A struggling, but innovative eco-experiment a metro ride out of Barcelona in Spain.
They say: “In Collserola National Park, an ecologically lush area has been reclaimed for an autonomous experiment called Can Masdeu. It was once a hospital to treat leprosy, but its mansion and broad grounds sat idle for half a century. Its co-owners were likely speculating on the growing land value. 15 years ago a group of squatters, activists and environmentalists, both local and international, ascended into the space.”
Links to their main site and an article about the community.
An innovative co-housing group in Colchester, England designed specifically to meet the needs for older residents to live more communally. They say that:
“Our goal is to create a cohousing community that embodies the following values:
Good neighbourliness – in supporting each other within the cohousing community and in making a positive contribution to the social, economic and cultural life of our locality, Old Heath, Colchester and the surrounding area.
Active ageing – as a way of encouraging participation, health, independence and environmental awareness.
Eco awareness – embodied in low energy design, sharing of resources and more integrated living arrangements.”
Born in Scotland in Melrose in 1812, but made her name as an Australian communitarian and visionary Utopian. Earliest Australian female politician (though oft thwarted). Famous for books, especially ‘Handfasted’ and ‘A week in the Future’. In her time, she was regarded as ‘socialist and dangerous’. Died in 1910.
Link to the Wikipedia entry.
Chris CJ Stone is one of the UK’s most eclectic and colourful writers about the ‘underbelly’ of UK society, from paganism to the most neglected housing estates, and lots on festivals, Travellers and counter culture including the alternative King Arthur! Well worth visiting his blogs and more.
Christiania Freetown, Copenhagen in Denmark. One of the oldest squats turned legal arts and creative communities in Europe. A special place of exploration.
Chris Waite is sadly no longer with us. But this site offers some of his videos and poems about the early free festivals in the UK. Plus his two-parter, Looking for America, filmed with native Americans and others in Dakota.
Co-housing is way of organising housing that is run by its residents. They have their own spaces but also share communally. Here are links to the associations in the United States and the UK.
Communes Britannica. A blog site organised by Chris Coates with links to publications, some interesting historical articles on communes, intentional communities and even hippies! Now re-named Diggers and Dreamers on its Facebook Group page.
An interesting portal site, which explains that it offers links to:
“An eclectic and growing selection of small, alternative festivals with the odd cool big one in there…including one we organise: the ‘Festival of Creativity’ in the Czech Republic.”
Saskatchewan eco-village in Canada is an eco-village which is growing. Lots of off-grid pioneers. Plenty of examples of innovative building designs and links to photos, info and videos. It even featured on Al Jazeera main news. But we’ve linked to the official Craik site and Green Energy Futures’ video.