CSI Book Club: Toronto Urban Ecovillage Exploration
For some people, it’s a lifelong dream; for others, it’s an emerging curiosity. Whatever your motivation, there has never been a more important time to explore intentional community living. Amid serious political, economic, and ecological crises, many are discovering the joy and hope that communal living can bring.
Interested in learning more? Join us this fall for a five-week reading group exploring the vision of urban ecovillage living.
Together, we’ll meet biweekly starting Thursday 8th October, 6-8pm, to discuss short, selected readings that explore the basics of intentional community living. Questions we’ll consider include:
What is intentional community?
Why live in an intentional community?
And, is intentional community right for me?
This is an intentionally open space for exploration. There are no commitments, just an opportunity to begin exploring the meaning and possibilities of community life.
We've tried to make this series accessible, by keeping it free to members and just $5 a session to non-members, so please share with those you think may be interested.
Your questions answered —
1. What are intentional communities / urban ecovillages?
The Foundation for Intentional Community defines an intentional community as “a group of people who have chosen to share resources on the basis of common values.” They come in many forms and “model more cooperative, sustainable, and just ways of life.” Ecovillages are a type of intentional community that focus on ecologically sustainable and regenerative ways of living.
2. Is this reading group intended to start a community?
No — and maybe.
Our fall reading group is intended to be an open and exploratory space. However, we anticipate that some participants may want to go further, given the kinds of people typically drawn to these conversations and the deep longing for community that many of us share.
At the end of the reading group, we will invite those who are interested to consider taking the next step by forming a group to explore the possibility of creating an intentional community. However, this remains only a possibility at this point and is not the primary purpose of the reading group.
3. Who is hosting this reading group?
Clare and Isaiah met earlier this year in a degrowth reading group and started talking one day about ecovillages and intentional communities. Having both been involved in and around intentional communities in the past, they felt it was the right time to start this conversation in Toronto!
4. What are we reading?
We’ll be reading selections from two books —
Yana Ludwig’s “Building Belonging”
Diane Leafe Christian’s “Finding Community.”
We curated these readings from a wider selection as excellent places to begin exploring these ideas. We’ve intentionally kept readings to about 10 pages per session.
Week 1-3: Yana Ludwig’s “Building Belonging.”
Thu, Oct 8 — Introduction: What Time Is It? [p1-12]
Why intentional communities are increasingly relevant amid housing, loneliness, environmental, and social challenges, and how to use the book.
Thu, Oct 22 — What Is Community? [p13-24]
Examines the meaning of community, different forms of belonging, and why healthy communities are essential to human flourishing.
Thu, Nov 5 — What Is an Intentional Community? [p25-34]
Defines intentional communities, distinguishes them from other housing arrangements, and surveys different models such as cohousing, ecovillages, housing cooperatives, communes, and shared households.
Week 4 & 5: Diane Leafe Christian’s “Finding Community”
Thu, Nov 19 — Chapter 2 - Fears of Living in Community [p13-19]
This chapter explores common fears people have around living in community.
Thu, Dec 3 — Chapter 12 - What does it take to live in community [p95-101]
This chapter explores the practical & relational “requirements” of living well in community.
Wrap-Up. In our final session we will take stock of our learnings so far, highlighting key themes & questions emerging from our readings & discussions.
If you can, we recommend you BYOBook.
However, with the short lead time, we have sourced digital copies. And if you aren’t able to get something in time, get in touch and we can see how we can accommodate.
Finding Community: How to Join an Ecovillage or Intentional Community, by Diana Leafe Christian
Paperback or digital PDF (Canadian distributor)
Building Belonging, by Yana Ludwig
Paperback (Toronto)
Digital copy (US)