A perfect world?

Imagine for one moment you could have it all. Imagine your ideal life. What does your town or neighbourhood look like?

Imagine houses that are all energy-efficient, comfortable and beautifully designed. Imagine knowing every person in your town as family, friends and friends of friends. Teachers, scientists, gardeners, artists, grannies and aunties and uncles. Imagine clean streets and well-designed systems to harvest, store and recycle water during times of drought.

Perhaps there’s a village square where kids can play and old folks can sit and chat or read. Maybe there’s a library, a small theatre, an artists’ studio and a place to worship or meditate. Organic fresh produce comes from the community gardens and food forests encircle the town. There’s a butcher, a baker, a dairy and a beer brewery. When you need to paint your house or build a chicken coop, friends and neighbours gather round to help.

There’s no pollution, no traffic jams, no poverty, no crime and no guilt–because there are no outsiders. Everyone is valued and has a role and a place in society, and their needs are met. Nine-to-five doesn’t exist, yet there is a lot of activity, making and doing and planting, reading and discussing and playing. Street braais, seasonal festivals and potluck dinners are a regular occurrence.

Of course it sounds too good to be true. But throughout history and around the world people have been so inspired by utopic visions of alternative, better societies that they got together and strived to build them, often against all odds.

What is an intentional community?

Intentional community and experimental community are umbrella terms for alternative ways of living and working together. The concept dates back to the 6th century BC, when Pythagoras founded a vegetarian commune based on intellectualism, mysticism and equality of the sexes. And in India Buddhists established the first ashrams to embrace a spiritual yet productive community life. Intentional communities have