The MysTèR Community
living/working/creating/holiday/habitat/support community proposal
A shared tribal or fellowship
place model
(Dutch outline at http://www.lucsala.nl/community2.htm)
plus the ideas to create an Academy of Original Wisdom
(see at the end and here)
Concept 19,
June 5, 2009
Do You:
1. Feel that spiritual growth and union
with nature and the all is what it’s all about
2. Like to be part of a group that
recognises and respects your views of the seen and unseen
3. Like to have a first or second home,
but without the worries
4. Look for a space to give seminars,
workshops, small festivals, etc.
5. Like to have a place to withdraw
from the rat-race and yet be involved
6. Have reasonable financial means or
an income source that allows you to move around
Then read on!
This page is about a new initiative to
establish a purposeful (intentional) community for living/working and as a
place for workshops and conferences and at a reasonable distance from Amsterdam (max 2 hrs by
car).
We have,
after some disappointing experiences (see www.myster.nl)
a location that fits our ideas about a purposeful live/work community, as
described below. It’s a fairly big house with seminar space and some
apartments, eventually up to 15 rooms and 5 apartments, and some space outside
for open air events. see www.myster.nl/fotos.htm
.
We, the
core group, are now looking for partners to join as permanent residents or as
visiting partners that would use the premises for workshops, conferences or art
projects.
Background
Many people
these days are contemplating new forms of community, be it as a spiritual endeavour,
an ecovillage, intentional community, support
community or just a place to grow old together. There are groups like Savita, Ecodorp and others that
have actively researched opportunities and there are of course quite a number
of communities like the intentional community of De Vlierhof
or Venwoude where people do live together with a
common aim. Worldwide there are famous examples, like The Farm, Damanhur,
Findhorn, Ufa-Fabrik, Buddhahill,
Auroville, Ecolonie,
Tamera, Humaniversity but alas also a long list of
failed initiatives.
In this
proposal a new initiative for a tribal hub or place is described, offering a
combination of community concepts, meaning it is not limited to living, but encompasses
other modes of being together for a shorter or longer period, like retreat,
creative sabbatical, workshops, conferences, but also just holiday time or
retirement second home. This broader community model is developed as a
framework helping us to draw up an outline and establish the conditions to help
locate a place, which we did find, but is obviously not limited to that place,
there are other places and initiatives and this framework could be used there
too.
Before
going into detail, it’s good to emphasise that this proposal fits into a larger
spiritual framework of people trying to give space to the divine core we all
have, to live a life dedicated to become more aware, more conscious, not only
as a mental or intellectual endeavour, but as a way of life. Living, working,
creating in a setting where the deeper self, the inner child, wounded as it may
be, can be explored, freed and healed. Where happiness is not an easy label,
but the reality of meeting the Other, in ourselves, in other people, in nature,
in earthly and cosmic “work”.
Non-denominational, not fanatic or dogmatic but sincere. Aiming at a
supportive atmosphere, open and honest, connected with the world and the family
of nature rather than isolated. Appreciative of all energies, in and around us,
the seen and the unseen.
This is not a plan for a large community living
estate, like a village, castle or boarding school building with 50 or more
people and expansive infrastructure.
We have a
far more moderate approach to first establish a relatively small place for a
group of 15 to 20 participants/partners who can use it either as a
living/working place, a venue for group activities and seminars, a retreat
place or a holiday home, all with a healthy economic basis. We hope to expand later
and broaden the scope to become a kind of academy.
This
approach differs from the usual setup with volunteers and guests, but is also
not limited to people living there. It has the flavour of a tribal place, a
location that is a focal point for likeminded people. We intend to have two
kind of partners, the ones living there permanently and those who are regular
visitors and participate in the project. Of course having both part time and
fulltime resident people around brings the problem of having two kinds of
partners/fellows and this deserves serious consideration.
This model
is just a starting point, as communities develop over time, but a few basic
points of understanding are necessary, like the need for a sound decision
making model, a clear entry/exit procedure, a solid financial plan and control
mechanism, and then a whole list of practical considerations. There is,
however, quite a body of experience and written material about this available
that we study and try to absorb. Making use of the experience and models of
other communities of course makes sense. We have also visited many communities
and try to learn from their expertise and experience. We feel, from what we
have seen, that unclear ownership situations, lack of effective peer-level decision structures and
slowly deteriorating relational communication should be avoided and that a firm
“constitution” stating goals, structures
and constraints is necessary.
Utopia
Do we aim
at an utopian ((greek-good
place as opposed to dystopia – bad place) community? In a way we would like to
create and be part of a place we can escape the normal constraints and
hardships of the daily reality, but we also realise that wherever you go,
whatever you do, the ego and the physical reality of our body, our need for
food, safety, purposeful activities etc. are still there. The various utopian
models that have surfaced since the Pythagorean Brotherhood and Plato, in
literature or actual experiments have not yielded a workable and sustainable
concept, apart maybe from the inspired communities like monasteries and
religious ashrams. Yet these models, from Plato, More, Rousseau, Thoreau,
Bellamy, Marx, Skinner, Orwell, Huxley, Callenbach,
and many others illustrate the various ways to cope with the constraints of
reality, like scarcity, often at the expense of freedom. The reality
experiments, and there have been many communities with utopian tendencies,
range from very small cohousing to the communist states. They also yield
valuable insights, see the essay about this on the web “Utopian Dreams and Wakeupcalls”.
In most utopias either the legal or the psychological freedom is sacrificed on
the altar of equality.
Tribal facility: what is
important
This
project in a sense is a tribal project, aiming at a meeting place for the
community. People that are united by sharing a place, an ideal, a way of living
or just a dream can organise themselves in couples, families, extended
families, but also in tribes, meaning a group with a common thread. Such groups
have existed through the ages, based on ethnic, geographical or other common
denominators, in our day and age there are many tribes, even urban tribes and
virtual tribes. In this context we refer to the tribal feeling many of us have
concerning our fellow travellers on the spiritual path of self discovery and
connectedness, by sharing common interests, goals, attitude, accepting
diversity, tolerant and yet united. The image of a “tribe of magic” comes to
mind, a sense of the other realities, with a flavour of ceremonial or ritual as
a common ground. This should not be an empty notion. A common practice, like
some form of meditation once a week and at least one common meal, could help
forge and maintain the level of commitment to the common cause.
Energy
Talking to
many people inside and outside communities we must admit, that sustainable
communities are rare, and even the spiritual (traditional) ones these days have
serious problems, loose energy and have a hard time surviving. One can find
many, many convents, stifts etc. for sale. Also we
found that in many communities that to the outside present a happy and
successful face internally have serious problems. Now that might be part of the
process, in essence any relationship or community is a growth process for all
concerned, but the financial, hierarchical and relational problems often lead
to the end of the community or force some members to leave with hard feelings,
hurting the energy of all. Energy, spiritual cohesion, the commitment to face
problems together, there are many words, but maybe love is the most simple one.
Pan of the Buddhahill
commune in Dippertz (Fulda), one of the people who
very honest shared his insights, stressed the importance of a deep
energy-cohesion as the bais of any community. His
formula for a real spiritual commune - It is as simple as this:
A real
spiritual commune
can only be out of love
which starts with
love-sharing-caring
This is the
center
the heart
love only happens
through the surrender
of the mind
the I or the ego
without the complete
surrender of the I, the ego
there is no love no freedom
without love there can be no real or true
spiritual commune
which is just the freedom
to share the blessing of this life
with divine beings in the
now and here
PAN
.
Such a place
needs some organisation, some outline, maybe even a constitution or root
contract/document as a basis and we attempt here to make at least a draft for
such a document.
One could
start with stating that all people are essentially ok, and that a perfect
community breeds perfect individuals. However, history teaches us that
perfection is a great goal, but reality kicks in at a far more mundane level.
Even the most optimistic approach should be based on a realistic assessment and
preparation. Prepare for the worst is the best strategy, and the best
protection too.
There are a
number of problems associated with intentional communities or intentional
tribal facilities, maybe a more appropriate term here, that do pop up. Most
have to do with scarcity, in a material sense, but also in a psychological and
even metaphysical sense. Material scarcity, the assumed basis of rational
economic behaviour, involves money, food, space, a safe and comfortable
environment, but is obviously subject to individual ranking and psychological
constraints. One person might be Ok with an ascetic lifestyle, another want to
explore all senses to the max. Even though money might be a yardstick for
scarcity and economic behaviour, it is not the only one and probably the least
interesting. Things like rank, status, relationships, health and love are far
more important. Maslov’s Pyramid ranking in that
sense is far too rigid, priorities shift, also over time and therefore an economic (money) model is necessary, but
not enough. We have to deal with the ethical side of matters too, like to
establish what kind of legal framework we need and even more than that, how to
deal not only with material matters, but the psychological as well. There are
the practical questions about how to deal with drugs, alcohol, smoking, dogs,
sexual relationships, deviant behaviour etc. but also how we deal with old age,
children, depressions, miscommunications, personal debts, criminality, and what
happens when a wider crisis situation might arise. A general framework or
communal contract to address these issues has to be set up and partners have to
agree on this. Beyond being a kind of constitution it has to be lived and
implemented so it becomes a kind of natural bylaw for those joining later, not
written words without meaning.
The
decision making process is most important, democracy sounds great but often
means the minority looses, the sociocratic
(consensus) approach has evident benefits, but is not always appropriate, like
for purely executive decisions. In some cases alternative methods are called
for, and that might include divination, astrology, I Ching
and other esoteric ways of charting a course. If all is one, then at times we
have to trust the universe!
Then there
are the socio-psychological considerations. Community living requires a certain
attitude, a willingness to share, a true tolerance, an understanding that it’s
about contributing to the whole, not about taking and only consuming.
Cooperation and respect for others is essential, in small matters but also in
an ecological sense, and towards the larger local community and authorities.
Therefore a serious and thorough selection and intake procedure, followed by a
permanent community building and maintenance process is necessary, involving a
certain discipline, regular meetings, sociocratic
procedures, a common understanding.
Commitment
is essential, but even then crises might and probably will occur and a
structure to deal with this needs to be set up, before it happens. Entry and
exit procedures need to be open, clear and effective. Leaving the partnership,
either voluntary or involuntary, should be made easy, in financial as well as
human terms, we don’t want negative energy kicking back at the community. The
legal structure should accommodate this, from the start, so everybody knows the
consequences, also in case of people that pass on and inheritance questions
arise. Maybe a life insurance policy to cover such events is necessary.
A charter
of purpose and direction, even of mission of the community has to be
established and underwritten. There are examples to be found, many intentional
communities have similar charters or constitutional agreements.
The dream, with some reality
Suppose we
can find (and in fact now did buy) a place with a couple of full fledged
apartments, some 8 to 10 large rooms with facilities, a large storage, office
space, library space, wood/metal workshop with equipment, a
community/workshop/restaurant facility with professional kitchen and enough
outside space for some more cabins, sauna, sweatlodge,
some camping, a vegetable and meditation garden and with adequate transport,
accessibility, schools, zoning (building regulations), ecological and other
practical options, including the possibility to set up small businesses.
.
We think that after an initial
start-up phase with a smaller number of participants we would evolve towards a
model with a corporation (BV) as owner, with both resident partners and
visiting partners as shareholders. The actual running of the place would be in
the form of an association. Foundation or other legal vehicle. Having people
involved that actually have an ownership status is important, as they would then
benefit from work and improvements and the corporation form is a good vehicle
to allow easy entry and exit for partners, leaving would mean to sell the
shares at the actual value, and we hope that goes up as we progress. In this
way everybody should be partner in the property and benefit from their efforts
and the increasing value of the place.
Partners/Shareholders, individuals,
couples, families etc. in the complex could participate in various ways and
from various objectives, like
1. Live-in permanent as
custodian/worker/manager
2. Live-in permanent as a resident
3. Live-in for longer period
4. Come for holidays, weekends etc.
5. Come for retreats
6. Use the facilities to give/organise
workshops, conferences, retreats, festivals, kid camps etc.
7. Set up some kind of business, like a
little shop, B&B, art gallery, rental business (bikes, canoe), cat holiday
centre, internet hosting, e-shop, catering, sauna, funeral service, hospice,
children crèche, or earn a living in the neighbourhood
8. Have a safe place in case the world
goes crazy in whatever way
9. Other (??) whatever you can dream of
Non-shareholders, but also
shareholders could work at the complex, and be paid for it or in the case of
volunteers, could receive benefits, free lodging etc. In principle (and except
some communal projects, the garden and general house-chores and taking care of one’s
own washing/cleaning etc) everybody gets paid for “commercial” work, so that an
honest balance exists, no freeloaders but also no overworked and
underappreciated partners or volunteers. The permanent and long-term residents
do share the task of keeping the place clean, nice, taking care of the garden
etc. Of course big jobs could be farmed out. In the case of external
exploitation and events like seminars, workshops etc. the work connected with
that are the responsibility of the organisers or the event-manager in what is
called a profit/cost centre approach. This basically means that for instance
the whole catering for events would be handled as a separate business (even
outsourced to a local caterer), the same goes for the hotel/B&B, the rental
of bikes, the camping facilities or the tennis-courts.
For other services and facilities a
similar economic model can be developed, an in-house profit centre approach
with small in-house businesses, like the vegetable garden, the little camping
that we could have etc.. There are many other options for activities, some are
already mentioned. Think about animals, rental activities, an alternative
school, internet café, B&B, library/bookshop, artisan shops, website server
facilities, gallery, summer camps, survival camps, some small production
facilities, festivals, bakery, all depending on people and space available, but
with a sound economic basis.
Focus
Although the facilities would allow a
more full-scale horeca (hotel/restaurant) business,
that is not what is intended. The focus is on being a place available for
likeminded activities, community activities, workshops etc. The facilities
should be used to support that first and those activities have priority over
incidental commercial exploitation of hotel/restaurant etc. This is not an iron
rule, the need to make a living or sustain the whole operation does count, but
we don’t want to be a hotel or B&B per se.
The spiritual and self-development
comes first, first for ourselves and then as a service to the outside.
Commercial
model
Alas, money does count, so we have to
develop a kind of business model. It would be nice if we could do without, but
the experience of most communal living schemes is that money in the end is a
reality check, and having a sound economic base is also a stability factor.
Fair Sharing
It is of course possible to jointly
buy such a place, just share the costs and use the premises as you like, but
then there would be great inequality between the partners, as one would use it
a lot, another hardly at all and all pay the same. So a model needs to be
developed to deal with this. There are other possibilities and options, but
what follows is a straightforward economic model, taking into account not only
running costs (variable and fixed) but also capital costs. It looks a little
like a time-share plan, but with a much greater flexibility in how and when you
use the place.
Suppose (it actually is around this
figure) such a place would cost around 450.000 euro including surveying,
necessary adaptations, legal costs, eco-installations, audio/video, TV,
internet, tools, local transport (bikes, small van) etc. (we hope it is less,
but as a model we use this figure). Running cost (insurance/basic
maintenance/basic management) would be around 15.000 euro a year plus 5000 in
local taxes plus 10000 in water/energy/gas, so 30000 running costs.
There would be two kind of partners,
the core members who live there permanently (which means more than 9 months a
year) with their own room or apartment and visiting partners, who are visiting
regularly and participating actively in the project. Of course there could be
other incidental guests and maybe even sponsors, but let’s start with the two
partner categories. The resident partners would contribute say 45.000 euro for
a 10% share, the visiting partners 22,500 euro, both would benefit from special
and attractive partner rates for housing and other rentals (for workshops
etc.). This difference between residents
and non-residents is necessary, as residents are likely to contribute more to
the overall value of the operation and should be compensated more if the value
(as represented by the share-price) goes up. This facilitates exits, but also
upgrades or downgrades from resident to visiting partner are possible. Visiting
partners will have a minimum commitment (say 1000 euro, but could be less) to
visit or stay or use the facilities, in order to ensure their involvement. This
would guarantee a certain income level for running costs, and stimulate
involvement and cooperation. Although even with this minimum use there would be
a small profit, this is not really an investment project because in the most
negative case, there would only be a small compensation for the capital. With
reasonable use however, and some outside rental, there could be a real and
significant return on investment. Realistically however and to be on the safe
side, partners should reckon with the investment and a few thousand per year,
less than having your own second home, comparable to having another car or
boat.
The principal idea: the use of the
complex for the partners/owners would not be free, everybody pays for their
use, based on the actual costs of power/heating/maintenance plus a surcharge
for the use of the capital and the cost of managing the place. This sound
overly complex, but is in fact a fair way to ascertain that everybody is
treated the same, money wise at least.
All this income should add up to a
(taxable) income for the foundation or association that actually handles the
lease from the corporation that owns the place. At the end of the year a
certain lease amount would go to the corporation, if there would be a profit
that could be paid out as dividend or used for expansion etc.
In other words, those who use the
facilities pay for it, but also receive a share in what the project brings in
financial terms and partake in the potential increasing value of the property.
That looks a bit complex, but is a way to ascertain a appropriate cost
allocation and pricing for the usage.
Some more details about the
exploitation-model as this is a complex issue. The place would be primarily for
the partners, either resident or visiting, but space not used would rent out at
market rates/prices in a commercial setup. The availability of at least some
lodging facilities is essential for workshops etc. This makes it hard to assign
each partner their own room, with 20 or more partners there would be no free
space for events. Resident partners have their own room, visiting partners
could have a semi-owned room, furnish and style it as they like, but have to
accept and accommodate rental of their
place to outsiders when they are not there. This is a sensitive issue, some
people insist on having their own place, their own energy etc. and that is
important, but can you realistically expect such a thing for 45.000 euro? And
even if there were enough rooms, cabins or apartments, having half or more of
them empty all the time doesn’t bring much energy. The setup of a back lot or
park full with odd caravans, huts and yurts, half empty and untidy is maybe OK
for Christiania or Ruigoord, but not for a serious
place for workshops etc. of some standing. And given the scale of this project,
with some 10-15 adults (hopefully plus some children) and 10-15 outside
visiting partners, the available place for lodging seminar guest, even with
some dormitory facilities, is already limited.
Now let’s translate this in actual
money. For example, a non-working permanent resident, using say 10% of the
facilities (m2-wise) all the time, would have to pay 10% of the total costs. Given
our model and investment figures mentioned above, this would amount to an
estimated 4000 euro per year or proportionally for part of the year. Those
visiting for a weekend or short stays would have to pay a reasonable amount per
room/person, like 10 euro a day per room plus 10 euro per person, excluding
food etc. Outsiders would maybe pay double that amount. The same goes for using
the facilities like the workshop/conference room, think of a weekend charge of
500 euro, half of what a comparable outside place would cost. In general the
partners/shareholders would have a considerable advantage over outsiders, they
would pay far less. Every partner can
have a limited number of people (direct family, lovers, close friends)
to share this advantage.
The congress/workshop/community space
facilities (for at least 30 people with for single day events up to 50, more
with rented tents etc.) and the free space outside should be available for all kinds of events, partners
have access to them for a reasonable price, well below what renting an external
venue would cost, but have to coordinate timing etc. also with external renters.
If a partner brings in external renters (and is not involved in organising the
event to qualify for partners pricing), a commission would be paid. If the
rental business or just keeping the place managed, cleaned etc. requires
someone to dedicate time, this should be paid for or compensated. This might
actually mean that a person or couple will live there permanently and receive a
salary, but also generate extra income to cover that, again a profit centre
model would apply.
There are shared facilities, a swimming
pool, maybe a sauna, library, toolshop etc. that would be available at no extra charge,
being part of the core facility. For those facilities not used and thus free
for external rent there are other, market-conform prices and an exploitation
model that would at least compensate the workers/custodian involved and
optimally generate some profit for the whole.
The whole proposal maybe sounds like
an economic endeavour, but a solid economical basis is necessary to guarantee
the quietude and peace of mind that should be the hallmark of an intentional
community. It definitely goes beyond the time-share concept, but there is a
holding BV that is responsible and shareholders that are supposed to
participate in some way, so this goes beyond an investment, it’s a commitment.
Starting: the
take-off phase
Although optimally all people
involved should have the same share and equal rights, this turns out to be a
bit impractical. Negotiating about the purchase and making the necessary legal
arrangements like setting up a corporation (BV) with 20 people becomes an
organisational nightmare. So we are starting with a core group of about 6
people that put up the money and make some key decisions. They are, however
committed to selling their shares in the venture to new partners, so that a
more evenly shared ownership evolves.
So what are
we looking for?
This is a crucial question, for do we
have the right to judge others, as we realise we ourselves are as fallible as
any. However, it makes sense to have some kind of profile for potential
partners. We are looking for another 10 to 15, maybe more people to join,
willing to invest 20-30.00 euro as a visiting partner or 45-55/000 euro for
permanent residence who are independent yet social human beings, spiritually
inclined, open to mild criticism and willing to engage in community interaction.
Age doesn’t matter and kids are appreciated and OK. Some special skills are
welcome, but mostly we like a track record of being a survivor, with a positive
outlook on life, broad minded and with a global and eco awareness, but not
religiously so. The proposition would be ideal for people with already an
established reputation as writer, scholar, teacher, conference-organiser,
workshop promoter, eco-gardener, artist, artisan or knowledge worker, ICT
professional and such. Those who already have regular
workshops/meetings/conferences going or can use the space for art-projects
would benefit the most from the whole setup, as they would have a home-base
venue of their own.
Again the attitude is more important
than the qualifications, what matters are wisdom, maturity, creativity, people
skills and maybe an entrepreneurial attitude, hands on.
One point about the number of
partners. A couple is basically 2 persons, but as they use only one subspace
then the total number of partners could go up to 15 or so and then the stake
per partner could go down or there could be a special category for couples
participating. This point, however, is still very flexible.
This is an
opportunity for growth, dedication, community, not a haven for lost souls.
Partners should (optimally) have a
regular income or money earning trade, not depending on social security (uitkering), have a sound insurance (health) and retirement
situation (AOW/pension) and some idea about what to do there, either as a
visiting partner or resident. It should
be possible to live there with not more than an AOW level income. Please note
that building a local clientele for activities like massage or energy work
would not be easy and require fluent German or English.
My personal
interest (Luc Sala)
Maybe it is helpful to explain what
attract me in this setup and what I want to do. As I have a small apartment in
Amsterdam centre, but used to have the larger Myster center where I could
receive up to a hundred people, guests from abroad etc. I am looking for a new
place to entertain my worldwide circle of friends, as guests, for workshops,
concerts, teachings etc. At http://www.mindlift.tv/ one can get an
impression of the people I am talking about. Being able to offer them a nice
place, opportunity to schedule workshops, rituals etc. would be a means to stay
in contact with this global community of writers, teachers, friends. My
extensive library, now mostly in boxes, would be an asset for the place, also
my audio-video editing equipment for professional productions, my art
collection, statues, tools, Tipi etc. I also like to have a working place for
writing and editing video, but still in a community setting. Furthermore, I
would like to be able to invite my family
(kids, grandchildren) to join me for holidays or special events, do
projects with them. I would keep the Amsterdam apartment as a pied-a-terre and legal residence, travel a lot, but would spend
about half the time in the community. I am not interested being the custodian
or working there, but would be available for incidental projects and partake in
regular chores like housekeeping.
My personal
interest (Agnès Wagemans)
Is to live together with others and also having my
private space. I am selling my house in Zwolle this year and would like to have
a smaller place somewhere to put my personal things. Apart from that I would
like to have some space in order to work with people, mostly on a one-to-one
base, doing therapy, healing and counselling and a space to paint, eventually
giving workshops or courses.
Having a garden would be nice, not only to have the
possibility to sit in it, enjoying the plants and the animals, but also to
create a herbal garden or to do rituals outside.
I enjoy to eat with others regularly and can find
pleasure in creating such meals.
It also would be nice to have a possibility to
display my paintings and drawings.
I cannot predict how much time of the year I would be
around, since travelling also is part of the things I want to do. That does not
mean that I would not feel responsible for my share in the property as a whole
and to connect with the others involved, in order to build up a living space
together where it is pleasant to meet each other and to be.
My personal interest (Kyra Kuitert)
Since I left
my parents at 17 I lived for exactly 20 years in several, very different kind
of communities. Ranging from 3 to over a 100 people, from the heart of
Amsterdam to the countryside of Colorado, in groups both very spiritual and
very down-to-earth, woman-only and with or without kids. Those were 20
wonderful years and somehow seem to have fit my versatility.
Since almost
7 years I live on my own now. All in all a very good experience as well but
already from the start I knew this was not my final situation. Probably it is for that reason that already
since long I am active in the Dutch en the Global ecovillage
movement, dreaming of an ecological and spiritual community somewhere in a
green surroundings. Preferably in the Netherlands but since our country is so
small and lots of efforts to start an ecovillage
ended either in a stubborn bureaucracy or in financial impossibilities I slowly
start to widen my horizon, direction Belgium or Germany.
I graduated
as a gardener, landscape architect, Permaculture
designer and Feng Shui
consultant. So overall you could say that my path is to co-create our surroundings
and add quality to the life of other beings. No surprise: having a large garden
with room for fruits, herbs, veggies and quite corners for relaxation and
meditation is a must, although I am realistic enough not to opt for a
self-sustaining way of living. In living together with others I most enjoyed
the common meals, sharing daily life (including emotions from time to time),
accepting each other more or less as brothers and sisters and the spontaneous
activities like going for a walk, sharing a cup of tea and a story, playing a
game, working in the garden or just simply hanging in front of the TV together.
This I miss so much living alone. Or at least; when you live alone you always
have to arrange those things. So maybe I'm just being lazy… ; -)
A place to
grow old?
For many people interested in community living, there
is the underlying motive that they are looking for a place to grow old in a
supportive environment, with friends, freedom and creative and intellectual
stimulation. This is an acceptable motive, as long as it’s clear and in the
open, but often we hide this beneath altruistic and noble stories about helping
humanity. And practically, it means we have to ascertain access for wheelchairs
and other adaptations.
For many, the idea to have a place where they can
grow old with likeminded people is very attractive, the baby boomers are near
that point. It would be best, however, if people of all ages would participate,
children are an asset and keep us grounded in reality.
Expansion
There is the idea, that such a place/center/habitat
could be the nucleus of a series of similar habitats based on the same
principle, allowing partners to occasionally shift to another location, eg. in
Belgium, Germany, France or elsewhere. Once the first place would be
operational, this idea could be taken wider, new partners found and more
locations, but still with this tribal community idea as a basis. In that way a
group of habitats/estates could be formed, allowing more people to participate
and more diversity. Setups like the Global Ecotechnics group www.globalecotechnics.com/ with
locations all around the world kind of operate like that. Especially the
creative individuals we are targeting might like that idea, having more homes
and places to live and thus a larger and more international community.
Is this a
reality? Yes, look at www.myster.nl
Legal
There are many opinions about how to
structure this legally. It feels, however, the most logical and clear, not
going into overly complex tax schedules, to set up a corporation (BV or GmbH)
for the ownership, and we have actually done that. Shares can be transferred
easily (to the other owners or the corporation itself), the tax situation is
clear (corporation pays tax on profits), the corporation can borrow or lend
money, everybody has equal right (if all shares are the same) and the
corporation could lease the property to a foundation, association or firm,
whatever comes up. Shareholders can not be kicked out, only bought out, but we
have to reckon with tax laws and the whole thing needs to manageable.
A commercial corporation (Myster property BV) has now already been set up to buy,
maintain and develop this project into a multi-purpose community project, with
the ownership eventually divided in 15 to 20 or more equal parts/shares. Shares
could be sold, based upon an agreed value proposition, but only to the BV,
other shareholders or to new partners acceptable to the others on a consent
basis. Having a BV makes this easy, transfer of shares would allow flexible
exit in eventualities. The BV aims (but not fanatically) at a commercial
exploitation leasing the premises to the association or foundation that is the
actual user-group, rendering a small yield (ROI), withheld for further
investment or paid out to the shareholders. In that way people would have some
return on their investment to pay for the interest plus potentially the value
of the property and therefore the value of the shares goes up.
But to get back to the broader view,
getting a group together and finding and defining the common ground and
spiritual perspective is more important now than the financial details. So if
you are interested to join in any capacity or want more info, just email us at
sala@dealerinfo.nl or agneswagemans@home.nl or kyrakuitert@hotmail.com
or call Netherlands 0654987876
www.lucsala.nl/community.htm has the
latest version of this proposal, as it is updated as we go. The Dutch version
is at www.lucsala.nl/community2.htm and the
academy plan at www.lucsala.nl/academy.htm, the Recke
place is at www.lucsala.nl/recke.htm
(Dutch at www.lucsala.nl/community2.htm)
Links:
http://www.leadingage.org/
http://avenidasvillage.org/
July 26, 2008
In connection with our community
plans, for the longer term we are aiming at expanding our plans we have so far
developed of creating a facility where likeminded scholars, writers, artists
and researchers would have a common ground, to work, to teach, do workshops,
therapy, have a atelier, be residents etc.
We think about developing an academy like of operation.
This what we
could tentatively call an Academy of Original Wisdom/ Academie
für ursprungliche Weisheit with a curriculum of healing, spiritual, holistic medicine,
ecological, anthropological, esoteric and psychology courses, workshops,
seminars, optimally covering a very broad spectrum. The exact curriculum will
depend primarily on what the partners, those people participating in the whole
venture, will bring. It will be their Academy, their place to teach, study,
work, research (especially in ecological issues, solar energy, nature, biology
and meet likeminded people.
The partners
should have more than an intellectual or friendship link with the place.
Therefore a lease of the place is less desirable, we want partners to have an
equity stake in the place, an economic as well as an intellectual or emotional
link. They should consider this academy as
their own, of course with some organization and structures concerning the way
it is managed and run, but with enough freedom to experiment, not only
academically, but in art, culture, healing, ritual, experiential work, theatre,
earth work. A yearly festival or open week for the public, inviting groups to come and
exchange, occasional ritual meetings
(full moon), anything ranging from yoga and shamanistic work to theatre, film
making, silence retreats, medical treatment, massage, eco-camps, walking or
biking events in the surroundings, a lot of plans have been discussed and no
doubt more will emerge. There must be a sound economic basis to this,
activities like catering, facility rental etc. would be run like independent
profit centers within a larger (legal) structure.
Setting up
the legal and organizational structure is not an easy task, entry and exit
strategies, decision structures, financial commitments etc. have to be clear
and well understood by all. At this moment, we have no idea about the cost of
the place, investment necessary, yearly costs, taxes, potential for generating
income etc. This also depends on how our
plans would fit within what the owner and city want and is willing to accept
etc.
A good
relationship with the people around is essential. The neighbours, the
citizens, authorities, etc., this involves more than an occasional meeting or
participation in a seminar, it requires well planned involvement, an exchange
with local cultural and ecological organizations, the Academy should be
embedded in the local scene and yet be a global meeting place.
At the
moment, we are thinking about doing this in two steps, first the hotel as the
community place, and then use this as a launch pad for the academy plan.
Comments
are welcome
The
core-team:
sala@dealerinfo.nl
agneswagemans@home.nl
kyrakuitert@hotmail.com
more on: www.myster.nl/commun.htm
www.myster.nl/boekproject.htm
www.lucsala.nl/tribes.htm
www.lucsala.nl/tribesofmagic.htm
www.myster.nl/mysterblog.htm