The purpose of this site is to encourage ongoing conversations among intentional communities across the Northwest, including planning and follow-up discussions for face-to-face gatherings and special events.
FIC Directory and Event Listings
NICA is affiliated with the Fellowship of Intentional Communities (FIC) and manages a special section on the FIC Web site.
Among the many benefits of community living is sharing the joy of relationships. Join us at the Ananda Community Lynnwood for a day of exploring the world of intentional community. Our focus will be Relationships in Community, including workshop/discussions on
Having more harmonious relationships
Romantic relationships in community
Leadership, authority, and influence
Working out conflicts in community
And we will all make some new friends and share in our own community for the day.
BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE DAY:
10-12 Opening circle, introductions, reports, etc.
noon Potluck lunch – bring a dish to share
1pm Excerpts from the new movie Within Reach, a bike tour of 100 intentional communities
2-4 Workshop/discussions, led by members of several local communities
4-5 A Tour of the Ananda Community
All are welcome. We ask for a $10 donation to defray costs for the day
DETAILS
Event: NICA Spring Gathering
Date: Saturday April 13, 2013
Time: 10am to 5pm
Location: Ananda Community of Lynnwood (20715 Larch Way, Lynnwood WA, just off exit 181A on I-5)
In January, NICA Board Members Larry Rider and Nancy Lanphear made a trip to visit the following communities in Portland:
Peninsula Park Cohousing
Columbia Ecovillage
Kailash Ecovillage
Trillium Hollow Cohousing
Cascadia Commons Cohousing
Ananda Community of Portland
Daybreak Cohousing
We also visited Woodard Lane Cohousing in Olympia, WA.
We were given tours of these communities and spent time talking with some community residents. It was good to hear stories of the activities and challenges of communities that we had not connected with for several years. Challenges included financial issues, participation in community activities, loss of former members, and connection with other communities.
We were pleased to find that PDX Coho, a group of most of these communities, has been meeting quarterly and exchanging information about nuts and bolts of community life. We also visited the Ananda College at Laurelwood, in Gaston, OR, where we will be helping with a course this fall on Intentional Communities and Sustainability.
Altogether it was a fulfilling and inspiring trip to see the current state of IC’s in the Portland area.
The Ananda Community of Lynnwood welcomes everyone to an Open House and Solstice celebration from 1pm to 7pm on Saturday, June 22, 2013.
There will be tours, presentations, and opportunities to ask questions about this thriving intentional spiritual community. There will be booths of various Ananda projects, food and entertainment, and tours of the community. The afternoon concludes with a Solstice Celebration gathering from 6 to 7 pm, featuring speakers from other Intentional communities, and a spaghetti dinner.
DETAILS:
Event: Open House and Solstice Celebration
Date: Saturday, June 22, 2013
Time: 1 to 7 pm
Venue: Ananda Community of Lynnwood (20715 Larch Way, Lynnwood WA 98036, (425) 778-4628)
WITHIN REACH explores one couple’s pedal-powered search for a place to call home. Mandy and Ryan gave up their jobs, cars and traditional houses to “bikepack” 6,500 miles for nearly 2 years around the USA seeking sustainable community.
Rather than looking in a traditional neighborhood, they begin to recognize that community is the secret ingredient to living sustainably on this planet. Along the way, they explored 100 Ecovillages, Cohousing Communities, Co-op Houses, Communes, Transition Towns and their own principles and commitment. In the end they return to the timeless truth that community is people; they are everywhere; and there is room for everyone.
Both their journey and their film have answered the question that they and many others are asking: How can we pass along a lush, beautiful, sustainable world to future generations? After circling the country and interviewing hundreds of Americans, they have found that by reaching within, sustainable community is Within Reach. In fact, it’s already here.
Larry Rider, Nancy Lanphear and others from NICA (Northwest Intentional Communities Ass’n) will lead a short discussion afterwards about the issues raised in the film. They will and also talk about the vibrant Intentional Communities here in the Seattle area, how to connect with a community near you, and other topics of local interest.
The cost is $10 which helps to defray the costs of producing this film.
EVENT DETAILS
Event: Screening and discussion of film, Within Reach
Date: Saturday, March 23, 2013
Time: 3:00 to 5:00 pm
Location: East West Bookshop (6500 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115; 206-523-3726; events@eastwestbookshop.com)
Right around 50 folks attended at least part of the NICA Fall Gathering 2012.
Thanks to everyone who participated, particularly David Mcleod, who offered a presentation on Transition Whatcom, and Jamie Jedinak and other members of the Wooley Mammoth who so graciously hosted this year’s event.
Here are a few glimpses of the event. Notes from the afternoon Open Space sessions will be posted soon.
NICA will sponsor a free public talk on the subject “Intentional Communities: Past, Present, and Future Directions” on Thursday, Nov. 15 from 7 to 8:30pm at the East West Bookshop (6500 Roosevelt NE) in Seattle.
The talk will be given by Laird Schaub, popular speaker on intentional communities and executive secretary of the Fellowship of Intentional Communities (FIC), NICA’s parent organization.
We hope you will join us for this inspiring evening as we explore the dynamic role that the expanding communities movement is having in building a co-operative culture.
DETAILS
Event: Intentional Communities: Past, Present, and Future Directions
Presenter: Laird Schaub, Executive Secretary, Fellowship of Intentional Communities
The Transition Movement has spread quickly since it’s initiation in Great Britain, including several efforts here in the Northwest.
Key leadership of the movement in the Pacific Northwest will be leading sessions at the NICA Fall Gathering 2012. See more information here, and register for the event here.
We are sharing this reminder from the Fellowship of Intentional Communities of the fantastic resources available on their Web site:
Click on logo to visit Fellowship of Intentional Communities Web site
Explore our Website
edited by McCune Porter, eNews staff
The Fellowship for Intentional Community nurtures connections and cooperation among communitarians and their friends. We provide publications, referrals, support services, and sharing opportunities for a wide range of intentional communities, cohousing groups, ecovillages, community networks, support organizations, and people seeking a home in community.
Looking for more information, in more depth, in your quest for community? The Resources section and the Wiki at the FIC family of websites present an array of free services to help deepen your understanding of intentional community life, including the following : FIC logo
Reference Articles
REACHBook bulletin board
Events Calendar
The Intentional Community Wiki
Community Classifieds (free and helpful to read, not free to post)
REFERENCE ARTICLES. The FIC has permanently posted in the reference article section a number of particularly valuable articles of general interest to those interested in intentional community, including a complete set of the excellent and much-requested 30+ articles which were printed in the print 2000 Communities Directory.
A few examples:
What’s True About Intentional Communities: Dispelling the Myths
Permaculture: The Path to a Sustainable Future
Intentional Communities: Lifestyles Based on Ideals
REACHBook Bulletin Board.REACHbook is a public notice board for people looking for community, communities forming, and communities looking for people, as well as a place to post about resources directly relevant to intentional community. Posting is free.
The bulletin board is a very active one―thousands of postings have been made. Posts are found in the following categories:
Community Forming
Community With Opening
Comments
Other
Resources
Seeking Community
Instructions for posting your message can be found here.
EVENTS CALENDAR. The Community Events Calendar contains listings of gatherings, festivals, conferences, workshops and other community related events. There is no charge to post your community-related event here. Follow the simple instructions found here to post your event.
A few of the most recently posted events:
August 25—26 Wilderness Survival Camp
August 31—September 3 Twin Oaks Communities Conference
September 8 Manitou Arbor Ecovillage Orientation
September 15—16 Permaculture Design Course—first of six weekends
We invite you to visit the Resources section of the FIC’s websites today!
THE INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY WIKI. We are growing the IC wiki into a collection of shared knowledge, information, and resources for intentional communities, those interested in intentional communities, and those interested in creating more community in their lives in whatever form. Read it, enjoy, and then please pitch in to help us improve the content!
Wikis are user-created, written and edited by their online community of users—Wikipedia is the best known example.
COMMUNITY CLASSIFIEDS.Listings of land/houses/real estate for sale, services, job opportunities, products, and publications offered by, and of interest to, intentional communities.
We’re estimating that we can handle up to 50 participants, so please register as soon as you know you can come!
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Join us at the NICA Fall Gathering on October 20, 2012, at Wooley Mammoth Community to explore the topic, Transitioning: Relationships, Resilience & Sustainability.
Many intentional communities (ICs) have led the way in being more sustainable, even if that’s not their stated purpose. Some that have sustainability as a primary goal are finding there is more discussion and more awareness of it in the wider culture.
We’ll look at ways in which attendees might might become more resilient. Come and share your own experiences and insights on how ICs are already more sustainable than most other North American living situations. We’ll also see how we can become more flexible and sustainable culturally as well as with our resources in a future with less oil and petroleum-based products, when we will not be able to depend on cars and long distance delivery systems for our food and other basic needs. Ongoing climate change could result in decaying infrastructures or even crash the globalized economy.
Within the framework of the Transition Movement, set into motion by the book, Transition Towns (first edition 2007) by Rob Hopkins, we’ll engage in a series of conversations to take inventory of our current strengths and challenges, and add ideas into the mix of how we can improve.
We plan to show an introductory video and review what’s been launched right here in our region, with the example of “Transition Whidbey.” Then we propose talking about the skill sets and systems which increase the flow of information between communities for mutual benefit. We may also examine how we can exchange ideas and resources with our happenstance neighbors, the people living and working around us – gearing up for what may be of necessity more decentralized systems, depending less on larger governmental, corporate or public utility systems.
Current Details (more to follow):
Event: NICA Fall Gathering – Transitioning: Relationships, Resilience & Sustainability
Date: Saturday, October 20, 2012
Time: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Location: Woolley Mammath Community (29148 Outlook Ln Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284)
Just received this exciting message from our colleagues at Clearwater Commons. If you are available, you may want to stop by.
Clearwater Commons, the most comprehensive low impact development project in the Puget Sound, is being featured on the 2012 Green Home Tour April 21 & 22, from 10am – 4pm.
The only site in Snohomish County on the tour, Clearwater Commons provides a unique blend of low impact features, energy efficiencies and the latest in green home building techniques. Situated on seven acres in a suburban environment alongside North Creek, the site includes raingardens in the right of way, pervious pavements, wetland mitigation and homes on pin-pile foundations.
Deck and Trellis
With five of 16 homes in the final stages of completion, the Green Home Tour will showcase an affordable blend of features that maximize energy efficiency and integrate low impact development, with such elements as advanced framing, heat recovery ventilation systems, zero VOC finishes and ample insulation. The Commons is also the home of the Mini B, one of the first certified “Passive Houses” in Washington. At 300 sq ft, the Mini B uses only $100 per year in heating costs, the returns of building tight and ventilating right.
Clearwater Reach of North Creek
The model development took six years from conception to occupancy, due to its original approaches and green commitment. The story of the Common’s long road through permitting and financing hurdles is featured in the article “The Clearwater Commons Story: Turning Low Impact Development into Positive Impact Development”.
An intentional co-housing community, Clearwater Commons is a designed as a pedestrian friendly village with common garden, shop, storage shed, guesthouse and creekside acreage. Commons members will be on site during the two day tour, as will sponsors, partners and suppliers of featured building materials.
Clearwater Commons Featured Site on 2012 Green Home Tour – April 21 & 22
Clearwater Commons, the most comprehensive low impact development project in the Puget Sound, is being featured on the 2012 Green Home Tour April 21 & 22, from 10am – 4pm.
The only site in Snohomish County on the tour, Clearwater Commons provides a unique blend of low impact features, energy efficiencies and the latest in green home building techniques. Situated on seven acres in a suburban environment alongside North Creek, the site includes raingardens in the right of way, pervious pavements, wetland mitigation and homes on pin-pile foundations.
With five of 16 homes in the final stages of completion, the Green Home Tour will showcase an affordable blend of features that maximize energy efficiency and integrate low impact development, with such elements as advanced framing, heat recovery ventilation systems, zero VOC finishes and ample insulation. The Commons is also the home of the Mini B, one of the first certified “Passive Houses” in Washington. At 300 sq ft, the Mini B uses only $100 per year in heating costs, the returns of building tight and ventilating right.
An intentional co-housing community, Clearwater Commons is a designed as a pedestrian friendly village with common garden, shop, storage shed, guesthouse and creekside acreage. Commons members will be on site during the two day tour, as will sponsors, partners and suppliers of featured building materials.
