Re: ecovillage and sustainability

Aloha Chris 'n all,

> I'm glad to see this 'theoretical ekistics' type discussion get some
> airtime

I'm not talkin' theoretical, I'm talkin' what do you do when your neighbor in
your EV (or your suburban neighborhood or the upstair apartment or whatever)
does something you don't agree with and you won't change your mind and they
won't change their mind and then what?

What processes will be used, by the individuals and/or the larger group, in
this situation?
What will your villagers do when personal fecal matter surfaces in a consensus
decision-making session and the consensus process goes all to heck?
Consensus is well suited to making group decisions when all involved are
getting their essential needs met - what about when they're not and won't play
consensus?

And so on.
Sooner or later, it all comes down to human relatings.

Reflections from the various 'communes' and back-to-land groups and so on from
three and four decades ago generally indicate that if they melted down, it
wasn't ultimately because of money or technology or land or lack thereof or
whatever.  It was because they didn't have (or didn't use, because we always
have the choice *not* to use) adequate and/or appropriate interpersonal
structure and process to deal with themselves and each other constructively
instead of destructively.

Peer pressure (like parenting) can be loving and healthy and supportive, or it
can be mean and cruel and ugly, with consequences reflecting which it is.

Which approach will your villagers take?  How will your villagers know the
difference?  Etc...



John Schinnerer - MA, Whole Systems Design
------------------------------------------
- Eco-Living -
Design & Technology Services
People - Place - Learning - Integration
john-/Gao9/[email protected]
http://eco-living.net

------------------------------------------------
To subscribe or unsubscribe to ecobalance go to:
http://www.ecovillage.org/ecobalance
------------------------------------------------