Habib's Garden

Introduction



The Fellowship for Intentional Community nurtures connections and cooperation among communitarians and their friends. We provide publications, referrals, support services, and sharing opportunities for a wide range of intentional communities, cohousing groups, ecovillages, community networks, support organizations, and people seeking a home in community.



Intentional Communities have for many centuries been places where idealists have come together to create a better world. Although there are thousands of intentional communities in existence today, and many others in the formative stages, most people are unaware of them or the roots from which they spring. The Fellowship is increasing public awareness of existing and newly forming communities. We offer information and referrals for those who are actively seeking, or simply curious about, alternate lifestyles for themselves and their families.



Communities come in all shapes and sizes, and share many similar challenges -- such as defining membership, succeeding financially, distributing resources, making decisions, raising children, dividing work equitably, and choosing a standard of living. Many wrestle with questions about right livelihood, spiritual expression, land use, and the role of service in our lives. At the same time, there is limited awareness of what others are doing to meet these challenges -- and much to gain through sharing information and experiences with others exploring similar paths. The Fellowship documents the visions and experiences of life in community, and actively promotes dialogue and cooperation among communities.



Intentional communities are often aware of themselves as different from mainstream culture, and many choose to highlight these differences. Yet, virtually all communities share a common root value of cooperation. The Fellowship facilitates the extension of cooperation beyond membership boundaries and common values, understanding that differences can be a cause for celebration, and an occasion for enrichment and growth. The Fellowship is helping draw the circles of cooperation ever larger, and assisting with the personal stretching that this requires In that spirit, FIC membership is open to everyone.



Purposes



TO EMBRACE THE DIVERSITY THAT EXISTS AMONG COMMUNITIES and to facilitate increased interaction between communitarians and the wider culture;



TO BUILD COOPERATIVE SPIRIT WITHIN AND AMONG COMMUNITIES through shared celebrations, joint ventures, and activities that build awareness of our common humanity;



TO FACILITATE EXCHANGE of information, skills, and economic support among individuals, existing intentional communities, cooperative groups, and newly forming communities;



TO SERVE AS A REFERENCE SOURCE for those seeking intentional communities, conferences, and other community building experiences and practices appropriate to their needs;



TO SUPPORT EDUCATION, RESEARCH, ARCHIVES, AND PUBLISHING about contemporary and historic intentional communities;



TO DEMONSTRATE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS of communities, cooperatives, and their products and services -- through seminars, catalogs, demonstration projects, gatherings, and direct sales;



TO INCREASE GLOBAL AWARENESS that intentional communities are pioneers in sustainable living, personal and community transformation, and peaceful social evolution.