Christian Diana Leafe. Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities

New Society Publishers, 2003. — 250 p."The newest, most comprehensive bible for builders of intentional communities. Covers every aspect with vital information and dozens of examples of how successful communities faced the challenges and created their shared lives out of their visions. The cautionary tales of sadder experiences and how communities fail, will help in avoiding the pitfalls. Not since I wrote the Foreword to Ingrid Komar's Living the Dream (1983), which documented the Twin Oaks community, have I seen a more useful and inspiring book on this topic." — Hazel Henderson, author creating alternative futures and politics of the Solar Age.Introduction: Creating a life together
The Successful Ten Percent
What Are Intentional Communities and Ecovillages?
Cohousing Communities
Why Now?
What You’ll Learn Here
Is this Information Really Necessary?
Is this Advice Corporate?
How to Use this Book
Planting the seeds of healthy community
The successful ten percent – And why ninety percent fail
Your role as founder
Getting off to a good start
Community vision - what it is, why you need it
Creating vision documents
Power, decision-making, and governance
Sprouting new community: techniques & tools
Agreement & policies: "Good documents make good friends"
Making it real: establishing your legal entity
The great land-buying adventure
Finding the right property
Neighbors and zoning
Financing your property (loans you can live with)
Developing sustainable human settlements
Internal community finances (can we afford to live there?)
Legal entities for owning property
If you're using a tax-exempt non-profit
Thriving in community - enriching the soil
Communication, process, and dealing with conflict: The heart of healthy community
Selecting people to join you
Appendix
Sample community vision documents
Sample community agreements
Setting up and maintaining A 501 (C)3 Non-Profit