan would get back online, since he moved into the mountains I haven't seen him. He has a wealth of knowledge on building.

As for being in a commune you can go to www.ic.org this website is a world-wide directory of communities. I would look and see if there are any in your area (or within a decent travel distance) and visit with them to see how they run the show. If you are starting a commune, then the best thing to do is read Karl Marx book on communism. A commune works best when it's small. You also need land and a way to pay for the land and it's taxes. I would also look into interview processes so that you know you aren't getting someone who wants to have a free place to stay and want nothing to do ith interaction. Just a few thoughts.

[Shydog]

Greetings to you all!
I am a newer member to happyhippie.com (but Im so glad I came!)I live in S.W. Michigan, my name is Emili and I am 21 years old. I came here seeking new earth and peace concious friends and thats certinally what I've found! I have long been interested in communal living, I think it was a beautiful idea in the 60's and dont understand why people grew out of the idea of peace, love, respect and sustainability. I have done hours and hours of research on everything from the original hippie communes of the 60's, to eco-villages, modern day communitiesto building materials, (I was absolutely inspired by the buildings constructed in Drop City) and what are the best ways to construct glass walls and root celars for year-round food production. I have never visited any communities since I dont really have the funds at this time, but I understand this is the absolute only way to experience it first hand. If there is any old peacemakers out there who has a story or two from the old days, I would absolutely love to hear from you, as well as anyone who currently is involved with communal living. Feel free to send my your thoughts, stories, helpful info, links, ect. I cant wait to learn more from all of you! Peace Out! ~Emili~**:hippie:
Native American living was communal living at it's finest. Check out this book "Land of the Spotted Eagle" by Luther Standing Bear. Amozon should have it. Standing Bear gives an account of old time Indian society, everything from childbearing to death, it's a great book. The ending of the book reveals the meaning of the title and is profound.

[peaceseeker]

Unkle_John, Shydog, Adam-

Thank You soo much for your valuble insights! I cant wait to talk to you more about all this and learn more from others. I will definitly hit up all the websites you guys mentioned, and I will try my best to lasso up that book, shydog. I thank you all again, hopefully I get some more replies on my post. Unkle_John, Adam and Shydog, I am so glad I've found people who are interested in LIVING this way, willing to give up material nonsense, and be one with the earth. Peace Out! ~Emili~**:hippie:

[Unkle_John]

you are more than welcome, keep reading the older messages in the homestead section and you'll learn alot!