Building an Intentional Community

Mission Statement:  Fireweed Universe-City is a grassroots movement to realize a sustainable  eco-friendly community of universal consciousnss.

Lovely mission, in theory.  However, in practice there are some challenges. 

1. Differing Intentions.  The people living here have very different short-term and long-term goals.  Some have the goal of creating a sustainable life around things that were unnecessarily left for waste.  This may mean squatting as a way to reinhabit a perfectly good home (repurposing the immense amount of waste that goes into home building) but putting up solar panals for power and building a compost toilet to put nutrients back into the earth.  Others have the goal of squatting and getting free stuff.  As long as expecting and feeling deservent of anything are part of the mentality, I think the challenges to success here will be huge.

2. Distraction.  Alcohol, sex, drugs, Rock and Roll. Moderation and prioritization are key.  In Maslow's hierarchy of need, I'm pretty confident that those things don't come before windows, heating source, food aquisition and production, sewage system, and water...all needs that definitely do not yet have stable solutions here.

Instead of spending money to purchase books to learn skills like canning or agriculture and spending time to use those skills and the rewards to meet needs and to sell, time is spent standing in line to get food at a food pantry, applying for food stamps, smoking or listening to/playing music on the porch, and money is spent on cigarettes, pot and beer.  Even if they had the follow through to develop that music as a skill that they could benefit from, but that dedication is not the norm, either. 

There are certainly a few people here who to an extent understand a necessary balance.  In fact, some people in the community have done absolutely wonderful things.  But for the most part either a) they have a lot of culture to change before they get others to realize and dedicate themselves; b) they don't have the tools to lead, teach and empower; and/or c) they are disheartened that their work is constantly being taken advantage of, leading them to distraction themselves.

I know they have a lot of potential for the future, but a lot of people will need to step up to realize it!