Alternative sustainable living solutions

Donate

intentional communities

Ongo: Bringing Nonviolence into daily life

by

By Anne Wilson

Ongo (short for Ongoing practice) is a 12-week journey for individuals, couples, and groups to embody nonviolence in daily life — at home, at work, and in community. The course is participant-led, guided step-by-step by The Ongo Book by Catherine Cadden and Jesse Chu. Drawing on decades of teaching mindfulness, Nonviolent Communication (NVC), and nonviolent direct action across six continents, the authors created a resource to help people bring peace, compassion, and wisdom into the messiness of everyday life. As they put it:

“At the end of the day, everyone wants to know how to do it at home, at work, or in their community. We know from our own experience that it’s not easy. Life is messier outside of the workshop or retreat. Without some form of ongoing inspiration, guidance, and support for practicing peace, wisdom, and compassion, most of us default to ways of being that we don’t enjoy.”

The book offers inspiration from nonviolent leaders past and present, practical exercises, and a clear framework for companions and groups to support one another through 12 weeks of practice.

I was first introduced to NVC while living at Goolawah Land-sharing Co-operative near Crescent Head, NSW, where we formed a practice group around Marshall Rosenberg’s book and recordings. Later, my friend and mentor Wendy Haynes gave me The Ongo Book, and in 2020, just before moving to Moora Moora, a close friend and I began the 12-week journey together via phone and video calls. It became a lifeline during the pandemic — helping us connect deeply and providing a supportive framework to meet challenges with more peace and growth.

Like many others, I had found it easy to fall back into habits of judgment and control, even when using the “right words” of NVC. What made Ongo different was the mindfulness element: calming the nervous system before engaging with others, focusing on intention to connect, and building peaceful responses through daily practice. Over time, I found that peaceful communication became more natural and less effortful.

At Moora Moora, interest soon grew into a group of eight people meeting in person and online during lockdowns. To our surprise, the online sessions were just as deep and connective when everyone could see and hear each other clearly. Since then, we’ve completed the 12-week program twice more, and now continue with fortnightly sessions, weaving in related practices and addressing live issues. This ongoing practice has shifted how we meet conflict — moving us from blame and shame toward observing, naming feelings and needs, and building understanding. It’s gradual work, but it gives me hope.

Another gift of Ongo is its accessibility: because the book is so well structured, you don’t need an expert trainer. All it takes is one person to initiate and a few others willing to join, each with a copy of the book. I shared this at the Woven Intentional Communities Conference earlier this year, where members of Narara Ecovillage became curious. When visiting friends there recently, I offered an evening workshop with an Empathy Circle, a core Ongo practice. I was touched by how quickly the group — some of whom had never met — could connect authentically and listen deeply simply by following the guidance in the book. I left heartened that Narara may soon begin their own group.

That experience has inspired me to share Ongo more widely. I’ll be running a free 3-week online introduction to Ongo in the coming months. If you’d like to take part, please reach out at [email protected]To learn more about Moora Moora https://mooramoora.org.au/

Afterlee’s next chapter

by

Afterlee Ecovillage has now commenced Round 2 of land sales as key infrastructure works begin to take shape. This next stage of development marks an exciting milestone for the community, with several homesites currently available for new members.

One of the unique features of Afterlee is its connection to the old primary school on-site, which the community envisions slowly transforming into a vibrant new learning space. The village is particularly seeking young families who are inspired to help co-create this school, weaving education with regenerative living, creativity, and community values.

As the project evolves, governance is also shifting. With the support of co-founder Shane Sylvanspring (Planning Regenerative Communities) gradually stepping back, the community is preparing to take on greater responsibility for self-governing and decision-making. This marks an important step in the long-term resilience and autonomy of the village.

On the ground, the focus for 2025 is on developing essential infrastructure to support the incoming homesites. Works are underway to build roads, install a microgrid for renewable energy, and establish sustainable wastewater systems. These foundations are paving the way for a thriving, low-impact community that is deeply connected to the land.

Afterlee Ecovillage is more than a housing project, it is an opportunity to be part of a pioneering community that values cooperation, ecological design, and intergenerational connection. Whether you are a family, an individual, or a couple looking to live more regeneratively, Afterlee offers a chance to co-create a future together.For those interested in learning more, the community welcomes visitors for site tours and conversations about membership. To find out more or to book a visit, please go to: www.afterleevillage.au

Living the vision: Narara Ecovillage’s perfectly imperfect path to regenerative living 

by

By Tanya Mottl

We’re a group of neighbours on the Central Coast who decided to try something different – to build a place where people, land and future generations can thrive together. Guided by a shared Vision and Mission rather than rigid rules, we use Sociocracy for consent-based decision-making, practise circularity and regeneration, and align our projects with One Planet Living and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our monthly Open Days, John Seed’s Deep Ecology workshops and hands-on natural-build, bushfire hazard protection and garden sessions are where new ideas move quickly from conversation to practice.

Because we organise ourselves around inclusion and shared responsibility, things get done without sidelining quieter voices. Sociocracy keeps our meetings practical and respectful; it means decisions reflect the community, not a handful of personalities. When we design homes or run community projects, we aim for solutions that lower waste and long-term costs, support re-localised supply chains, and grow everyone’s skills so resilience isn’t just a word but a day-to-day reality.

That daily reality looks like families playing together, volunteers learning straw-bale or earth-building techniques, and neighbours co-designing emergency plans with lessons from the GEN Resilience Project 2.5 and Keystone Communities. For us, the real benefit is the lived outcome: people belonging to something larger than their household, sharing knowledge and resources, and having practical capacities to cope with shocks – from storm damage to supply disruptions.

We’re still growing – Stage 2 is largely sold and new homes are going up fast – and that momentum matters. More households means a broader mix of ages, skills and perspectives, which strengthens our intergenerational foundation and makes it easier for newcomers to find support and shared infrastructure as soon as they arrive. We welcome prospective families who want to learn, contribute and be part of a practical experiment.

Volunteers come to help on natural builds and in the gardens, taking home skills they can use elsewhere. At the same time, we’re seeking a committed CSA farmer to anchor local food production, enrich our food security, and run educational programs that get kids and adults into the soil. Rising building costs since COVID have made labour-based, community-supported approaches even more important for affordability and training.

We keep track of what we’re learning – impact data, lessons from projects, and the networks we’re part of like AlterCOP and GEN.  We’re taking the momentum from Moora Moora’s Woven Intentional Community Conference into our Nov Before the Tide gathering. Sharing our wins and failures helps other communities adapt faster than we did. We’re not perfect; we’re perfectly imperfect – trying, failing, adjusting and celebrating small wins that add up.

We invite visitors to come to an Open Day, join a workshop, or listen to one of our members’ podcasts. Meet people who are doing the hands-on work of building resilient, connected living. Find upcoming events and more at www.nararaecovillage.com or on Facebook.

Gulpa Creek Community Farm

by

Where the bush breathes, history whispers, and the river sings

By Alex Schoeffel

Tucked beneath the wide skies of southern New South Wales, Gulpa Creek Community Farm (GCCF) is more than just a farm – it’s a living, breathing expression of connection to land, people, and place. Located near the historic Cobb Highway, between Deniliquin and Mathoura, GCCF is part of a powerful local movement to regenerate country, honour cultural and ecological heritage, and live cooperatively in harmony with nature.

Visitors and members alike often speak of falling in love with the unique spirit of this place. It’s in the dappled morning light filtering through towering river red gums, in the meandering waters of Gulpa Creek, and in the quiet companionship of shared work and seasonal rhythms. There’s a romance here – of the bush, of story, of stillness – that seeps into the soul.

The romance of the bush

At Gulpa Creek, the bush is not a backdrop – it’s a participant. The farm nestles within a landscape of shifting light, rich birdlife, and native forest that holds deep cultural significance for the Traditional Custodians of the land. Daily life here is shaped by the forest’s moods: the scent of eucalyptus after rain, the chorus of frogs, the rustle of echidnas in the undergrowth. People come to rest, reset, and reconnect – with themselves, with each other, and with Country.

Cobb highway: Thread of living history

Running past the region, the Cobb Highway still carries the echoes of old stagecoaches and drovers, linking remote communities across the Riverina. For many, the road is more than asphalt – it’s a living ribbon of Australian history, threading through pastoral lands, wetlands, and red gum forests. Members of GCCF often describe the drive to the farm as a kind of transition – leaving behind the rush, entering into something older, slower, and sacred.

Majesty of the river and red gums

The Gulpa Creek, a meandering anabranch of the Murray River, winds its way through a forest of ancient river red gums, forming one of the largest continuous stands of its kind in the world. These trees, centuries old, shape not just the ecosystem but the spiritual presence of the land. For the community, mornings on the creek’s edge are sacred: mist rising, birds wheeling overhead, and the deep silence that only forests can give.

Balaya Buyul Community – Regenerating land and culture in the Byron Shire

by

By Shane Sylvanspring

The Balaya Buyul Community, located in the Byron Shire and part of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), is entering a significant new chapter. After years of visioning, collaboration, and persistence, the community is only weeks away from receiving final sign-off from council. This milestone will enable members to begin working directly with council on the design and construction of large homes on their homesites, creating the physical foundation for their shared future.

Yet the heart of Balaya Buyul lies not only in building homes, but in healing the land they are now custodians of. The community borders more than 2 kilometres of river frontage, an area heavily impacted by over 100 years of poor land management practices. Recognising both the responsibility and privilege of stewardship, Balaya Buyul has partnered with local Landcare groups to repair and regenerate this vital ecosystem.

Already, the community has achieved remarkable progress: more than 2,000 native trees have been planted, and 1 kilometre of riverbank has been carefully restored. These efforts are not only bringing back biodiversity and stabilising the river system, but are also renewing cultural and ecological connections that will benefit generations to come.

Balaya Buyul stands as a living example of what is possible when communities work together to regenerate land while building regenerative lives. Their journey reflects a balance of collaborative governance, ecological restoration, and deep respect for place. As homes rise and trees take root, Balaya Buyul is creating a thriving model of community-led regeneration in the Byron Shire and beyond.

Growth of the ecovillage and intentional communities networks

by

With the growth of the intentional communities, land-sharing communities and ecovillages in Australia, the need to have a network organisation to support communities on the ground emerged in the 1980s and has become stronger in the last 10 years.

PAST NETWORKS

There have been loose networks in the past in Australia such as the Intentional Communities Conference (ICC) network and PAN in the 1980’s. The ICC ran for a number of years organising bi-annual community conferences in Australia with the last one held at Moora Moora Co-operative in 2013 and was attended by representatives from over 40 communities.

PAN was developed in the 1980’s as primarily a political lobby group to assist Land-sharing Communities in Northern NSW in relation with the government and was disbanded in 1990 when the need waned.

Intentional Communities Conference, Moora Moora, 2013

Emergence of GEN AUSTRALIA (2014 – 2019)

GEN Australia registered as a not-for-profit incorporated association in 2014 to support ecovillages and intentional communities in Australia. GEN International was however founded in 1995 at Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland, with some of Australia’s ecovillage elders, including Max Lindegger (Crystal Waters), Helena Norberg Hodge (Local Futures) and John Talbot (Narara Ecovillage).

A small group of Australian ecovillages saw a need for GEN presence in Australia, in addition to the regional branch, GEN Oceania and Asia (GENOA). Shane Sylvanspring (formerly Bruns Ecovillage) and Andrew Olivier (Narara Ecovillage) had previously learned about and experienced GEN at Findhorn and in other parts of Europe and felt excited to start the Australian chapter. A few others also interested in creating a national network joined to create the core team, including Wendy Armstrong (Tasman Ecovillage), Sue Gibley (Christie Walk) and Peter Gringer (Gaia Education). Chris Gibbings (Bellbunya) also was active in the GENOA network as the Australian representative.

GEN Australia has met every month for the last 5 years, networking and discussing issues with communities here in Australia primarily with the founding committee members. A small but tight network has developed as a result.

Planning at Tasman Ecovillage Conference, 2015

Significant things were achieved:

The Tasmanian Ecovillage Conference in 2015 hosted by GEN Australia

This brought together around 20 communities at Tasman Ecovillage and the future of a national network was discussed. A loose agreement for a group represented by Co-housing Australia, Co-operatives Australia and GEN Australia were to form to continue intentional community conferences into the future. This never eventuated due to lack of resources and time commitments.

Regional Gathering Nth NSW and SE Qld at Currumbin Ecovillage 2018

A gathering for communities in the SE QLD and Northern Rivers area. A intimate group gathered from various communities and networks, with learnings, exchanges and networking taking place.

Representation at The Sustainable Living Festival (VIC) and other various festivals and events

Throughout the years various members representing GEN at events and festivals.

Members including Shane, Andrew and others have also brought GEN Ecovillage Design Education (EDE) programs and GEN principles into their work developing and supporting communities.

Other Similar Networks 

Recently there has been an emergence of networks and groups that include intentional communities and ecovillages in Australia.

Fellowship of Intentional community has an online directory with many communities in Australia registered.

Welcome to FIC

Co-housing Australia – a volunteer group representing cohousing in Australia. Constitutres are mainly from South Australia and Victoria

Alliance of Intentional Communities Australia (AICA) – A South Australian group that has no projects and is unclear of its intentions. Founded by Ed Wilby.

Co-operative Living Australia – primarily established by Mark Snell from Moora Moora and specifically interested in communities that established as a co-operative.

http://www.equilibrium.org.au/coophousing

Ecovillages Australia – Established by Andrew Mclean and Clare Odgen – recently purchased first property in Maleny to establish an eco-community. They do however want to be a larger network.

Polkadot Ecovillages – founded by Jimmy Hirst to raise awareness of tiny homes and ecovillages.

Short history of the intentional communities movement in Australia

by

Australia has had a history of intentional communities throughout its colonial history with religious and other communities up until the 1970’s. In the early 1970’s Australia had its own alternative revolution that saw many people seeking alternative lifestyles around the country and developing intentional communities. 

The heart of this was the 1972 Aquarius Festival in Nimbin, NSW, where after the festival, we saw the establishment of land-sharing communities around the area.

A scene from the Aquarius Festival in Nimbin, 1973. Flickr/harryws20/Harry Watson Smith, CC BY

NSW became the epicenter of land-sharing communities, in part due to legalisation in the state that allowed ‘land-sharing communities’ on rural land that has multiple dwellings and community facilities on one parcel of land. There are estimated to be over 250 land-sharing communities in NSW (real number not known) with over 180 in the northern NSW region. Another small centre exists around Bellingen NSW with roughly 40 land-sharing communities in that area. Land-sharing communities range in size from 10 to 200 people with varying levels of facilities, intentionality, vision and collectivism. Many of the land-sharing communities would not identify themselves as an intentional community rather a group of people sharing the same piece of land for a sustainable affordable lifestyle.

There was also a wave of Sanyasins in the 1980’s to Northern NSW which saw the establishment of a number of intentional communities with an Osho focus. There are also other religious intentional communities developed in the region.

 Other states such as South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria restricted such uses in the late 1970’s which stopped the growth of intentional communities in these states with only a few established prior to legal issues. Queensland had more liberal planning laws than other states and therefore enabled communities to be established there in different formats.

There has also been the establishment of more planned larger ‘ecovillages’ in Australia concurrently however as they are hard to establish and finance only a dozen of these exist in the country such as Aldinga Arts Village (SA), Crystal Waters (QLD), Currumbin Ecovillage (QLD), Cape Paterson Ecovillage (VIC), Narara Ecovillage (NSW) and Tasman Ecovillage (TAS). 

The amount of co-housing communities in Australia is small and underdeveloped with only around a dozen existing as its still a largely unfamiliar living/development type for Australians.

The total number of intentional communities, ecovillages and land-sharing communities in Australia is unknown however there are estimated to be over 350.

Intentional Communities Conference, Moora Moora 2012