Moving Forward Together

Moving forward together
Synopsis
Introduction
This paper is an attempt to capture some of the thought that has gone
behind our exploration with deliberate living, and our search for others who
are prepared to participate in forming a more collective-cooperative way of
living - a common life. There are many examples of groups of people living
together, and there have been many attempts at intentional community, from
which we grow and learn.
Purpose
Our purpose here is multi-fold: to spark thinking, and hopefully clarity of

thought, on models of living - current and potential; to contribute to the
process of inner shift (change) and the concomitant letting go in order to
reach a more integral (that which is necessary to make a whole complete)
existence; and to propose elements of a model that contributes to creating an
enabling environment for alternative models of living.
Approach
It is our perspective that the mainstream model of living - build on a divisive

methodology of comparison and competition - is socially, economically and
ecologically unsustainable. We come from an internlised personal motivation
for change, embracing the path of the collective and cooperative.
Further, it is our experience that there are barriers to alternative models of
living; social, political, logistical and economic barriers. Bridging the gap
between what we have today and what we want in the future will require
strategy, patience and sweat - and hopefully no blood. Our learnings are not
intended exclusively for land-based communities, but also transition towns.
Model
In brief, we propose: bridging finance and strategic ownership vehicles for

property; guidelines for membership-body stewardship of property; consensus
decision making processes; cooperative income generation and Parsons
model of an ecosystem of business organisations; permaculture tools and
framework that inform our relationship to land, agriculture and husbandry; and
the integration of, what is presently termed, Social Development with every
aspect of our lives.
Developing a Model of Deliberate Living

~ the Ecological and Humane Community ~
Intro - a need for modeling Eco-communities
It does not surprise me that we have reached a time where new models of
living (including relationship to the land, food production, health, and
education) and the supportive legal, financial and economic models are
required. Since this means change to social, political, financial, and legal
systems we can expect there to be some resistance in each of these sectors.
If we consider this resistance useful and necessary to ensure that what is
proposed is well thought through and beneficial to the greater good of all, it
will contribute to a significant and sustainable movement that builds
momentum and offers the changes in the systems that support the new
spaces into which we are evolving.
The opportunity to research new models of living that meet our
(humanities) evolving needs requires that we begin both exploring new
models of living, and gathering data. Gathering data is the easier task.
Exploring alternative models of living requires us to overcome various barriers
to entry, and to invest our lives in this journey of exploration.
The modeling of eco-villages and/or eco-communities in South Africa is still
in its infancy. While there have been hundreds of intentional communities
started across South Africa there are not a lot of them that have maintained
the intended cooperative systems and structures, or indeed survived. Where
intentional communities have been attempted, and do exist, there is a
tremendous amount of learning to be shared. Our efforts are not wasted!
In many instances the relationships between the individuals making up the
community are strained or even broken due, usually, to issues arising from the
intensity and/or hardship of the task. These issues, in turn, are usually related
to the ownership of the land, the lack of infrastructure, or the concomitant
small number of people participating in the intentional community.
As I have discussed elsewhere, these are significant barriers to entry for
any intentional community.
Furthermore, there has been very little documented, nor any systematised
study, of these intentional communities in South Africa. This has several
ramifications. Firstly, without a more formal study of intentional community in
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South Africa there is much learning lost, or not shared, which means that
many groups find themselves re-learning, unnecessarily, the do not do
aspects of common life.
Secondly, without much documentation available to the public there is very
little awareness in the mainstream of these attempts and learnings that would
contribute to a body of knowledge and a social construction of a particular
model of living, thus, do not develop. Any research done on the various
experiences of intentional communities and other indigenous communities
would offer the opportunity for more support of such projects; socially,
economically and legally.
For example, at this stage there are no specific Land Zone options relevant
to eco-villages / eco-communities. There is social scepticism (skepticism) as
to the viability and sustainability of such intentional communities. And the
economic interface between a collective cooperative model of economy and
the current competitive/comparative system is often antagonistic. (The same
can be argued of the models of education and health.)
Two questions arise for me pertaining to the current lack of a Land Zone
appropriate for eco-villages in various forms, and the lack of an appropriate
legal ownership structure that supports any such intention towards socially
and ecologically sustainable living (i.e. a different model of living). Where are
they? and, Who do we expect to develop them?
Both of these questions are ours to answer. And it is through the
experimenting and exploring various forms of different models of living that we
will be able to design the policy that will inform an appropriate Land Zone, as
will it inform us in the design of a model of collective ownership and the
legalities therefore.
The investment, and the exploration, have begun.
The use of the term Community always conjures as many interpretations (pictures) as
people who use the term. Intentional Community, Eco-Village, Monastery, Commune,
Kibbutz, Moshav, Body Corporate, . Of this I am aware and have no solution other
than to evoke your awareness of our need to use other words and terms in our attempt
to explain what we mean when we use the term Community.

Eco-village > Eco-community
An Ecovillage is an intentional community with the goal of becoming more

socially, economically and ecologically sustainable. Such a village is marked
by a deliberateness in all that they do. [Since our intention is to contribute to
more than one physical place, and since the participants of the movement do
not necessarily dwell in the same geographical place, we choose to use the
term Eco-community to include the broader group. The intention, principles
and values are expressed in the Permaculture and Eco-village approaches].
Using the term community in definition of a collective of people (e.g.
Ecovillage) requires more thorough definition and explanation since, in my
experience, each of us has a different perception of what community is and
means.
Simply, community is a group of people living in one place. Very often it is
associated with common ownership. In this instance, i.e. regarding an
ecovillage, it is perhaps more accurate to say that it is a group of people living
in one place with common stewardship of the people, the ecology, and the
economy that make up the context of where they live. This relational model of
living embraces a reflective process that preempts action and reaction; it
creates from the values of learning, non-harm, and cooperation.
Responsibility is owned by each person for their own lives, and then ways
of extending it towards others, the environment, and the economy are sought
by the group; reaching for collective cooperation in the various aspects of
living that seek to impact their own lives, and those around them, in efficiency,
fun, harmony and compassion.
Ecovillage does not mean Commune (i.e. sharing possessions and
responsibilities) or co-habitation, unless intentionally and specifically decided
upon by those living in that one place. Ecovillage does include the
commitment to engage in the realness of relationship and life with open eyes,
a sense of awe, and empowerment.
In form, Ecovillages are as diverse as villages and cities are. The common
thread has to do with the underlying intention of becoming more socially,
economically and ecologically sustainable. Each ecovillage will determine their
own guidelines for the implementation of their living and relating.
There is much written about ecovillages and a global network of
ecovillages has been established (see GEN) that
offers inspiring examples of how people and communities can live
healthy, cooperative, genuinely happy and meaningful lifestyles --beacons of hope that help in the transition to a more sustainable future
on Earth. [They] seek to foster a culture of mutual respect, sharing,

inclusiveness, positive intent, and fair energy exchange (GEN website,
2012).
There are are thousands of intentional communities throughout the world of

which many are covered by Bill Metcalf in his book The Findhorn book of
Community Living (2004, Findhorn press). His first chapter is entitled
Universal drive to community living, in which he comments:
Perhaps Homo sapiens (wise people) should be called Homo
Communitas (community people), since community of one sort or
another is something into which we are born, in which we live, and
where we shall all die and be long remembered - or soon forgotten.
Within a strong community, particularly the small, cohesive intentional
communities covered in this book, people are able to blossom and
bloom. They are also more likely to feel that they have a worthwhile
social niche, feel valued by others, and will almost certainly feel more
secure than when living in isolation or even within a conventional
nuclear family (pg.5)
An African network of ecovillages has now been established (GEN-Africa)
and has links to many resources offered by the international network. The
image linked gives some idea of the breadth of the Ecovillage networks vision
for our conscious active participation in living, and the depth to which they are
already enacting this vision.
[See other resources at Gaia website]
Gaia Trust
Of Value - the basis by which we choose to live

Values
Peace / harmony
Joy / celebration
Love / compassion
Happy
Alive: Conflict (as necessary and growth promoting) vs violence
Seeking to express the following values in a positive voice:
Non-harm; Non-violation; Non-violence; Non-judgement
Respectfulness
Tolerance
Openness
Honesty
Gentleness
Kindness
Acceptance
Carefulness
Harmony (harmonious)
Thoughtfulness
Awareness
Sovereignty (as in Empowered Responsible and Responsive with
jurisdiction and self-governance over our own lives) vs freedom
Interdependence vs independence / codependence
Note: This list is compiled from the contributions from many people.

Common values & participation
Here are some components to this section that I would like to consider.
Firstly, expressing the common denominators regarding each persons
Vision / Dream for an awareness and clarity of common ground between
participants. A good starting point.
Secondly, building an experience of choosing to participate in a collective
and cooperative model of living. Understanding and embracing an Ubuntu
approach to life; knowing and holding the losses to an adolescent egofreedom of doing what ever I want to do for the longer lasting, greater good
for Self and Other. This is a process, and thus would benefit from facilitation.
Participation - Essential and Voluntary
The participation of members of the Eco-community collective in various

aspects of their common life will be necessary and should be understood to be
part of the commitment when joining the membership body. In many instances
the participation will be voluntary since many of the activities will be interest
areas and motivated by, and to the benefit of, individuals. In some instances,
however, there will be necessary activities for the smooth and sustainable
functioning of the collective e.g. administration, management, maintenance,
and celebration.
While the areas of Essential Contribution can be determined by the
collective group i.e. is a consensus decision, the participation in one or more
of these work-groups will be essential for each adult member.
Areas of Essential Contribution e.g.:
Land (overall management
Gardens and vegetable gardens,
structural maintenance,
celebration,
admin
Voluntary Participation in an interest area:
Common suppers (e.g. Sharing food preparation for family members of

children during school term)
Yoga / dance / etc.
Music / Art circles
Animal / Pet training
Childrens activities
Holiday clubs.
Overcoming barriers to the exploration

and experience of deliberate living
Cost of land
The cost of buying land that is appropriate for establishing eco-villages is

usually inaccessible to the very people who are motivated to establish a model
of living that considers, and values, the people and the ecology above profit
and capital gain. Most of the people willing to explore and commit to a model
of living as described within the concept of Ecovillage have expertise and
energy to contribute but not the capital resource that is usually necessary for
the purchase of land.
If, however, a group of such people are able to put together sufficient
capital to purchase land they are often left with little money to affect the
infrastructure that would enable them to implement their desired lifestyle.
While the Ecovillage has been heralded by the United Nations (UN), to be
essential to the sustainability (and therefore survival) of the human population
there has been limited opportunity for the exploration, examination and
expression of this model of living in South Africa. Where some groups of
individuals have initiated intentional communities there has often been more
resistance than support from national, regional and local service providers
(i.e.Municipalities).
Its something of a catch-22 since while there is limited knowledge,
understanding and therefore limited support in mainstream society we will
not have the flexibility and space to develop more sustainable models of living.
It is my belief that if the cost of the land is removed it would enable a
greater number and diversity of people to participate. The members of the
ecovillage could then put the capital reserve they do have into developing the
infrastructure necessary to support the necessary numbers and diversity of
the very people committed to exploring this model of living.
It is from the desire to create an enabling environment for the exploration,
study and expression of new models of living that I propose a model for the
ownership and stewardship of the land. In brief, an example of this model
would be that, I purchase the land and hold it in my name simply as an interim
solution that enables us to begin the development of an Ecovillage. [See
Ownership of the Land].

Cost of infrastructure
In many cases where Intentional Communities move onto the land, the lack
of infrastructure to support their needs adds a tremendous weight to the
physical burden of living. It is often the case that the cost of essential
infrastructure, when added to the cost of purchasing the land, is inaccessible
and therefore it is earmarked for the future. A delay with dire consequence.
In my opinion, the lack of a minimum (or essential) infrastructure is
debilitating to the successful startup of any collective (common) life outside of
the city i.e. the infrastructure of Township offered by municipalities.
The requirements for any given piece of land, and group of people
choosing to live on that piece of land, are dependent on the land and the lifestyle desired by the collective (group) living there. However, without a
minimum supporting infrastructure that will support a standard of living that is
attractive to, and supportive of, a greater diversity of people i.e. from different
stages of life, then the required number and diversity of people to make an
intentional community viable is not attained.
Certain essential elements will need to be considered from the start, while
other aspects could be strategically planned in to a long-term development.
Essentials would include: Land use design map, water (access to, a dam,
pumps, piping, storage, use/recycling systems), power (for lighting, pumping,
maintenance, manufacturing, income generating projects), Swales & keylines, pathways & roads, storage. Other infrastructure may include: bridges,
fencing, common kitchen & dining facility, temples, parking, offices, etc.
Common structures may include: a common meeting, dining area with
kitchen; a school building; workshop for maintenance and manufacture; etc.
Thus, there will be a minimum cost to moving onto the land in terms of
infrastructural development over and above the cost of building each dwelling.
Further to these costs there will be monthly running costs that include Rates &
Taxes, staff salaries, burning of fire breaks, memberships & insurances (if
desired), maintenance and repair to existing and new infrastructure.
It is my proposal that infrastructure costs form the basis of the buy-in cost
for membership to an Eco-village. Separating, and prioritising, these costs
from the cost of purchasing (or leasing) the land will contribute to the capacity
for the very necessary numbers and diversity of people required for
sustainability in this regard.
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Ownership of the land
Further, it is my belief (until convinced otherwise) that it would be prudent

to have the land owned by an individual person, as a precaution and an
interim solution, while the ecovillage is established. By established I refer to
the time and processes required for any voluntary association, its guidelines
and rules to be setup and tested.
The process of drafting and submitting various applications with local
municipalities, e.g. for the re-zoning of agricultural land, and any negotiations
that may arise are time consuming and stressful. To limit the stress and the
time commitment to one person where responses requiring signatures need
not require meetings and/or travel of many people seems efficient and
contained.
An agreement between the owner and the leasing membership body would
contain explicit intentions pertaining to the role and tasks that the owner is to
offer in the bridging of the gap between the current time and a time when the
membership body is established and a legal vehicle for ownership is created
or chosen.
It is my opinion that it is only through living in an Eco-community for some
time that we will begin to discover which legal structures and ownership
vehicles would be better suited the proposed use of, and stewardship for, the
land. It is my hope that together with other intentional eco-communities we will
draft various models of eco-villages and eco-communities, including how any
land is owned and governed, that will be submitted to our countrys governing
bodies and contribute to new policies and legal entities. Any new structure or
vehicle will take time to be articulated, tested and added into a countrys
system and/or policy, and until we know what we want, and have the option to
implement it, focussing on our relationship to the land and the collective
should be our intention - as opposed to ownership.
Many different ownership models and methods have been used for (and in)
the collective ownership of land; partnerships, body corporates, share blocks,
trusts. Some have advantages, however, in my experience, there are
several issues that suggest many of these models used are not sufficiently
suitable or supportive of the intentions of an eco-community or eco-village.
In this instance the eco-community body will lease the entire property from
the land owner for an agreed upon lease period on the understanding that it is
a lease-to-buy agreement i.e. that with each monthly payment, or installment,
a portion of the cost of the land is paid off and that on the completion of the
payment (of the value agreed upon for the sale of the land) the land will be
considered sold and may be transferred into a structure/vehicle of the eco11

community members choice. The purchase of the specified land is thus based
on an agreed of value, and the time frame for payment is flexible and
determined accordingly.
[Please note, that I (or another person with similar intention and capacity)
am simply offering both a service and to take on a task for the ecovillage
community as a whole; of which I (he/she) will be a member.]
Relationship to the land
It is my opinion that we often confuse and confound our relationship to the

land with the issue of ownership. While we will continue to require a sense of
security in knowing that our invested time, energy and money into a piece of
land is safe, in the sense that we might not be removed from that piece of land
against our will, remains an important factor, this need often draws our
attention away from being aware of, and building, an understanding and
practice of our actual relationship to the earth. It is my hope that we, as a
collective, can hold an understanding and pursue a practice of the land
holding and supporting us, and us being responsive, respectful and
responsible in our living on it.
The issue of security will be addressed in a manner that will offer the best
surety of tenure, while offering the necessary flexibility and opportunity for us
to create a model of stewardship that reflects more accurately a renewed
sense of relationship to the earth i.e. land.
It is my understanding that many of the people intending to participate in
this particular eco-village are already of the understanding that we do not
own land, rather we dwell on and in relationship to the land and are
custodians of that which occurs on the land.
It is my hope that by leasing the property on a lease-to-buy agreement that
each member of the ecovillage will feel responsible for the whole piece of land
and all that happens upon it. It is also my hope that this experience of
responsibility be recognised as the desired felt and implemented experience,
rather than any fear-based desire for security that is expressed as a need for
ownership and the holding of a title deed.
[As an aside, and described elsewhere, the holding of a title deed is not
as secure as we have been led to perceive it, and that the felt sense of
security in the current contract of ownership is more of an impression than
reality, which can be (and oft times is) manipulated by those more
knowledgeable of company and contract law.]
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Taking responsibility
It is my experience that taking responsibility for ones own life, or put in

other terms: becoming empowered, is our life-journey. Recognising what it
means to be responsible for my life as a whole includes identifying each
aspect of it and determining where I can hold a greater awareness and ability
to act independently. In many cases we (human societies) have evolved
systems and services that assist us in providing for the essentials (housing,
food, water, health, learning) and for taking care of the relational issues
(justice, governance, security, economy) that arise in societal living. In many
of these cases, however, we have given away our power, to take responsibility
for our own actions, to the institutions and systems that were originally
designed to assist us.
Recognising that it is my responsibility to empower myself, and that it is in
my (an individuals) best interest to work together and support others in taking
individual responsibility for their lives, is the starting point of a collective
consciousness. Meeting the needs of all the members of a collective, my own
and those of the people around me, is necessary for a socially and physical
sustainable future - in South Africa we know this as Ubuntu i.e. I am human
because of relationship in community - Homo Communitas (Bill Metcalf, 2004)
- and by looking after you I am looking after myself and thus ensuring my
future.
We seek to each own the responsibility for the different aspects of our
lives, and make deliberate/conscious decisions as to how we manage and
meet each persons and the communitys needs in the following areas:
Housing
Food
Health
Education
Justice
Governance
Economy
Finance and banking
Personal/self development (spiritual development)
Security
Relationships and communal/social health
Ecology
There is nothing revolutionary about taking responsibility for ones life, only,
in these times, we have continued to give much of that responsibility away
without realising just how weve done it. It is oft times subtle, and more often
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based on sound premise, only there has been a marketing strategy that has
drawn us deeper into being dependent on Corporations and the State than we
realise.
Governance
Approaching the task of delivering many of the services required by a

populace has allowed an efficiency and specialisation of roles within society
that can offer a greater choice for individuals with respect to their survival and
their contribution to the whole. In many societies the values of efficiency and
specialisation have led to the creation of nation states (countries) and large
centralised governing bodies. In many of these nation states the governing
bodies have been given (consciously or unconsciously) the authority to make
more and more of the decisions pertaining to daily life. This system is
formalise and justified and referred to as a form of democracy that allows
individual citizens to vote for a political party of their choice. This choice is
(usually) based on the proposals of how the political partys leadership
promise to make decisions about, and action, the services for the populace
living within the designated territory.
As the governance of peoples lives has become more and more
centralised, so the people have relinquished more and more ownership of the
responsibility for the various aspects of their lives. Thus, we have become less
empowered through giving up our power to this centralised governance. We
are as children, in our Selves and thus our actions, which is the justification for
the centralized governing system.
It has been noted that, in many cases, the system of governance and
service provision for large and diverse population fails to meet the needs of
the very people living in that territory. While there is usually an acceptable
need for some compromise of desires, for the gained efficiency and choice of
specialisation, it may (and does) occur that the limitations, inflexibility and
inefficiencies of a large centrally governed state exceeds the benefits to the
people. In these cases it is observed that the individuals, and their
organisations, tasked with the coordination of services for the populace have
assumed an authority and hierarchical status that supersedes (and indeed is
irrelevant to) their task related role.
Thus, for a long time now there have been many attempts by members of
societies to create new models of living and/or variations on the way they
currently live. People have chosen a variety of ways to do this, usually in a
way that expresses who they (the individuals) have become living in that
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particular context:
Creating a new political party to compete with the current parties.
Lobbying existing parties to amend their ways.
Instigating mass movements to undermine or overrun the current
governing party.
Military/violent takeovers of dominant embedded political parties or
systems.
Generating alternative styles of governance and systems the hope of
influencing the system though education, and a new generation.
Break away groups claiming sovereignty from the ruling powers and
their systems.
In each of these options there is an attempt by the people to take back
some of the responsibility of their lives in order to align the services of those
bodies given the task of serving the mundane aspects of living with their
current needs. There is an awakening to the Creditor-Debtor positioning that
underlies all our legal-governance systems that requires quite some learning
and growing.
If we understand ourselves (humans) to be evolving beings, it is
understandable that we require systems and services that are in service to us.
An immediate barrier to services supporting adaptive growth is our limited
knowledge of the legal and banking systems. Also, a legal system that is
based on precedent, while contributing to fair standard as determined across
a nation state (which is useful for the sought experience of equity), in many
cases has become the standard rather than a supportive method in an
adaptive context that responds to the evolving needs of the people.
In most cases (within recent history) of a population deciding to effect a
change in their lives by taking greater responsibility for their lives, in all the
ways cited above, they experience resistance to their proposed change from
those that are in office, tasked with the coordination of services, yet who
have assumed (or been given) control.
It can be understood that this situation has been socially constructed
through the compliance of the majority of a population to the status quo,
however, awareness must be raised regarding the manipulation, for
competitive advantage by those in office and those in business, of the
understanding of the people pertaining to the legal-economic system in play.
Often, for example, the people are led to believe that they do have usufruct
of a property, whereas, in fact, it is the government that has usufructuary right
due to the inability of the individuals to know how to live as Creditors, thus
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evicting or confiscating items from a human person who, through obliging this
behaviour, contracts themselves into ratifying its validity. Often such cases are
used as precedent while the lawfulness and rightness of this previous act is
not brought into question.
In choosing to increase our awareness of, and take responsibility for, the
various aspects of our lives by becoming more and more deliberate in our
decisions and actions we are choosing to empower ourselves and recognise
that we create the world in which we live. We are choosing to create and
construct a world to live in that meets our needs and desired methods of
meeting those needs.
We have a lot to learn both internally and externally.
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Legal and Financial structures

Ownership of Land
It is my understanding that there is not yet a legal entity defined in South

Africa, and that is understood and respected, that suitably represents the
model of living that we are proposing i.e. an eco-village or eco-community.
There are examples of types of Ecovillages within the borders of RSA that
either are illegal, i.e. transgress the by-laws even though seldom are unlawful,
or are limited in their capacity to become, and function, as they should thus
jeopardising the chances of survival, sustainability or replicability.
It is the fact that we have not yet had the opportunity to explore, examine
or express Ecovillage models of living fully that further contributes to the lack
of understanding, knowledge, significance and thus social, financial and legal
support.
I believe that, given the opportunity, within the next 9 years we will have set
a precedent through designing and documenting an ecovillage and its
beneficial impact on economy, society and ecology. From our efforts new legal
entities will be defined, and by-laws created that support the replication of
ecovillages.
Where I can be convinced of an alternative structure of ownership that will
enable us the freedom to explore, examine and express a new model of living
through ecovillages I will gladly comply and support fully the chosen route of
ownership and representation. Furthermore, where I am tasked with, and
facilitate, the ownership of the land, it is my unwavering intention that
immediately there is evidence of supportive legal structures and specific group
capacity for collective ownership of ecovillage land I will transfer the
ownership of the land out of my name into any chosen vehicle.
However, in the absence (thus far) of a convincing proposal I propose an
individual owns the land until an established Ecovillage zoning and legal
person/entity is entitled to exist without threat of demolition from concerned
and/or opposing government linked parties.
I suggest this since where there is one person who has an understanding
of her/his human inalienable rights and how this relates to the various types of
law, and how these types of law are utilised for the benefit of some, there is
less chance that any representative of the so called government, judiciary or
any governmental service approaching those on the land in question is able to
intimidate and/or misrepresent the law in a manner that might cause the
activity on the land to cease.
What I am saying is that until we have drawn up, presented and had
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accepted a working definition of Ecovillage that sets out the parameters and
criteria for an Ecovillage that is integrated (included) into the various offices
(town planning, agriculture, education, transport, etc.) of the Republic of South
Africa there is a risk of violent resistance from the RSA or any Municipality to
thwart our efforts where they impact negatively on the capacity of the RSA,
Municipality, City or State aligned Companys potential profit e.g. the
restriction and taxation on the use of large scale solar farming.
An individual human being, who knows her/his inalienable rights and how
this relates to the various types of law, and how these types of law are utilised,
is less likely to be intimidated than a those individuals making up a board,
membership, or directorship.
Further, where there is a registration of a legal person (individual, trust,
company, etc.) with the company registry of the RSA there exist an implicit
subjugation of those individuals human rights, to company law by virtue of a
contract with the RSA, due to their compliant behaviour. It is, however,
possible to foil such an implicit contract as an individual human being, not so
with a registered legal person in the form of a trust or company.
I mention this only to show that there is comprehension and intention within
the legal, financial, and governing bodies of our country state of such
infringement of our human inalienable rights.
To summarise, and simplify, I am proposing that I take on the task of
owning the land since I am immersing myself into understanding the various
types of law, I am less intimidated by those who consider themselves in
authority, and I am prepared to offer the service of engaging in the legalities
and the resultant relationship with various legal and company bodies that may
take exception to our activity of exploring and expressing an Ecovillage style
model of living.
Creditors in commerce
Where necessary an individual human being can show their ability to

responsibly govern their own affairs and in so doing declare sovereignty from
the Crown and the corporation of the Republic of South Africa (the state). This
is a process of showing consistency in being a creditor seeking to facilitate
and maintain a state of balance and peace i.e. to be empowered in person
and their affairs.
In so doing they would be able to indicate her/his claim to a piece of land
on which she/he invokes his/her right to become a free man of the land. In
this case, that piece of land is annexed from the responsibility of the State/
18

RSA and is as an embassy, or homeland. In effect it is de-registered from the
State and shown to be in the care of the responsible person. This would mean
that there would be no restriction on any activity on that land, except where it
threatened the lives or wellbeing of the neighbouring citizens of the RSA.
This may seem to be an extreme scenario, yet in various parts of the world
it has been invoked by individual human beings where they deem that the
governing bodies infringe upon, or no longer support, their human rights. In
our country, on close examination, the governing bodies of the RSA regularly
infringe our very own constitution. And there is much evidence to show that
action by these bodies is taken against certain peoples where there is a fear
of loss of potential income, whereas no action is taken against other people
living in the same conditions where there is no threat to potential profit by the
City, Municipality, RSA or affiliated company.
This is an avenue that requires research, study and discipline. Sites of
learning are Creditors in Commerce (CIC) and Order of Merchants. Another
site of learning, and which give further links, is Think Free South Africa.
The Ubuntu Political Party and the NewERA websites are also informative
in terms of some of the less than obvious ongoings in our economy as we
know it.
19

Financing the purchase of land
Preamble
Where I can be convinced of an alternative structure of financing the land

that will enable us the initial freedom to implement the infrastructure required
for a collective of 30 initial dwellings to be established within a relatively short
time period (i.e. 3years), and that contributes to our ability to explore and
express a sustainable livelihood as an eco-community I will gladly comply and
support fully the chosen financial structure and system.
Furthermore, where I am tasked with, and facilitate, the financing of the
land, I give my word that there is no profit motive, notwithstanding an
accessible and acceptable maintenance of capital and the covering of any
related costs.
Furthermore, I state my unwavering intention that immediately there is
sufficient monies repaid which covers the cost of the land, any expenses
incurred, and the accessible and acceptable maintenance of the capital sum I
will transfer the ownership of the land into any chosen vehicle, provided that
there is consensus that the transfer of the land out of an individuals
ownership is the chosen route of the members of the eco-community.
Please be aware that my motivation and commitment to this proposed
financial (and concomitant ownership) structure is my desire to participate in
creating an enabling environment for the exploration and expression of an
Eco-Village/Eco-Community model of living.
Proposal
In the absence (thus far) of a convincing proposal for another financial and
ownership model I propose the following:
One person purchases the farm from the current owners;
The farm is registered into his/her legal entities name;
The new owner leases the whole of the land to the Eco-community
membership body i.e. any body that they choose e.g. Voluntary
Association, NPO, section 18a company;
A sum of value to be paid by the eco-community members in prepayment for the farm is agreed upon;
The sum of value is relative to the purchasing power parity of the ZAR
in 2012, including the possible emerging internal currency of the ecocommunity network with a base year of 2012;
We create an agreement between us for a long-term lease of 20-years,

by which time the eco-community body determines to have paid for the
20
farm and the farm is sold and transferred to the eco-community body;
Where the eco-community members pay for the farm in full before the
20-year lease is concluded the farm will similarly be considered sold
and summarily transferred to the eco-community membership body or
any other body as decided by the eco-community;
The benefits of such an arrangement are understood to be the following :
There is no contract with a bank or equivalent company that will defraud

the eco-community members through compounded interest or
securitisation;
The land is not attached to conditions of a loan that are created by the
Loaner, or entered into by the owner, that may effect or threaten the
lease agreement held between the eco-community and the owner;
The land title deed is held by an individual, thus any legal proceedings
e.g. with respect to the rezoning of the land, involves only one person
thereby not wasting time and energy of more than one person;
There can be a lease-to-buy agreement between the owner and the

eco-community members (a hire-purchase agreement);
The lease agreement between the owner and the eco-community body
is created, monitored and upheld by a system and body of mutual
choosing;
Notwithstanding that there may be a lease agreement registered with a

RSA company deeds office, where the eco-community body so deems
necessary, which will have a maximum time period as specified by the
RSA Revenue service (SARS), in which case the extra costs will be
borne by the eco-community members;
As soon as the eco-community members, via their body, have paid the
specified amount of value the farm will be considered owned in its
entirety by the eco-community members;
At such time as the agreed upon value has been paid by the ecocommunity membership body they may choose a legal vehicle into
which the farm Title Deed may be transferred.
Financial figures
Exploring ways forwardSee example: Spreadsheet 1 & 2 (2012-08)
21

Buy-in
Buy-in holds two important components:

- Promoting a sense of belonging and stewardship (responsibility)
- Covering start-up infrastructure costs
In order to keep the ownership of the land separate from the development
of the eco-village, during the interim phase (as explained elsewhere), and to
make provision for a level of infrastructure that enables a greater diversity of
people to form an eco-village / eco-community, I propose that the buy-in cost
for members is the cost of infrastructure (as agreed upon as necessary)
divided by the number of members.
Depending on the future potential growth of the membership of the body
(Eco-community / Eco-village) the envisioned infrastructure might be phased
in order to ease the initial financial cost of the founders.
Using the initial buy-in capital for infrastructure has an immediate positive
contribution to the members; it makes possible their desire to move onto the
land, and can be understood as an investment into their own lives. Phasing in
the infrastructure over time, and dividing the cost between the founding
members and those that come later, offers the felt experience of equality.
As the infrastructure is set-up on the land the feeling of commitment and
stewardship of the particular piece of land grows. A sense of group belonging
and interdependence is facilitated, as well as the experience of increased
capability in collaborating towards a common goal.
To write up further:
cost of infrastructure -> reduced cost if more units participating
abundant / surplus : as new members arrive ; & for renewability e.g. To

pay for other communities to begin (bridge-buy their land)
Questions re figures for buy-in (to model):
single member cost
couple cost
family cost
group-share cost (common house / per room)
22
A question of interdependence and size

Interdependence
It is through recognising that the value society has placed on autonomy

and independence is a poor interpretation for our desire for jurisdiction and
self-governance of our lives - something which better mirrors our desired
development into adulthood, and maturity. An adulthood in which we will be
more equipped to participate with others in an inter-dependence that
continues to recognise us in our individual capacity (and the responsibility of
each for all the aspects of our lives) as well as the necessary relating to others
that will allow us to access our immense creative potential as a humanity.
By us, for us
For many of us, the route to creating a life of our dreams will be through
other people. By this I mean that in order to live the life-style of our choice, to
live more sustainably (either ecologically or socially), to feel supported and
loved, to move out of the city onto some land, to start a project or business of
our choice, to find and follow our purpose in this lifetime we will need to
participate in a collective, in a cooperative way.
In many instances we are experiencing the frustration of not living what or
how we want to live. The speed and intensity of life seem to be increasing,
leaving us feeling isolated and under-resourced to meet all life's requirements
AND make space for rest & recreation. For example, raising children in an
isolated nucleus family (i.e. 1 or 2 parents in a home on their own) is, in my
opinion, unrealistic and unsustainable.
Creating an intentional community may be considered by some to be a
'false' society in that it is not representative of a populace at large. The same
may be said of a suburb in a city. The same dynamics of criteria and choice
apply to intentional communities as the various geographical sectors of our
villages, towns and cities. By developing an intentional community we seek to
be aware of these dynamics, and our choice to not only be open to diversity,
but to actively seek to reduce various barriers to entry so that a diversity is
achieved.
Number of participants
For a diverse population to offer both the challenge and support required
for a healthy life the population group needs to be large enough to allow subgroups to form without disrupting a sense of coherence in the whole i.e that
there is a limited felt experience of exclusion by members of the group. In
23

some models of collective living (e.g. in Denmark) there is both a minimum
and a maximum size of the population group. Their design (model) for cluster
living allows individuals to socialise more with 'friends' (sub-groups), while
ensuring that the group does not get so big that the individuals are unseen by
the whole and are lost to the active participation that builds a common sense
of belonging to one group.
Their learning has been that where the group is too small the intensity of
life (both the mundane requirements and the emotional dynamics) becomes
physically and socially over bearing and unsustainable. Likewise, in their
model of cluster living (i.e. with the common purpose of dwelling together)
where the group become too large there is a greater logistical challenge and
gaps for people to either feel not seen and included, and also gaps where
people can avoid participating in the common life thereby deteriorating the
desired experience of a shared existence.
Our cities offer the ability for people to 'hide' or avoid participation; a valid
choice. Only this is not the intention of people choosing to live in an intentional
community.
South African context
In terms of our South African context it is evident, from many of the

intentional communities attempted, that where the number of people
participating is too low there the stresses and strains are unsustainable. It is
recommended that a collective have 15 member units as its minimum. Here a
member unit can be a single person, a couple, a family (a single or couple
with children). It is also recommended that there be a diversity of age so that
there are young, middle-age, and elderly people present in the group - the
reasons are fairly self-evident.
To suggest a maximum number of people living in a collective is not as
easy. In my opinion, it will be dependent on a variety of factors: the land (size,
water, arability, etc.), the purpose of the community (dwelling, food production,
manufacturing, other activities, level of desired self-sufficiency, etc.).
In my opinion, in our case, at present, we would do well to begin with at
least 15 units since the start up will require a lot of physical and social effort.
Current land zoning will allow up to 25 units during the first phase, and is a
number that we would do well to reach fairly quickly. This is due not only to the
physical energy we will require to set up new homes and the supporting
infrastructure, but also to the financial cost of setting up a minimum
requirement of infrastructure. This minimum requirement of infrastructure will
be determined by the desired diversity and desired number of participants.
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e.g. In the desire to have a diversity of age-groups and for a diversity of social
and economic 'status' (forgive the use of this concept) participating the
standard of living and concomitant infrastructure will be higher than for a
group of young healthy couples seeking self-sufficiency. The higher financial
cost of more infrastructure will be carried better with a larger group of
participants.
Balancing
It is my opinion that members of the group (interested to live something of

a collective or common life) remain open to allowing the number of member
units to grow towards 50 (where land size allows). While such a number is
twice the maximum size of the Danish model of cluster living, the quality and
purpose of this collective is different. The increased number of member units,
if planned into the design of the eco-community from the start, will impact
significantly on the initial buy-in capital cost for infrastructure per member unit
without compromising the desired standard of living.
Both the reduced buy-in cost, and maintaining a higher level of
infrastructure will reduce barriers to entry thereby enabling a greater diversity
and inclusiveness of population.
In many instances a Land Use Design mapping of the land, superimposed
onto the Vision of the participants, will determine what is possible in terms of
numbers of people.
25
Decision making
Models of decision making
The processes of decision making and the tools used in training and
developing the members e.g. tools like Dragon Dreaming, Talking stick, and
other Consensus building tools, can be collectively decided upon.
I propose a consensus model of decision making.
Consensus decision making process
Dragon dreaming
Dream / Vision boards
Non-violent communication
Listening: skills & tools (e.g. Talking stick)
26
Income Generation and Micro-Economy

Income Generation
It is my opinion that where a group of people are gathered, and who

embrace a collective-cooperative approach to income generation, there will be
no limit to the creative and productive possibilities; no limit to the abundance.
So many ideas!!!
Integral health healing centre
hemp processing (see Hemp Production)
Permaculture learning centre
School
Organic veg / dairy
Manufacture of goods:
solar panels;
wind & water turbines;
wool bedding;
[see photo of newsprint list of ideas that go on and on and on]
A cooperative micro-economy (see Sebastian Parsons proposed model)
Each project is the business of the founders, run on a for-profit basis, and
yet is embedded into a cooperative ecosystem that holds as its core value the
benefit of all.
In brief Parsons proposes an economic ecosystem that integrates the
need for the evolving flexibility in business that comes from individual
ownership (direction), and the motivation of the participants through
recognising a larger meaning to life.
Parsons model weaves the co-workers and the member organisations of a
larger Consortium (Cooperative). This engagement of the co-worker in
something bigger than the business organisation allows the co-workers to take
up a higher perspective that can deepen understanding, a sense of ownership
and motivation. On the other hand, it also allows the member organisations to
engage with the spiritual physics of ownership in innovate ways that open up
freedom and engagement (Parsons).
I propose that in most instances activities and projects be initiated and
maintained by the individuals who have the interest and motivation to
participate, and that these activities and projects remain private enterprises
(by individuals or smaller groups of interested parties) and are managed as
27

such. I propose that the benefit to the Community be via rentals and the
commitment to engaging Community members as a first option for
employment, contracts, or trade.
As I have mentioned previously in this document, the initial years of
intentional community need be strategically small-stepped, yet never losing
sight of our goal of a more shared collaborative-cooperative model of living.
28

Integral Health & Healing Centre
It is my vision to open and operate a healing centre that focusses primarily

on the treatment of cancer. The approach and treatments will be suited to
most diseases, including most chronic ailments.
An integral approach integrates the Spiritual, Mental, Emotional, and
Physical aspects of our Beings and not only offers remedy for the symptoms
of disease, but deals with them at the causal level.
Using a Shamanic framework, the methods used include homeopathy and
herbal remedy, emotional and cognitive processes, energy medicines, and
Soul support.
This Centre is the business of the founders, run on a for-profit basis, and
yet is embedded into a cooperative ecosystem that holds as its core value the
benefit of all.
The centre requires several building structures that include consultation
rooms (4), a meeting/workshop room, a dining area, ablutions and some
accommodation rooms. The number of rooms for accommodation will
increase as the centres business grows. (Starting with 4).
The Centre will have a restaurant kitchen that can cater for clients and
staff, and which could double as a venue for visitors to the Community land whether for workshops or other activities being offered by other community
members.
Where possible the activities and running of the Centre will integrate with
the micro-economy of the community. Organic foods will be bought, members
will be offered positions at staff, members will be contracted as healing and
health consultants, and clients will participate in other activities offered by the
community e.g. Yoga, horse riding, guided walks, lectures and workshops, etc.
While the Centre is owned and managed by the Managers (Justin,
Angela, M, G) it abides by the principles and values of Permaculture i.e.
cooperates and collaborates with the land and the land stewards (the
Community members) for its structural development, as well as participating in
an ecosystem of cooperation between the various players (the Community
body, other income generating project managers, employees/staff, and
investors).
The Centre would sub-let the space it uses on the land from the
Community members thereby contributing directly to the Community bodys
income.
It is my desire to build the Centre using the Biomimicry framework and
29

approach, thereby having very little footprint and becoming an attractive,
harmonious, holding, healing space in its form, as well as its purpose.
It is my proposal to invest in the building of the infrastructure for the centre
with a friend, who would be considered a co-owner and investor by the
organisation/business. We would have our own agreements and contracts in
place that would include any Investor repayment requirements that would be
build in to the business plan. Where the land already has infrastructure that
might be well suited for the Centres use, and where there is consensus by the
members of the land stewardship body (Community), the money that would be
used for development could be use to aid the purchase of the land.
In this case, my desire for a centre build on Biomimicry principles would be
relaxed, and a start-up plan for how the Centre and the Community engage
with the infrastructure, in the days before the required community
infrastructure is build, can be agreed upon.
30

Hemp
I would love to be involved with this (may I call it) Industry. The benefits are
too many to list here, and the potential for future growth is all but guaranteed.
It is a wonderful crop to grow, and the many uses of Hemp allow for an equal
number of income generating projects.
It is my desire to pull together investors, growers and production managers
so that we can get ahead of the market and own the means of production in
our proposed economic ecosystem that has at its core cooperative ownership
and collective benefit.
For example, if we were to set up a Hemp Processing plant, we would be
able to keep the Hemp in the country, adding value and reaping the
abundance here, rather than exporting the raw hemp material as the current
growers must.
I know a potential investor, growers with concessions, industrial inventors
and engineersbut need a team to manage the project!
1.
2.
3.
4.
Growing concession for Hemp

1st Processing of Hemp (stripping) - Investment ZAR500,000 (we could
also manufacture these processing plants once weve got one)
2nd Processing of Hemp (threading) - Investment ZAR14,000,000
Production lines for the many uses of Hemp
Plastic alternative
Fibre & Clothing
Oils
Juicing
Seeds
Building material (buildings)
Building material (auto and other industry)
31

School / Training centre
The core of this strategy lies in the creation of an education centre or

school where skills required for the implementation of the broad-scale
permaculture design can be taught theoretically and put into practice on the
land.
This is the key to the successful implementation of the project: the
development of rural enterprises and the replication of successful systems. It
is envisaged that we will run a school for 30 young adults for 32 weeks of the
year. The school will follow an Applied Permaculture Training programme
(APT) and students will receive a permaculture-based education focusing on
agriculture, appropriate technology and life skills. They will be responsible for
implementing the land use plan and creating interdependent micro
enterprises. These enterprises will be integrated into the curriculum and could
include apiary, medicinal plants, essential oils, trees, small-scale animal
husbandry, dairy for milk, cheese & butter, ecotourism accommodation and
guiding.
The permaculture school will be a multi-purpose earthen building built from
available local resources, comprising of a training room, kitchen, dining and
community area, administrative space, store rooms, ablutions all built from
earth technologies and powered by renewable energy. Some student
accommodation will also be built. This centre will serve as a training centre for
other people to come and learn how to mimic the system through a host of
short and long-term programmes focused on sustainable livelihoods and
holistic living.
This concept for the permaculture school is based on the successful
Foundation Paraguay model that provides top quality education in a rural area
of South America. In this model, students learn the traditional school
curriculum supplemented by practical hands-on experience gained through
implementation of the agricultural and natural capital production systems on
the land. At the same time, the students develop entrepreneurial skills from
participating in all aspects of the operation and marketing. See
www.fundacionparaguaya.org.py for more information.
[From Afristar proposal abbreviated for hambela-phambili.org website]
32

Parsons' model
Sebastian Parsons (UK, Midlands) has put in a tremendous amount of

work towards developing an ecosystem (a collaborative-cooperative model) of
economics that draws on Steiners writings on economics, and hierarchy of
spiritual beings. It is an exciting model being tried in the UK at present, and
contributes a framework to explore in our drive to find new models of living.
At present I have copies of 3 of his documents that can be borrowed and
read, but not publicly reproduced since his work is still in the foundation stage.
Please feel free to contact me for a hard copy.
Earnings and payment tiers
An exciting opportunity exists to explore various models of how earnings

are used and divided to the benefit of the team involved in any one of the
income generating projects.
Tiers of salary, earnings vs Value / importance i.e. equally valued for
running of project e.g. all participants paid the same.
Regarding payments for being on the land, and using the land for an
income generating project:
Commensurate payment for living on land: is it a % or a fixed amount?
[Add: Ask Tudor about the income / profit share model he used with
consulting firm aka John]
33
Broad Based Social Development

Intro
I have had an interest in the development of people - their relating to self,

each other, and the environment - for as long as I can remember.
At school I was considered a peer-counsellor by my peers; at university I
ran a learning support group, and participated in a volunteer programme that
supported adolescent boys; I studied psychology, community-psychology, ecotherapy, then Zulu Traditional Healing techniques; I have researched in the
fields of Early Childhood Development, Gender, and AIDS; Ive hosted and
worked in various themed groups (Gender, Womens empowerment,
Masculinity), and in a peri-urban community support and development project;
I have worked in inner city homeless support networks; I have coordinated a
national Learning project for organisations working with youth and health; and
I continue to work with individuals and couples for their health through selfawareness and growth.
All this is to say that I have been involved in the Non-Governmental
Organisation sector for many years. I want to remain involved to personal and
social development, however, during my time in the NGO sector I have
noticed 2 phenomena that cause me to question its impact and its
sustainability.
Phenomena
The first phenomenon that I noticed, and frowned upon at first, many years
ago was that people retired from their work in this sector. The concept of
retiring from, what seemed to me to be a critical and necessary caring
profession, was strange (and concerning), particularly when these people
were still young and subsequently moved into a profit motivated sector!
Looking back now I laugh at how young and idealistic I was when I carried
these thoughts. However, I do still observe the NGO sector wearing people
out, suggesting that there is a greater demand for effort and resource than
return/reward, and that there is an urgency that exceeds capacity.
Interestingly, another phenomenon that I have observed suggests that
when a person reaches a certain level of self-awareness and wholeness it
appears like they find the liberty to move away from the NGO sector.
This so-called caring sector is usually based on (what we could call) a
band-aid model of social development - a model of giving that is motivated by
the givers needs, and often done with limited participation of the target group
34

i.e. it is an unbalanced equation.
In summary, it is my perspective that the motivations that predominate this
field are those that offer relief to the individual (or company owners) for their
own cognitive dissonance (inner conflict) rather than being a participation in a
broad-based community-lead social development activity; for ourselves, by
ourselves, matching resources for equal benefit. This is largely due to the way
we have deconstructed aspects of our lives, and the related issues of society,
separating them into individuated parts that we then approach outside of the
systemic context in which they exist. We are thus restricted in identifying
causal dynamics of any issues. This approach limits our sense of
responsibility in, and for, the wellbeing of our fellow inhabitants of our land i.e.
the socio-economic issues that are the context of our lives.
Band-aid and inconsistency
The current band-aid approach to social and economic inequality does not
address the causes of inequality; resulting in poverty, injustice, and violence.
To me, this model of socio-economic response is not sustainable, nor
replicable. An example of how disconnected our lives have become, and the
un-sustainability of our approach, is when the economy takes a knock (when
investor confidence drops) the result is less money for social development,
shelters, hunger relief programmes, etc. and those that are excluded from the
formal economy lose again.
Troubled by this inconsistency and deconstructed perspective I have
wanted to find a perspective that offers insight into this current model of care
for each other (our people), and hopefully a way to integrate social action into
our lives rather than perceiving it as a separate issue, and therefore belonging
to a separate socio-economic sector and those responsible for it. Giving
away the responsibility for socio-economic injustice and inequality to
government or the NGO sector is an avoidance of the difficult, and often
uncomfortable, task of putting, what we in South Africa call, Ubuntu into
practice.
Change worldview
How do we integrate a care and responsibility for all into our lives so that it
is not a cost, nor a burden?
Firstly, it will take a change in worldview, or perspective, with regard to who
we are. This requires cultivating a meta-perspective, seeing a broader context,
35

a birds-eye view of our lives. From there we will shift towards a realisation of
our collective (connected) selves - one species. Even more, spirit beings
taking human physical form with the purpose of learning through relationships.
Recognising the resource of relationship, indeed that relationships are the
primary resource and purpose of our existence, will contribute to seeing our
lives less as a competition than a common life-experience. If the rules of
success change from individuals racing each-for-themselves, to one-team that
needs to cross the line collectively we can begin to see a way of engaging the
activities of our lives that would be more sustainable, and a lot more happy.
If we are each a piece of a large puzzle, then we need not compare
ourselves to each other and are freed to celebrate our difference. Diversity
becomes necessary, as does finding a fit between myself and yourself so that
we can build the puzzle. Constructing a collective life-puzzle is a different
experience to pulling a puzzle apart and comparing each piece for size and
shape and setting up rules for which is better.
Recognise the resource in simplicity, and the spaces of simplicity. The
resource in people.
Marry the resource of wealth-of-meaning and meta-perspective with the
resource of money.
Owning our lives
The process of exploring and understanding Sovereignty (as in an

Empowered Responsible Responsive Person) vs freedom is intended to
contribute to the process of us evolving as individuals from the current
psycho-socio-political perspective that we hold (are positioned in) into a more
collective cooperative and relational existence.
In order to adapt the way we do things (our behaviour), we will need to
understand why, and agree that, this is desirable and necessary. While there
are numerous logical arguments, and empirical data, that will contribute to a
cognitive understanding for this shift, there are more subtle inner process that
must occur for any personal (and therefore social) transformation.
Broad Based Social Development
It is my opinion that only when we realise and experience that it is of direct

benefit to myself (and my family) to be aware of, and care for, those who live
36

near me will we begin to meld the notion of Social Development and personal
advancement.
To separate Social Development as a distinct and other component of our
lives is to further the us and them comparative - competitive perspective that
divides-and-rules us through fear.
We live in context: spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically. Our
environment (in each of these planes) determines our health. Being aware of,
and engaging with, each of these broad aspects of our Selves is necessary for
gaining an integral health - a whole health.
37
Reasons for seeking a collective and cooperative way

Intro
I dont know where to startalphabetically, thematicallysince the benefits

are many and apply to all aspects of our lives and Selves.
Ill try again later;-)
See also Bill Metcalfs book The Findhorn book of Community Living (2004,
Findhorn press).
38
Land search criteria

Intro
We envision hundreds of Eco-Communities (collectives of people) around

South Africa, thus the criteria to be used for determining an appropriate piece
of land will vary according to the desires and needs of each collective.
In order to match people with land we have chosen to ask people to fill in
personal wish lists that give a broad idea of what they want and how they
imagine they might do it. In this way we expect clusters of people will emerge
with similar requirements in terms of the land and its use, and hopefully
matching people in terms of their expectations of a more common life.
Each unique and specific group, and will be based on their suggested
requirements for their use in living, generating income, and service to society.
Included in the wish-list questionnaires are items like distance from a city,
distance from the coast or a mountain, number of hectares, size of collective
(number of units), income generation requirements and ideasetc.
The questionnaires / wish-lists included or listed below show the criteria
that we have considered. (If there are any other essential criteria please let us
know).
39
Eco-Land Questionnaire
The purpose of this questionnaire is to network those who are wanting to move to
land-based community. It wont be used to include or exclude anyone. Not all
questions need to be answered, and you are invited to answer them creatively, with
a bit of sparkle. You may not feel all questions are necessary you are invited to use
them to share a little more of yourself.
The questionnaire will be given to anyone attending one of the meetings held by this
emerging community. The questionnaire will be held in confidentiality by the People
task team - a team that anyone is able to join until all those that have filled one in
decide collectively how to use the data. The primary initial purpose is to find who is
ready, by when, and what resources can be provided to find the land we belong to.
Please also send your contact details, and area you currently live in. They wont be
kept with the questionnaire.
Please reduce font of questions before sending, so your answers are bigger and
clearer.
Name:
Potential Involvement in this Community
In what way would you like to be involved in a land-based community?
founder/ resident/ investor/ advisor/ observer/ woofer/ other
When are you wanting to move to land?
When are you ready to move?
Living on site full/part time?
Long term or short term?
Economics
Current Employment?
Past Employment/Studies?
If any, what funds do you have to buy land?
If any, what funds do you have to buy or build a home?
Are these joint funds with another potential member?
Are these funds available now (relevant conditions for availability)?
Can you raise funds in other ways? Business interests?
Would you be interested in doing NGO work from the land?
Will you work from the site, or outside?
How do you imagine earning currency if needed?
Do you need to be near a town, or near Cape Town?
How will people without start-up funds join the community?
Ecology
How big a plot would meet your needs/desires?
How many people living on plot?
How would you use this plot?
Would you build your own home, co-house, accommodate ready-built structure?
How big a piece of land for whole community would match your vision?
How many people can you envision on the land roughly?
40

Do you have an interest in farming?
How far from Cape Town in hours drive?
Prefer in the mountains, closer to coast, both?
Any other particular land or home characteristics?
Social/Family
Size and nature of family to be in your home, or on a plot? Pets?
Any potential family to join in the future? On your plot or elsewhere?
Any structures needed/wanted for your family?
What events would you like to see or help create in the community?
Personal/worldview
Age (roughly)?
Do you know any jokes?
Languages spoken (underline first language):
Areas of interest/hobbies/sports?
Skills/abilities to offer community?
Skills/abilities wishing to develop?
Resources to share?
Preferred diet?
Any habits?
Do you have a particular spiritual orientation or belief system?
Is there anything you do not want in the community?
Anything to share on your vision for land-based community? Any other notes or
suggestions?
Hambela Phambili questionnaire

There is an online questionnaire contributing to this process on the
Hambela Phambili website. This link begins the process of engaging the
questionnaire.
41
Community Personal wish list

Commitment:
Readiness
Time Span For Star3ng
Financial:
Money Availability
(in bank, need to sell our house/business)
How do you envisage earning an income?
For farm buying

R
For property development R
Monthly income:
R
R
Community PorHolio:
Children
Mid-Age (20-50yrs)
Wise Elders
Maximum Number (0=10, 10=200)
Educa3on/Courses/Retreats
Agricultural
School
Produc3vity
Cultural Events
Specic Interests:
Anastasia
Atheist
Biodynamics
Buddhist
Chris3an (state if specic)
Hindu
Moslem
Osho
Outreach
Perelandra
Permaculture
Tantra
Ceremonial space
Others (please state)
42

Farm Landscape Requirements:
Waterfall
Perennial River
Hilly
Mountainous
Flat Plains
Agricultural Land
Forest
Wilderness
Climate Zone:
Summer Rainfall
Winter Rainfall
Tropical
Temperate
Arid
Farm Infrastructure:
Exis3ng Buildings
Dams
Boreholes
Irriga3on Infrastructure
Farm Implements
Exis3ng Orchards
Equestrian Set-up
Milking Shed/Dairy
Previous Organic Prac3ce
Community Preferences
Rela3onships
Conict resolu3on style
Privacy
Communal Living
Personal Space (size of your piece)
Mul3cultural
Substance Use (ceremonial, recrea3onal, special occasions, private, Communal)
Alcohol, Marijuana
Drugs
Medicinal Plants
43

Community Size
Small 2-10 families
Medium 10-50 families
Large 50+ families
Limited Size?
Limited Expansion?
Neighbours
Isola3on
Informal Se`lement
Farms (Spraying?)
Nature Reserve
Other
Community Involvement
Work land yourself
Employ communal labourers
Use of machinery on land
Skills you have to oer the community
Farm/Smallholding Requirements:
Size (0=1Ha, 10=1000Ha+)
Proximity to City (10=0-10km, 0=500km+)
Proximity to Town/Village (10=0-10km, 0=500km+)
Proximity to Sea (10=0-10km, 0=500km+)
Proximity to Mountains (10=0-10km, 0=500km+)
Proximity to Highway (10=0-10km, 0=500km+)
Proximity to Tar Road (10=0-10km, 0=500km+)
Proximity to Hospital (10=0-10km, 0=500km+)
Other
Wi & other radia3on devices
Alterna3ve currencies
Business you would like to have on the land
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[THIS IS A REAL EXAMPLE]
My vision (your name): AHM
Most important clean water and air, and arable fertile lend that can produce food.
If the current economic situation continues I would like a means to earn income, i.e.
Providing accommodation & retreat space.
It will be important to have sustainable energy sources.
In terms of defining socioeconomic and spiritual world views, I personally would like
to move towards more local, more sustainable and renewable ways of living, in
which we strive to live more consciously. I do also feel it is important to encourage
diversity, to explore ourselves in relating when challenges emerge. I would like there
to be differing ways that people are able to contribute financially/energetically. I
personally have been interested in teachings in mindfulness and Buddhism, Rudolf
Steiner, mystic Christian texts, Vedic texts and shamanic teachings. I would not like
to prescribe what people should believe.
A home:
that is warm, welcoming, colourful, child friendly with a big kitchen, for living & playing in,
that is warm has a fire, big table and couch. That it uses light optimally so it is light, it is
warm in winter and cool in summer. A system of recycling that works, that I can put compost
into my/our garden. I want the house to feel open to friends and family, be able to host
family, stimulate creativity, artistic endeavors, relaxed and with music playing. Lovely if it is
organic, made with natural materials (as much as we are able), and has original features
like peacock gate, heart strings.
A community:
is to have a more local, more inclusive, natural life, which focuses on relationship between
people and our relationship with the Earth. I would love to be surrounded by friends and
family and a thriving, vibrant, stimulating and relaxed community. I would like my children to
grow up in a place where they can have meaningful relationships with other adults and
children of all ages; and in which they are free to be adventurous, to be creative, to feel
loved. I hope to have more time with my family, and in my own creativity than the pursuit of
income in capitalist work enables me. I hope our community can be a place for people to
come holiday, to retreat, to learn, teach, experience, and from this strong and supportive
foundation to actively serve the Earth and each other and to evolve consciously. I hope that
there can be use of sustainable technologies such as using grey water, using solar and wind
energy. I hope that we can share responsibility for food gardens and grow in permaculture
way (not monoculture). I would like a focus on leadership and thinking that is cooperative
and co-creative and seeks not profit but abundance for all.
A lifestyle:
I would like time to work, play, love, create, yoga and sleep and connect to natural cycles. I
hope for an abundant internal economy, which can empower surrounding communities. I
hope to, as part of a group is able to live more sustainably, recycle more, limit my
consumption, use free energy, use energy wisely, and share. I hope I can eat food that is
more raw, grown by us and organic. I hope to be a living example for how all could live in
this country in greater relationship, with less alienation, less wealth divine, less greed, fewer
lifestyle diseases and more health in body, mind and world. I hope to also live closely to
other sentient beings dogs, horses, nature.
A work:
I would like my work to be artistic, with children, include a mentoring/training element, to
45

facilitate transformation, depth and soul work. I would love to hold an accepting,
understanding, gentle space for people which enables people to feel belonging, see their
potential, to be seen, and express their uniqueness in community. I would love to be
engaged in healing work- art psychotherapy, in education, in development and training,
linking art, therapy, yoga, ceramics, listening and mindfulness. I would love to host an earth/
grandmother university, teaching womens spirituality, creative holding spaces, skills for
engaging children, reflective practice.
A school:
that develops whole child, creativity, child in social context, A space in which a child feel
happy, belonging, interconnected with nature and others, as well as recognition of their
unique contribution. A space, which is enabling and inspiring. I am interested in Waldorf
ways of education.
Income generation:
I envisage that we may need less direct profit by needing to consume less, and providing
more through internal economy- own labour, own food. However I intend for income to live
comfortably- to come through retreat centre, healing arts, yoga, psychological and creative
arts, sale of arts and crafts, permaculture training, school and education provision,
accommodation, eco-tourism and retreat (various styles- woofer/conference/ training/
retreat)
My passions.
I love holding gentle, accepting, creative space for people to see their potential, to
heal & transform and access their authentic self.
To provide a loving enabling environment for my children (that includes access to

other caring adults, nature, creativity.)
Contributing to be the change that we want to see in the world- evolution of

consciousness, living as part of the earth not in opposition or with domination over
her, living in relationship to my larger self and to others. (Living more sustainably,
locally, in relationship).
Being able to do more of my own creative work
THE END
46

[THIS IS A REAL EXAMPLE]
My Vision Dream Hope and Determination: JM
I want more and more joy in my life. Simple.

Ill say it again, I want abundant joy in my life.
Oh, and I would be abundantly joyful if there were abundance in some of
the other areas of my life too (e.g. financial, hint hint - to the cosmic
coordinators, not you the reader unless you have not revealed your true self!).
Throughout my vast 45 years of experience (well, perhaps only 40
conscious years), I have come to know that I am a Homo Communitas (as
suggested by Bill Metcalf in his book that I quoted near the beginning of this
document - so go back and read it :-). All this is to say that the more friends
and family I have close by with whom I can participate on a daily basis the
more joy there is in my life. I know that when the concentric circles of people
near me are deliberate in their participation with each other in the what we call
the mundane the more sacred these spaces become.
It is in the Sacred that I delight.
I want a little house in which to live with my partner and children. An abode
that is within earshot of the next little house of deliberate and collectiveconscious persons so that I feel secure.
Security for me is knowing that if Maya-Faye were to leave the house at
high delight and high speed, and happen to slam into another 4-year old living
with the same exuberance, that there would be an immediate response of
compassionate concern if I were tied up in dish-washing in the kitchen. I want
to know that as I look out for my neighbours so they look out for me - a
collective consciousness.
A collective of people that are seeking the best for themselves and those
around them, for everybody and, indeed, for every thing.
I would like to approach life as a team member. Id like to be part of a team
in each aspect of life: rest, work, learning and prayer. An approach to life that
starts with people (with us) as the reference point and then moves to work,
play, learning, and service. (Yes, Ive linked prayer and service deliberately;
not synonymous, but hand in hand.)
Clean air, water, and soil. Radiation free. Privacy from hustle and bustle.
47

Some mountain, valleys, and enough arable land to feed 150 people.
Within easy access to Cape Town, and the ocean. Primarily so that our
income generating possibilities are broader. So, lets say within 2hrs of CT.
Ive mentioned Cape Town twice now, so youll be forgiven if you conclude
that I want to be in the Western Cape near Cape Town.
My preferred location is the Villiersdorp - Genadendal - Greyton Riviersonderend area. But preferences are often indicators of attachments
and Im willing to let go this preference if shown to not fit in with the Divine will.
Ive thrown what I have at this endeavour so far; energy, love, tears, time,
expertise, connections and money. And Ill continue to do the same. In some
respects we need to set up income generating projects within the next 3
months (by March 2013).
Investment monies for the Integral Health & Healing centre are available
within 3 months of giving notice in terms of a Business Plan.
Investment monies for the buy-in to the Land Stewardship Membership
Body are available within 3months of giving notice in terms of Selling a
property.
Investment monies for the purchase of the land are available within 3
months of giving notice in terms of Selling a property.
Work, for me, needs to be a team sport that is as energising and exciting
as Soccer (by which I mean to say non-work). Where there is a team of us
taking on different and complimentary roles the content of the work is
superfluous. Having said that, I am called into the Healing arts, and in which I
delight, hence the proposal of an Integral Health & Healing Centre.
Working with Hemp is equally delightful in, for me, its healing capacities.
Im open to any other ideas you guessed it where there is a team.
I want space in my life to flower open in which I can learn, create and
perform music and song.
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Moving forward together

Our purpose here is multi-fold: to spark thinking, and hopefully clarity of

It is our perspective that the mainstream model of living - build on a divisive

In brief, we propose: bridging finance and strategic ownership vehicles for