While you may want to live in a resilient community, the gap between where you are today and actually living, working, and prospering in a real, tangible resilient community can seem as formidable as the Grand Canyon.
For many of us, this feeling is particularly acute when it comes to the social aspects of a resilient community. That makes sense. Our government and our economic system is predicated on making us ever more estranged from our families and neighbors. What they don’t tell us is that this atomized existence comes at a dire cost: complete and utter dependence on remote global systems. Systems that are now starting to break down, fail, and (in an increasing number of cases) crush us. So, it’s little wonder we don’t know much about what it takes to build a functional and thriving community. We simply have never lived in one.
Fortunately, I’m here to tell you that the challenge of building a resilient community, while tough, is possible. Others have done it. I’ve done extensive research to find real, tangible ways to build communities that thrive. Methods you can use to build a community that works or to find communities you want to participate in.
Let’s dive into this a bit. Obviously, there isn’t a pat answer to how best to start, build or organize a resilient community. It’s also contingent on the type of community you want to live in. However, there is a list of methods that you can select from to build a community. Here’s a quick overview of a method that has proven to be effective. I call it the:
The Resilient Hacker-space
The resilient hacker-space leverages a simple idea: that it is possible to make a good, solid income online. I’m not talking about get rich quick online income, I’m talking about a real income from actual work. Everything from telecommuting to a big company to running an online site to doing virtual consulting. People that make a living in this way can live anywhere they can get a good Internet connection.
The resilient hacker-space community starts simply. Two to three friends, with steady virtual incomes, have a common desire. They want to live in a resilient community. They spend some time plotting their grand escape, then pool their resources to buy some land in a great spot.
Soon this community has a dozen people living at the site. Some working the land full time, either growing food or building productive infrastructure. Everyone helping each other. New homes are going up every year, all within walking distance of each other. Everyone in the community is involved in growing the community. The external income from online work provides the working capital necessary to grow and evolve.
There’s lots more to this method than this. I’ll provide more on this and other methods in the future.
Your helping you wrap your head around community building analyst,
John Robb
