Eco communities are about jumping sideways. Still being 'in the world', but not buying into the shallowness of consumerism, the immediacy of marketing, or the intoxication of wealth and power.
Tammy, one of our volunteers, with our first pumpkin harvestSome are saying that 25% of Australians have or will lose their job after the COVID19 crisis. The great depression saw unemployment rates of only 30%. This means we, as a society may need a strategy to learn to live without the need of a lot of money.
Will COVID19 trigger GFC 2 or Depression 2.0? Possibly. Worst case scenario is the complete breakdown of the world economy. With that collapse could mean that money is worthless. The good news is that we don't need money to survive. Multi-national companies are only a hundred years old. We have been a species for a millennia. Stock markets, shareholders, unions, even police forces have only been around for under 150 years. In times like this, we realise what is takes to survive. It seems people's first instincts were bad, then good. What do I need to survive? Toilet paper. Yes. That's it! Then came the realisation that to survive we need food. And best not to rely on multinational corporations, let's grow our own. Excellent start. Shops are selling out of seedlings and seeds, which is a great thing. We only need clean water, shelter, good food and good company to be human. It may well be the end of the world as we know it, but it's not the end of the world! If you are sick of the corporate ladder, perhaps a jump sideways is the best better. If you are sick of the rat-race, perhaps try a jump sideways.
It may well be the end of the world as we know it, but it's not the end of the world!
People are turning to permaculture (Australia's best export next to AC/DC and WiFi), for answers. David Holmgren's "Retrosuburbia" is an excellent resource for what he calls an 'energy decent' future. Permaculture is about good design. Good design for housing, water, energy and food.
If you are thinking about the possibility of community, then we would encourage you. Charles Eisenstein says, "if you have money, put it into community". Perhaps you could use the $20,000 from your super ($10,000 this financial year, and $10,000 the next), to do something that you have always wanted to do. We have built our society around the nuclear family, but the nuclear family is much weaker than the extended family that it replaced. The nuclear family (mum, dad and 2.2 kids and a dog), is extremely susceptible to economic shocks.
The nuclear family (mum, dad and 2.2 kids and a dog), is extremely susceptible to economic shocks.
We have found that small communities, like the one we live in now, is the perfect way to live. Life hasn't changed for us much at all. We live simply, we live with a constant eye on our waste (nature is zero waste; it's all used completely in the system), we live authentically (we have fortnightly 'heart sharing' circles, we get to say and hear things that normally are buried), we live in nature (most of our daily life is played out in sunshine), and we live in community (we eat at least one meal together a day, where we get to have great conversation every day). It's true, life is better together. We are designed for community. I am, totally convinced that the 'box in the suburbs' life is an impoverished life, whereas, the life we get to carve out for ourselves is more in tune with how humans operate best.
You can be part of a better world. A world that is less controlled by profit and business interests, and more controlled by laughter, freedom and purpose. I would encourage you to jump sideways; to jump into a future where politics is more human-centric, jump into a future where commerce is more collective and jump into a society that is less focused on the dollar. COVID19 has pushed the reset button. It's up to us to reject or embrace the snapback, or to jump sideways into a new future.
Intentional communities are the perfect way to isolate. If you are interested in joining us, or starting your own intentional community, please contact us.