This is part of a series of articles in regard to building an intentional community. You can find all chapters here. Also, this is a draft, a point of starting the conversation so i encourage you to get involved.

The rooster Is crowing nearby. The sun has just come up from behind the forest. Is a light breeze that you can see in the tree leaves and the birds are chirping. You get out of bed and out of the house to enjoy the sun’s rays. Hm… there is a beetle on the trail and you have the time to admire it. One of your neighbors also got out of the house and is waving and smiling.

A lot of time has passed since the first building stone of this community has been laid, so you can now be part of it. A lot of work, of involvement, of mistakes, of backtracking, of tears of joy and of sadness. But there is more to be done and after you pass away and they will plant a tree in your honor, there will be more work to be done. This was never meant to be a temporary retreat but a „400 years cathedral” of endeavor.

So what is a community and why intentional?

We use the word community very freely for any group of people: the church, the village, the workplace, social media. We use the term for real groups in the real world or for groups in the digital environment. But are they communities? What is the glue besides a shared space, a shared desire for money, a shared fear?

A community is a group of people that shares common values and a common vision. In order for the community to be sustainable there should also be a social impact outside the community, in society and in the environment as a whole. Individuals and individuality are important building blocks, but humans are social animals and community is a natural need and a right.

So an intentional community must involve real humans that chose to move together, to live and work together, on the same land, sharing some spaces and co-owning different things. The act must be intentional so efort, energy, will power, creativity, abnegation will be invested to make it work. Must be intentional so when challenges arise, and they definitely will, they will be overcome.

But community is also freedom, freedom to become, to choose, to be involved, to search for solitude, to learn, to share, to discover. There are private spaces and common spaces, there are private buildings and common buildings, there are private objects and shared objects, there are solitary activities and group activities, there is paid involvement and voluntary involvement. The point of a community is not to limit human development but encourage it.