In this section I am introducing through facts and photographs the six communities I visited. From the beginning I wanted to cover widest possible variety – different ideologies, different ways of organisation, different degrees of communality and different types of people, of course. And at the same time – while I was immersing myself in all of this – I decided not to visit anywhere I didn’t feel like going.
Ideologies and communities go hand in hand. It seems to me that ideology is the glue holding a group of people together. Ideologies can range anywhere between social justice or sustainability to religious causes. Ideologies have the power to unite and separate people from each other and I think that’s the reason why some people seem to be bit scared of communities.
Another important thing is food. All communities I visited prepare food together and share meals. Some share all meals of the day; some gather together just a couple of times per week. The quality of food is essential – organic food, self-farmed food, vegetarian or vegan food. The entire process – from growing, to preparing it, to sharing food – is greatly valued. And of course, it’s practical not having each person prepare each meal separately.
Also work is important. The motivation for work in a community comes at least partly from serving others, which is relatively rare in the outside world. In a community, you are assigned a certain role and expected to take care of it to the best of your abilities to be an eligible community member. In exchange the community provides you with sustenance and social networks.