Re: step by step community formation

Dear Bat-Tzion Benjaminson,
my Name is Johan Van Tonder and I am Residing in South Africa where we are
also gearing up for the establishment of Eco-Villages.  I would like to stay
in touch with you and learn about you progress.  I will send you some links
of my own research but if I become a nuisance please stop me.  The first
Web-site that I recommend is  http://news.gilbert.org/
http://www.charityvillage.com/cv/news/cover.asphttp://www.orgdyne.com/ or
[email protected] <[email protected]> I will keep on looking out
for specific literature and send it on to you but I think these are good
groups to join and even discover some contacts in Israel.
regards, Johan



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "BT Benjaminson" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 9:59 AM
Subject: [Ecobal]step by step community formation


> Shalom from Israel
> I'm new to the list and new to the process of building a community. I do
> have a permaculture design certificate and several years experience in
> hands-on sustainable living in a rural setting.
> Some friends and I intend to establish an ecovillage here in the semi-arid
> south of our country.
> With the help of an experienced permaculturist active in the area, we have
> idenfied a likely location in one corner of an existing agricultural co-op
> community ("moshav") and have collected a list of around 20 people who are
> interested enough to receive e-mails about the project. One potential
leader
> has emerged.
> Some of us feel the urgent imperative of establishing a community that can
> function in a wobbly energy decline situation, others are just keen on
> connecting with the land or with a loving group of people.
> I have very little leadership experience and I sense the difficulty of
> bringing people into a commitment if they have not already been educated
and
> motivated in community building. Needless to say, in this country we have
a
> great emotional struggle in the face of various political, religious, and
> security issues. It is difficult to create a "safe container" for people
and
> to get them to commit time to a venture that still seems very doubtful.
> Now, to the question -- where on the Internet can I find guidance for
> successfully building a strong community from scratch, or what one book
> would be suitable in order to study this topic?
> So far no one has appeared that has the kind of money needed to attend
> Findhorn or other ecovillage training programs, so this is the best we can
> do in the meantime.
> Any suggestions?
> Thank you in advance.
> Bat-Tzion Benjaminson
>
>
>
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