This is a comparison between an ecovillage that will remain unnamed, and Dancing Rabbit.
Darnit.
I had been juggling all these pieces, but I wasn't quite sure what to do with them. But today, it all came together.
Here are the pieces. Many very interesting & very ecological ecovillages have a very high entry cost/membership fee. On top of this, they have high fees to buy into the leasing or land system.
Dancing Rabbit is all the opposite. There are no initial fees, and very low leasing fees. Many people live (well) here with an annual income of $2K, 3K, or just a little more (yes, less then 5,000 dollars) !
This is truly a marvelously low number. The reason is because almost all of the dwellings are built by the rabbits themselves, and almost all of the materials are salvaged from demolition crews.
This Rabbit I was working with today lived for a while at another amazing ecovillage that has been under a lot of internal pressure (understatement).
She posited that these pressures stemmed from:
-A large entrance fee that also acts as a preventative to leaving,
>so thus, people feel trapped if they want to escape,
& , >people feel entitled to their desires and opinions about the land, leaving less room for community vision and consensus.
(For example, many people spent most of their savings, and cannot be bought out because few people are joining)
From this, I take the following.
Debt puts you into a manipulated agreement (obviously). This has effects upon those around you that never knowingly entered into that agreement.
Debt is a compromise on the future (and your future desires) in favor of your present desires.
Not having debt allows you to express yourself in a manner more fluid responsive to your current state. This also allows you to enter into debate and consensus decision making.
This is because consensus requires some kind of pact between people, based upon their mutual participation and embeddedness in some sort of organization.
Of course, all of this in balance with participants' endebtedness to other obligations.
So, this unnamed ecovillage (unknowingly) made many people financially compromise into an agreement that only amorphously defined the resulting privileges. The weight of the debt was/is so great that the details bring up emotions too strong to handle in a public and civic manner, aka, suitable for consensus.
These emotions create tension that instigate the fight-or-flee instinct.
Unfortunately, the participants are bound by their financial commitment. They remain, although feeling trapped.
With these emotions, the decision-making process in the village continues to lose shape & decompose.
VERY DIFFERENT FROM DANCING RABBIT.
The loose, yet clearly defined, entry and exit requirements of Dancing Rabbit allow conflict to be dealt with in an efficient and uninhibited fashion. Over time, this creates a culture that facilitates efficiency, honesty, respect, personal boundaries, and confidence.
I know that sounds like a big step.
But this is because if the system isn't working for them, they only lose the life they created at Dancing Rabbit.
Apart from the house they built (which the Land Trust at Dancing Rabbit will buy from you by default), they risk no initial downpayment or other large investment.
This keeps the energy flowing. Both in & out.
In conclusion, keep the ownership of debt, and fees for participation clear. This means, keep the benefits, finances, and decision-making out in the open, and tailored to different needs without unduly privileging some.
Keep the financial barriers to entry and exit LOW.
Keep the acculturation, resident, and membership process clear, pleasant, long enough, and inexpensive.
Thanks!
(More on the culture of consensus later!)
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