*What ecovillagers, permaculture teachers, and others are saying about Creating a Life Together :
“The indispensable, state-of-the-art, ‘how-to’ book on starting a community from scratch.”
— Richard Heinberg, Peak Oil activist and author, The Party’s Over and Powerdown
“Every potential ecovillager should read it. This book will be an essential guide and manual for the many Permaculture graduates who live in communities or design for them.”
— Bill Mollison, co-founder of the Permaculture movement, and author, Permaculture: A Designer's Manual
“On my top three 'must-read' list for cohousers. I wish I'd had it when I started my first cohousing community!”
— Ann Zabaldo, Takoma Village Cohousing
“The book is a godsend....a serious book in a spritely style that packs a wallop!....Useful also to anyone already involved with community, Creating a Life Together will be the prime reference in its field for many years to come.”
— Peter Bane, Permaculture Activist Magazine
“Before aspiring community builders hold their first meeting, confront their first realtor, or drive their first nail, they must buy this essential book: it will improve their chances for success immensely, and will certainly save them money, time, and heartbreak. In her friendly but firm (and occasionally funny) way, Diana Christian proffers an astonishing wealth of practical information and sensible, field-tested advice.”
— Ernest Callenbach, author, Ecotopia and Ecotopia Emerging
“I stayed up till 2 am with this book! It would have saved our development partners repeated explanation, and we would have trusted their judgment far sooner. I recommend it for all cohousing groups—and cohousing professionals.”
— Sally Wright, Pleasant Hill Cohousing
“Wow! 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 (1083), which documented the Twin Oaks community, have I seen a more useful and inspiring book on intentional community.”
— Hazel Henderson, author Creating Alternative Futures and Politics of the Solar Age.
“A really valuable resource for anyone thinking about intentional community. I wish I had it years ago.”
— Starhawk, author of Webs of Power, The Spiral Dance, and The Fifth Sacred thing — and long-time community member.
“Creating a new culture of living peacefully with each other and the planet is our number one need—and this is the right book at the right time. Creating a Life Together will help community founders avoid fatal mistakes. I can't wait to tell people about it.”
— Hildur Jackson, cofounder, Global Ecovillage Network (GEN); co-editor, Ecovillage Living: Restoring the Earth and Her People.
“While anyone can build a village, a subdivision, or a housing development, the challenge is filling it with people who can get along, who can reach agreements, and who can achieve far more together than they ever could alone. If your aspiring ecovillage or intentional community gets even this far — and this awesome book will show you how — then maybe you have a realistic chance of living sustainably, and by example, of changing the world. My appreciation grows daily for this thorough, practical, and engaging guide.”
— Albert Bates, Director, Ecovillage Training Center, and International Secretary, Ecovillage Network of the Americas.
“So many well intended communities fail because they don't even know the questions to ask, let alone where to find answers. Creating a Life Together offers a wealth of detailed information to help communities find what is right for their specific situation, and greatly increase their odds of of their success.”
— Kathryn McCamant, cohousing architect, and coauthor of Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves
“Creating a Life Together is a comprehensive, engaging, practical, well-organized, and thoroughly digestible labor of love. Hopefully scores of wannabe community founders and seekers will discover it before they launch their quest for community, and avoid the senseless and sometimes painful lessons that come from trying to reinvent the wheel. This book is a gift to humanity — helping to move forward the elusive quest for community, fueling a quantum leap towards a fulfilling, just, and sustainable future.”
— Geoph Kozeny, producer/editor of video documentary, Visions of Utopia: Experiments in Sustainable Culture.
“Developing a successful community requires a special blend of vision and practicality woven together with wisdom. Consider this book a marvelous mirror. If the abundant, experience-based, practicality in this book delights you then you probably have the wisdom to realize your vision.”
— Robert Gilman, founding editor of In Context, A Quarterly of Humane Sustainable Culture, and author of Ecovillages And Sustainable Communities.
Chapter titles of Creating a Life Together:
1. The Successful Ten Percent — and Why Ninety Percent Fail
2. Your Role as Founder
3. Getting Off to a Good Start
4. Community Vision: What It Is, Why You Need It.
5. Creating Vision Documents
6. Power, Decision Making, and Governance
7. Agreements & Policies: “Good Documents Make Good Friends”
8. Making It Real Establishing Your Legal Entity
9. The Great Land-Buying Adventure. Finding the Right Property.
10. Neighbors and Zoning
11. Financing Your Property (Loans You Can Live With)
12. Developing Sustainable Human Settlements
13. Internal Community Finances (Can We Afford to Live There?)
14. Legal Entities for Owning Land
15. If You're Using a Tax-Exempt Non-Profit
16. Communication, Process, and Dealing with Conflict: The Heart of Healthy Community
17. Selecting People to Join You
*from the publisher