Would you be interested in attending a two-day, three-night founder’s meetup event to collaborate with others who are currently planning and/or newly implementing residential intentional community? It would be free as a work trade. (The (r)evolution will not be commoditized.) Each adult would be asked to contribute 1 hour of work to benefit the lodge owner and event planner (suggestions at the end), 1 or 2 hours of help with meal prep or meal clean up, and change bed linens the last morning, before leaving.
Who: 10 IC Founders+Partners
That would add up to between 10 to 20 adults who are planning and/or actively forming a residential intentional community (and their kids, if that makes attending possible), plus lodge owner (a gestalt therapist and former residential community founder), plus ICmatch founder (me). Each founders’ meetup would be a private invitation-only event. This web page is set to not show the content in search results, and it’s not linked to from other ICmatch pages. For those who accept the invitation (even tentatively), I plan to post a 100-word blurb about their project(s). You’re also requested to make an offer and an ask, for the other participants to consider.
What: Sharing Expertise
Each participant will have 50 minutes to share their expertise and project(s). All founders are requested to attend each session. If you don’t think you can learn from one or more participants, then attend so you can contribute and improve that presentation thru discussion.
Where: Marble Lodge in Northwest Colorado
Marble is a remote small town an hour from Glenwood Springs, Colorado. If you travel Amtrak to GWS, I can pick you up and/or arrange carpool with other attendees. At this location, the event could be free. The venue also goes by the former name Beaver Lake Lodge, and the above photo was taken from its deck. We could plan alternate locations regionally for separate events closer to participants. I could then find an ecovillage host who would accept a work-trade to host a founders’ meetup at their site.
Why: Learning and Collaboration
We can learn from and support each other’s work. We are the ones the younger generations are waiting for. Those seeking community who aren’t the best fit for yours could be referred to other founders.
When: A 3-day Weekend Before May 2025
To be decided, based on what works for the majority of those invited. Attempting to accommodate work schedules, I’m looking at long weekends that aren’t major holidays. Other dates that aren’t long weekends could work.
- Veterans Day weekend: November 9–11 (probably too soon, but could work for me)
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day: January 13–15
- Presidents’ Day: February 17–19
How: Socialize, Recreate, Learn, Serve, Clean Up
Planning will include as much consensus-based decision making as is practical and helpful.
- Day 1 could be a travel day, hiking or cross-country ski or canoeing if you arrive early enuf, collaborative or individual work project if you arrive early enuf, with a social event that evening. If agreeable to all, let’s make a collaborative dinner. Afterward there could be an invitation to present music, film (no big screens on site), or other creative works in the conference room. Some may choose to end the day with a soak in a large glass-enclosed hot tub.
- Day 2 could be a solid day of 10 back-to-back workshops and presentations (9a-7p) with short bio-breaks in between and meals during presentations.
- Day 3 could be a leisurely brunch, clean-up, early travel home for those who must, 1 or 2 hours of collaborative or individual work project, and more recreation for those who can stay an additional day.
Offers and Asks
Event Planner
Ask: For those who haven’t already, participants would be asked to complete an ICmatch profile and group profile on the Team Up page. The site is only as attractive as the forming communities it links members to. I see this as a win-win strategy.
Offer: In return, I will do an hour of research for each participant to find details on foundations that have aligned funding priorities.
Lastly, see if this might interest you. I think Daniel is great! Stories of Transformation (a pay-what-you-can course)
Lodge-owner
The following help would pay back the lodge owner for hosting the founders’ meetup at no cost.
- There’s a large hot tub four to six times the standard size. It has a leak that could be detected and fixed, but it’s remained lower on the list of repair priorities.
- Someone back me up on this: The broken dusty plastic plants in the solarium have got to go.
- There’s a window that won’t shut. The wood is swollen from moisture it seems.
- There are some outdoor cluttered areas where items could be moved or brought to the dump.
- Lots of unique collectibles could be sold, but owner doesn’t have time or internet skills to do it.
- Owner admits he has too much clutter of valuable materials, large appliances, trailers. Make an offer if there’s something you need.
- One floor needs tiling.
Links and Projects of Founders’ Meetup Attendees
TBA