BUILDING COMMUNITY

You join a community, the community does not join you

2

1 Mainly based on Diana Leaf Christian's workshop on community building, Lac Carre 2011 2 Bea Briggs

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Table of Contents
Therapeutic vs Development community......................................................................................4 Founder Group...........................................................................................................................................5 Location.....................................................................................................................................................6 Choose site-criteria ...............................................................................................................................6 Decide how you will own your land together.......................................................................................6 Ways to own your land:....................................................................................................................6 Finance, purchase and develop your property.......................................................................................6 Find out how much money your group can pay down and borrow..................................................6 Find out about current property values and the market.................................................................6 Search for the land and choose the property.....................................................................................6 Financing the property......................................................................................................................7 Financing schemes:...........................................................................................................................7 Legal and Financial Structure ...................................................................................................................9 Legal entities for communities..............................................................................................................9 Not to choose a legal entity may bring disadvantages:.....................................................................9 Reasons to create a legal entity:........................................................................................................9 Advantages of legal entities:.............................................................................................................9 Economic sustainability for communities.............................................................................................9 Sources of income ............................................................................................................................9 Internal community finances: ........................................................................................................10 Community expenses......................................................................................................................10 Mission and Purpose................................................................................................................................11 Preliminary to mission&purpose: .......................................................................................................11 Definitions...........................................................................................................................................11 Purpose of Visions...............................................................................................................................11 How to create your vision...................................................................................................................12 Synthesize from your shared values...............................................................................................12 A Future History.............................................................................................................................12 How to validate your vision................................................................................................................12 Governance..............................................................................................................................................14 Meetings..............................................................................................................................................14 Agenda............................................................................................................................................14 Proposals (= alternative for complaint)..........................................................................................14 Organization of meetings................................................................................................................14 Simple communication agreements for meetings ..........................................................................15 Dealing with conflicts.........................................................................................................................15 Ways to reduce structural conflict in communities.............................................................................15 Conflict-resolution...............................................................................................................................16 Best Practices..................................................................................................................................16 Help each other to stay accountable....................................................................................................17 Best Practices..................................................................................................................................17 Graduate series of consequences....................................................................................................17 Clear and thorough membership process............................................................................................18 please feel free to copy and use this document contact: center@pontdevie.org

Seeking new members ...................................................................................................................18 Financial criteria: ...........................................................................................................................18

Therapeutic vs Development community

often unconscious can create tug of war in a community cyclical: one view influences the community for a while then another Assumptions We are compassionate people who place more emphasis on people's feelings than on achieving community goals We are compassionate people who operate as is people are responsible for their own emotional issues, and place more emphasis on goals than on people's feelings.

We tend to go out of our way to make sure no one We assume that the community will honor its feels upset, even if it means reversing community agreements and it's decision-making method. decisions, violating agreements or stopping the community's progress towards its goals Emotional distress trumps agreements Nurturing the individuals rules We care about our community's goals, but people come first. Community self-governance trumps emotional stress Nurturing the community rules We care about each other as people (acknowledge suffering), but since we're each responsible for how we feel, developing the community comes first

These indicators are usually not even-handed; emotional nurturing often occurs: in situations of distress (crying, depression, despair) in particular personalities (victim, feeling disempowered) There is often no equivalent effort to acknowledge emotional stress of people who suffer the consequences of delayed projects or overturned agreements There is often an assumption that confident people cannot feel stunned, betrayed (they don't create drama, so they must be fine NOT TRUE!

One of the surest measures of a groups maturity is not how much they can handle on their own; it's how accurately they know what they can handle themselves and when they need help. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to working with conflict.
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3 Laird Schaub

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Founder Group

... needs to have those skills: people skills (high social capital; easy relating) financial skills time skills (planning and focusing) vision skills organizational skills

... most probably there will be no one person to incarnate all these qualities: they will be shared by the group members... try to make sure, most of them are represented in your group.

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Location
Choose site-criteria
From urban to rural natural or geographic features from raw to partially developed to fully developed land

Decide how you will own your land together Ways to own your land:
1 collective owner grants leases to individual members (Earthaven) 2 collective owner subdivides and sells to individual members (Crystal Waters, Ecovillage at Ithaca) 3 land trust with nonprofit ownership; members are part of the land trust board but they don't own it (Findhorn, Dancing Rabbit, Tamera) 4 a group owns the property and leases lots to individual members (Port Townsend) 5 an individual or group own parts of the property; the whole property is considered everyone's shared property (Konohana Family) 6 everyone leases his apartment; one apartment is designated common space (Los Angeles Ecovillage)

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Finance, purchase and develop your property Find out how much money your group can pay down and borrow
assess volume of bank loan: add up annual gross income of all and double the amount

Find out about current property values and the market Search for the land and choose the property
hire a real estate agent master the local real estate market on your own Research zoning regulations possibilities for zoning variance (do it ahead of purchase) research history of the property for variances public hearings for zoning variances will ask input of you future neighbors

Financing the property

You need money for the down payment, for land payments and for land development Get property appraised before making an offer consider proposing lower down-payment/better terms for making the land/infrastructures better (property value will be higher even if purchase fails after some time)

Financing schemes:
Bank loans cost of interest, risk of losing the property if defaulting payments; make a business plan and assemble all member inputs; negotiate with more than one bank Private loans better terms and more leniency; create a business plan so lenders understand why and what for you ask them for money. Make clear promissory notes: amount, length of loan, interest rate, terms of repayment, security One member buys the land founder functions like a bank; danger of power and risk imbalance (can be taken care of by

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triple net lease4

Revolving loan fund based on trust you help the lenders to live out their values in the world: 1 Make a presentation that includes: Your vision of why you wanted to create this project and why it matters History of your project Your business plan Biographies of core group members Coop principles (Rochdale principles5) Testimonial letter from a respected leader of the intentional communities movement Photos of project Form for enrolling support (loan, donation...) SASE Attend to the relationship with lenders all the way through the loan personally The amortization period for a big sum (land, house) is usually 30 years; private lenders typically cannot lend for that long a period Your lender loans a sum (5000$ min.) at an interest rate (0-6%max.; cumulative or fixed) for a term (5years). It may be a good idea to propose lending for no

2 How it works:

4A triple net lease (Net-Net-Net or NNN) is a lease agreement on a property where the tenant or lessee agrees to pay all real estate taxes, building insurance, and maintenance (the three 'Nets') on the property in addition to any normal fees that are expected under the agreement (rent, premises utilities, etc.). In such a lease, the tenant or lessee is responsible for all costs associated with the repair and maintenance of any common area. The investor will finance a significant portion of the purchase price on a property and pay the resulting mortgage with the lessee's monthly owed rent. 5 Rochdale principles: Open, voluntary membership. Democratic governance. Limited return on equity. Surplus belongs to members. Education of members and public in cooperative principles. Cooperation between cooperatives. Concern for community

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interest at all: in this way all the emphasis is on purpose (why and for what it matters) accumulate lenders until you have reached your financial goal 1 year before the due date, the lenders have the option to have their investment back or re-lend it for another period Paid back lenders are replaced by new lenders Payments are quarterly (not monthly) to reduce paperwork Offer unsecured loans with equal second position6

3 Go all the way Create a permaculture-based site development plan Develop the land according to this plan Have work-parties to create community glue Organize a work-exchange program Build dwellings and move onto the property

if loans are secured with the property as collateral; first come first served is the procedure (the last registered lenders may not get paid off); if the loan is unsecured you can offer an equal second position where all lenders are getting paid off equally; project members get paid only after all lenders are paid back

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Legal and Financial Structure

Legal entities for communities
The Religious corporation is the only legal entity designed specifically for intentional communities (US: 501d non profit for income-sharing religious communities)

Not to choose a legal entity may bring disadvantages:

you will be assigned a default legal entity anyway; such a real estate law company is not beneficial for your project because it may entail exorbitant, unnecessary taxes for profit companies have double taxation: dividends are taxed at the corporation level and at personal income tax level you cannot create property rights and responsibilities for all members vulnerability to creditors/lawsuits with regards to member's personal assets unclear financial compensation for departing members who holds the title to the property? What is the procedure when community disbands?

Reasons to create a legal entity:

To protect your members from lawsuits/financial liabilities to prevent unnecessary taxation to allow your community to hold the title to the land and set up land-use and decisionmaking rights the way you like to allow your community to accomplish it's purpose to reflect your communitie's values

Advantages of legal entities:

makes buying process easier (you are taken more seriously) community agreements become bylaws, are compatible with federal and provincial law and thus enforceable community will be taxed differently according to their legal entity [for different types of legal entities see: structures legales document]

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Economic sustainability for communities Sources of income

one-time and recurring fees from members annual dues and fees from members income from tours, workshops, events income from community owned businesses = social enterprises income from outside jobs

Internal community finances:

independent income or income sharing (pure or modified 80% shared + 20% kept) both can exist in the same community

Community expenses
1 one-time expenses: land purchase and development costs income sharing: from treasury independent-income: joining/site lease fees Spread the expense fair and even amongst members (total one-time expenses are divided by max. number of members) joining fees can be staggered to honor work/risk of founders (increase over the years) make sure people you want to attract can afford your joining fees maintenance, repair, insurance, taxes, utility costs income sharing: common treasury independent-income: monthly dues and fees

2 recurring annual expenses:

Find out what labor will be required to buy and develop the land Track community finances and set up a bookkeeping system

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Mission and Purpose

Preliminary to mission&purpose:
1 decide site criteria (rural to urban) 2 decide financial model (individual income or income-sharing) 3 decide non-negotiable aspects (not a 'must')

Definitions
1 Vision = how you like the world to be a better place
is the shared future you want to create, your shared image of whats possible. It is often expressed as the who, the what and the why of your endeavor Ideally its described in the present tense, as if it were happening now.

2 Mission = what do you want to do specifically to help bring about this better world
or Purpose expresses the vision in concrete, physical terms. Its what you will be physically doing as well as experiencing as you manifest your shared image of whats possible.

3 Goals please feel free to copy and use this document contact: center@pontdevie.org

and Objectives are your strategical plan, milestones you commit yourselves to accomplish in the short or medium term. They are measurable; you know when you have accomplished them.

4 Special Purpose
a goal beyond living together in an alternative way (i.e. education, research, agriculture , elders, etc.); a place where you can focus your attention and channel your profits

Purpose of Visions
They help you to overcome difficult times They are touchstones when having decision-making conflicts They help to filter new members (you want to attract people who want to do the same thing in the same way as you do) They promote your project to the outside to encourage more people to join (ads, flyers, posters, email campaigns or web-site) Your promotional material describes: mission&purpose, goals, values, lifestyle, member policy and how to contact and visit

How to create your vision Synthesize from your shared values

a) Write all your values on sticky notes; paste them on the wall b) group them together by coherence and see the groupings as your shared values c) create smaller teams (3-4 people) to create a draft version of Vision&Mission d) get the feedback in the plenum e) alternate c) and d) until the final version is reached

A Future History
Step 1. Imagine and draw something of your vision for your project 10-20 years later. Step 2. Join with others in a small group of 3-4 people, to listen and look at each others
thoughts for your future. Do this one at a time, equal time for everybody, then feedback something you like about each others work and something that you have learned.

Step 3. In your group take time to develop a new vision using the fresh perspectives and
insights you have gained. Create a poster to illustrate the essentials of your vision , with all

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common elements in the centre and main discrepancies on a side.

Step 4. Post your collective vision on the wall for gallery time in which you and others may ask
each other questions. Feedback something you like about their work to each person you speak with. Notice which are common elements you agree with, and which are your main discrepancies.

Step 5. Create a final poster that gathers all common elements in a new vision. Make a list with
the main discrepancies that came up during this process. Dedicate some time to discuss your discrepancies and look for agreements or possible ways to address them.

Step 6. Spend time in pairs working on finding the next achievable step towards your vision.
Create a future history by imaging yourself actually in the future vision now. From that position ask yourself, how did this come about? How did it happen? Take time telling each other the story, take notes for each other and prompt your partner to a positive , personal, action plan for initiatives to do soon.

Step 7. Each person imagines being engaged in that action, by seeing the sights, sounds, and
feelings to ground it. Do this one at a time, taking equal time.

How to validate your vision

For you as an individual: Do you feel good when you read the written expression of your vision? Is it meaningful for you? If not, how would it need to be changed to make it meaningful? Does it resonate with your personal sense of identity? Do you feel as if you can "own" it? Does it inspire you? For your group: Is your vision document simple, clean, and authentic? Does it reveal and announce your group's core values? Does it focus on the "who", "what", and "why" of your project? Is it fairly concrete and grounded (not vague or flowery)? After you read it, can you remember it? Do you "see" it? Does it express your purpose? Does it inspire your group? Does it generate excitement? Does it show what your group or community will be like when your vision is achieved? Does it express passion, conviction, and commitment? Your Vision Statement: please feel free to copy and use this document contact: center@pontdevie.org

Is it clear, concise, and compelling? Does it express your vision and purpose? Does it also reveal and announce your core values? Is it fairly short? Can you memorize it? Can you identify with it? Does it inspire you? Do others "get it" right away? Does it seem reasonable? Is it unrealistic? Is it too ambitious?

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Governance
1 Definition: fair and participatory method for decision making and self-governance where all full members have equal say 2 Governance systems: sociocracy, holacracy, dynamic governance... [see separate document: sociocracry_pdv] 3 Most intentional communities use consensus as the preferred decision-making method [see separate document: consensus_pdv]

Meetings Agenda
agenda planner fix a deadline for proposal entries (5 days before the meeting) agendas are published the day after the deadline agenda points are classified as introduction (I) introduction and discussion (I&D) proposed decision (PD) expected decision (ED) allow for discretionary time (leeway for some points to be longer) allow for process time (to deal with emotional upset) interrupt the meeting > deal with the process > resume the meeting

Proposals (= alternative for complaint)

proposals address a real community need; they have to be clear and relevant the core of the proposal is the cause why you make the proposal; discuss your idea with concerned members (most affected, most knowledgeable) to see whether the group feels the relevance; then look for co-sponsors can be prepared and submitted by committee circulate full proposal text long enough before the meeting for reading present your proposal in the meeting (paper handout, poster, white board) proposal will be amended until they are right to find consensus record the decision

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Organization of meetings
organize and publish for all members: minutes, decisions, policies and agreements Learn that there are Pioneers/structural thinkers (start, do research, find the land) and Settlers/practical thinkers (invest, build); replace the Leader/follower concept by pioneers/settlers there is no hierarchy Learn and practice good decision-making methods (consensus, super majority voting) you can use colors of clarification red- emergency, stop everything, need process time yellow- question green- answer blue- comment

Simple communication agreements for meetings

wait your turn to speak listen to the person speaking; don't interrupt one person speaks at a time (if you need to speak to your neighbor, leave the room no-one speaks twice (until everyone has had the chance) own your statement: speak as I - not people, we own your feelings: i feel upset... instead of i feel cheated (cannot be felt in the body) own your perceptions: i heard you say instead of you said don't state your opinion as fact; show that it is your personal opinion exclude gossip, blackmail no verbal or body-language expressions of annoyance, dislike, contempt, threat

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Dealing with conflicts there is no substitute for personal courage when it comes to living in a community
Learn and practice effective conflict-resolution techniques; Non-Violent-Communication (Marshall Rosenberg) is using using neutral language; addressing peoples feelings and underlying human needs; formulating demands [see also non-violent-Communication paper]

Ways to reduce structural conflict in communities

Learn the difference between structural conflict vs. interpersonal conflict (they look the same) Have clear and thorough Mission & Purpose documents; understand crucial relationship between mission&purpose and membership process. Have fair decision making processes; get trained in it Choose co-founders and members by resonance to your mission&purpose and demonstrated ability to get along well in groups Build sense of community, community glue from the beginning Create clear agreements in writing Help each other stay accountable to the agreements/group Learn good communication skills Learn head skills and heart skills needed to manifest your project

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Conflict-resolution Best Practices

commitment to mutual respect commitment to solve the problem differentiate between gossip, blackmail and information no put-downs no intimidation (implied or direct) no physical contact no interrupting agreement to use the conflict-resolution protocol make a good faith effort to resolve the problem ask a mutually agreed to member to mediate formally ask community to assist to solve the problem engage a mediators who is not part of the community (this helps networking)

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Help each other to stay accountable

Develop ways that help community members to stay accountable to group agreements (dues and fees, community work, violating agreements...) Agreements are your safeguards for trust; they help you stay accountable

Best Practices
decide about tasks in meetings and track them; buddy system; review task status at the beginning of each meeting; create a wall chart for tasks and completion when someone has accomplished the task, thank and acknowledge her when someone has not accomplished, ask the person to try again

Graduate series of consequences

one person talks to the person inquiring if something happened that caused this behavior and how she can help a small group (the first 2 and a trusted friends of each) visits the person with the same appraoch person meets the accountability committee (not to create sides of a conflict but to provide an opportunity for the person to see how others perceive their actions, behavior, words) the accountability committee creates a 5month contract with the person outlining the necessary changes; the committee meets with the person monthly to help and track the changes the whole community meets to decide (temporary or definite suspension of membership; suggestion to live elsewhere for a while); person can participate at the meeting but has no blocking power if one or more member block the proposal, the committee meets with them in a separate meeting to resolve the issue asking the person to leave the community (as a last resort to prevent a community to break up altogether) When you do create trust and put structures in place to prevent the erosion of trust: you are weaving the fabric of your community. Not keeping agreements puts acid on the woven fabric of your community. The acid eats holes into the fabric; you may end up having too many loose ends and no feeling of security.

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Clear and thorough membership process a narrow gate attracts healthy people

Seeking new members

Do not: seek people interested in community but Confident and mature people who are willing to help build your project New members must understand and support the mission & purpose (same what and the same why: i love what you are doing how can I help) Unless your purpose is therapeutic, exclude people with addictions, history of financial irresponsibility, criminal record, emotional disturbances, mental illnesses; seek people who are generally liked by all members

Financial criteria:
establish joining or membership fee for independent income communities: annual dues and fees and labor contribution requirements if new members cannot afford the joining fee: community can loan the person the fee from its development fund members can loan individually to the new member smaller (studio size) units for less affluent members

for income sharing communities: members must be able to do the work required new members should be willing to allow credit check new members should be willing to abide by the ecovillage agreements they should be willing to be trained in decision-making and communication methods decide on prospective membership (6 to 18 months)

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