by Raven Cotyledon
I have said all this before but here are what I see as the most important ways to successfully craft community, broken out into a list of Do’s and Don’t’s:
DON’T start by buying land or getting a place
DO have a few ‘bottom lines’ for what you want the community to value or what the community is about
DON’T have a detailed plan before you have others involved
DON’T ever have a plan that you are not willing to change
DO try to find like minded people who want to start a community with you
DO look for good people with useful skills
DON’T be too fussy however
DON’T reject people because they are not perfect
DO talk about what you want and make collective agreements together
DO support, encourage, and care for the people you are building community with
DON’T critique, belittle, or discourage people
DO come up with steps and goals in building community
DO think about money and pay attention to finances
DON’T limit your thoughts to jobs and traditional sources
DO celebrate your successes
DON’T be discouraged when things don’t happen quickly
DO keep at it
DO get support to keep at it
DO make commitments to each other
DO keep those commitments, especially when it becomes difficult
DON’T give up
Two important pieces in here, that I am convinced make a difference, are to support others and make sure you get support for yourself. Building community isn’t easy; if it was we would have a lot more of them.
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