Re: step by step community formation CORRECTION

Johan,
I deeply appreciate your efforts to guide me to useful resources. I had a 
short look at the web site you suggested.
I don't think it meets my needs. Here's why: I am a busy mother of young 
children, run a home-based business and a micro-farm, and am forming a 
community to move to a more sustainable location. I have to be very 
practical. I don't have time for lots of planning. As it is I am rising at 5 
am to do the basic leadership tasks with the people involved, before I have 
to start my day. The community tool box looks like it was developed by 
people earning salaries so they can sit around and make elaborate planning 
documents that are geared for increasing the functioning of 
physically-existing communities. That's just not what I need. I don't have a 
salary. I also don't think there's much time to plan; from what I've read 
about the energy situation, peak oil is happening this year.
Right now I have over 20 people on a Yahoo group, all of whom have expressed 
keen interest in moving to a sustainable community. I don't know how to 
organize them to gradually build up the group to real functionality. Some 
are sitting back and lurking, waiting for the community to form to their 
liking, then (I think) plan to jump in and benefit later. Others are 
charging forward, contributing to the list their own personal dreams. Not 
too many people are expressing fears on the list and getting through them to 
the point of making practical progress in getting organized. I realize I 
have to do that somehow.

We are going to a place with an existing infrastructure of empty houses and 
ample farmland.

I have a copy of the ecovillage training manual from the ecovillage training 
offered at Findhorn.
This provides some building blocks I can use immediately. The manual 
outlines eight levels of sustainability (ecological, economic, health, 
cultural, education, spiritual, political, communications). I am thinking to 
ask the group members to choose an area, then learn about it, and teach the 
group about best practices and other aspects. I hope that eventually those 
teachers will become leaders and planners in each of the areas of their own 
choosing. But I am not so confident that this will work, as many of the 
group members have not even responded to my requests to submit a 
self-introduction or photos.On the other hand, perhaps those lurkers are not 
good prospects for community membership anyway, so I should just keep 
inviting people to join the group and see which ones step to the forefront 
of action. They will all sort themselves out eventually. Anyone have any 
comment on this approach?

Jan Martin Bang's book on ecovillages is being shipped here as we speak. I 
hope it also can provide practical how-to guidance that doesn't take a PhD 
to implement.
Thanks again, though, and please keep sending resources, I'm open to looking 
at anything.
Bat-Tzion

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "JOHAN VAN TONDER" <dni-T38vF8X/[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 1:42 AM
Subject: Fw: [Ecobal]step by step community formation CORRECTION


> OOPS !!! here is the Web page included
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "JOHAN VAN TONDER" <dni-T38vF8X/[email protected]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 1:29 AM
> Subject: Re: [Ecobal]step by step community formation
>
>
>> Dear Bat-Tzion,
>> As promised here is a Web site that offers the most incredible assistance
>> FREE through a Community Tool Box.
> http://ctb.ku.edu/tools/en/tools_toc.htm I have given the Table of Content
> page
>> but scout around because it is one of the most comprehensive Sites I have
>> come across for community building and guidance. Please give me your
>> opinion.  Happy building.
>> Regards,
>> Johan Van Tonder
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "BT Benjaminson" <[email protected]>
>> To: <[email protected]>
>> Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 10:11 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Ecobal]step by step community formation
>>
>>
>> > Thank you Johan!
>> > Yes please keep sending.
>> > Bat-Tzion
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message ----- 
>> > From: "JOHAN VAN TONDER" <dni-T38vF8X/[email protected]>
>> > To: <[email protected]>
>> > Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 11:26 PM
>> > Subject: Re: [Ecobal]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
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >> ------------------------------------------------
>> > >> To subscribe or unsubscribe to ecobalance go to:
>> > >> http://www.ecovillage.org/ecobalance/index.html
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>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > ------------------------------------------------
>> > > To subscribe or unsubscribe to ecobalance go to:
>> > > http://www.ecovillage.org/ecobalance/index.html
>> > > ------------------------------------------------ 
>> >
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------
>> > To subscribe or unsubscribe to ecobalance go to:
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>> >
>> >
>>
>
>
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