Lucy Sargisson School of Politics and International Relations University of Nottingham Property and Intentional Communities

Intentional Communities

Property: »Homes, land, houses, estate »Possessions »Money, economy, system of exchange »Relationships to other people »Relationship to work

Mixed ownership Combination of individual and collective ownership Found in Ecovillages Co-Housing Groups

Mixed Ownership Mixture: collective and individual ownership Otamatea EcoVillage

Findhorn Foundation

‘Living in community is how the people at Findhorn express their commitment to a daily life that actively brings spiritual and sustainable values into practice. Taking part in the community means meditating together, working together, growing and preparing food together, welcoming guests together, building houses together and well celebrating with song and dance together. All these aspects of life and more are food for the continued growth of consciousness towards a peaceful and sustainable life.’ (

Collective Ownership Wholly owned by Trusts Co-operatives Found in Communes Religious Communities Housing Co-ops

Collective ownership: Graham Downs Community/Renaissance

Co-operatives: Chippenham Community

Co-operatives You are both tenant and landlord, but you own the thing without actually owning it. In the primary rules of our co-op (which are registered, with The Friendly Society) you can’t sell a co-op property for personal profit. So I can’t just sell my share of The Mill. We, as a collective, could sell The Mill, but we’d have to reinvest the money from the sale in something used for similar purposes – common good. We’re more guardians than owners; we’re guardians of the co- operative, not owners. (Paul, People In Common, )

Collectively owned Community owns everything Bodhinyanarama Buddhist Monastery

Collectively Owned Community owns the land and houses Riverside Community (income pooling)

Collectively Owned Centrepoint Community Community owns everything

Mixed ownership EarthSong Co-Housing Neighbourhood