Thing is, that commune survived the initial couple years and is now familial, a tribe, if you will, which are pretty stable long term for small populations. When tribes get large, you end up with Africa.

right, that's sort of what I'm looking for. I think in the worst case scenario, we'll all end up in little tribes anyway as a survival measure. It would be better if you were already in a tribe, and it was already self sustaining and capable of defending itself. Now, if it never comes to that, then great, but it wouldn't hurt any to be prepared. As far as tribes getting large, no reason it couldn't split. that would probably arise anyway from differences of opinion/politics within the tribe. and that would be healthy I think.

I don't have time to find a better example of a community right now, as it takes time. As I was thinking about it I remember my quest a few years back to learn as much as possible about intentional communities. Most of these communities suck. If you seek them out, there are directories, and you can read up on them. most have some grand "mission statement" or something stating "where they plan to be in 5 years", but if you boil all the BS out of it, what you find is 6 people living in a single-wide trailer on an acre and a half of land with a goat and a cat, who sell beets at the farmers market. That's why the twin oaks community stuck in my mind; several reasons: amount of land, they have hundreds of acres; history, they have been a community longer than some countries; self sufficiency, there are not "off the grid", but could be at any time they wish; # of people, 100 members and counting, I have never seen another that big.

 

correction, it's in virginia, 100 members
http://www.twinoaks.org/

Checked out the site and others too. Words "idealism" and "utopia" stood out a lot for me. Solves nothing. I don't know where the solution lies, but it is not this. Access to sustainable energy, food etc. has to be established. Until corporations, banks and government are divorced from each other nothing will happen though. Ties and subsidies need to be broken, support given to local growers.

If you were lucky to inherit/buy a plot of farm-able land, I envy you

 

Checked out the site and others too. Words "idealism" and "utopia" stood out a lot for me. Solves nothing. I don't know where the solution lies, but it is not this. Access to sustainable energy, food etc. has to be established. Until corporations, banks and government are divorced from each other nothing will happen though. Ties and subsidies need to be broken, support given to local growers.

If you were lucky to inherit/buy a plot of farm-able land, I envy you

you're right, its not the solution. But you did state the solution, and then went on to say that it's not going to happen. All of which I agree with, so in absence of a solution I'm looking at damage control. This system is going down, and we can't save it. What can do is prepare for it, and the most prepared people are going to be the ones who can sustain themselves. Those working in offices, living in suburbs, and pacifying themselves with reality TV are not going to be in any position to come out of this gracefully. Those in self-sustaining communities will have a fighting chance.