..........

Dear friends,

Since the last newsletter was posted we've had some discussion of living overseas as opposed to making plans for the US. There are advantages to both approaches but for now the poll we have indicates support for a location in the US. That opinion has been fairly constant over time.

We have a few new contacts and some interesting ideas. One of which can be seen on our YahooGroup's photos. The notion that there is urban property for sale, not simply housing, but large buildings such as schools or closed businesses. The idea being that we could take on one of these properties and learn how to manage ourselves while still plugged into an urban setting. My favorite photo is of a school and its price was surprisingly low, considering the space. I know that there would be local regulations and other hurdles to overcome but the idea is worth mulling over.

I only offer this as a talking point. The files are named by their price and state of location, thus 250Kwv.mpeg is a property that is 250K in price and located in WV. I think the school is the most intriguing one for the price

Regarding one of the properties:

At $4 per square foot you can't find property any cheaper. You could commute to any farmland you might purchase. There is no property tax on senior citizens in WV also making it a cheap place to retire. It is difficult to motivate people in a communal setting. It is the naturel state of men to want more and more and to work less and less. WV has a mild climate. It is mild in summer but has a winter with snow. The rain is sufficient to farm without irrigation. The winter is not severe however and probably is above freezing most of the time during the day. .......... Gary

Let us keep on keeping on, eventually we'll get where we want to be!

Community of Light

We want to co-create a community in a rural area, grow a good portion of our own food, create a profitable cottage industries, and so be self employed. We wanted keep well the land that we live on and engage in right livelihood. We also want to contribute to the community around us and so benefit our society. Ideally, we would want to be near enough to a good sized town maybe some 50,000 or so, a college community would be something to consider. We could each use our talents, abilities, or professions to provide for ourselves as well extent help to others.

You are all welcome to express your ideas about what our community should be. We are, after all, the persons who will make it up.

There are a lot of ideas that we've discussed but I want everyone to know that what is or has been in issues are meant as working concepts. This whole idea is a work in progress and so let us know what you think.

If you have not been to the Community of Lights web page we now have a listing of communities that are forming. It may be educational to visit some of those sites to see what's new in the community universe See the links at: Community of Light

Thanks, Dan and Wendy

Email Address: creative1@creativeideasforyou.com

These are the introductions from persons that have written us since the last issue. Please go to Subscriber's Profiles if you would like to see the profiles we have on file currently. Some but not all of these people may have additional information there.

Anne Clarke ………. annie_c25@hotmail.com

The earth needs much healing in this situation that we have subjected her to. What better way than to join in love and friendship to live a life of peace and harmony. Yes, I would like to be put on your mailing list and to receive a letter about your group.

C. Christ .......... jennydamascus@hotmail.com

Hello

I am very keen on becoming part of this emailing list, I don't have any profile ready, but I would like to get connected with those that share some similar ideas as myself and therefore would love for my email address to be available to those interested.

From: Gary ………. gary19561956@juno.com

Hello,

When I saw that property in WV I thought of commune living. There are other commercial buildings for sale. There are mulit &endash; unit apartments at low prices too.

The web site is http://www.usamls.net>www.usamls.net Click on find an mls number, click on WV and then on one of the two sites listed there.

From: Lena Crane ………. lenacrane@gmail.com

Hi Dan,

I am interested in your "community of light" project. Please add me to your mailing list. Thanks! peace and love, Lena

From Dan, I sent them both some information and they are on the mailing list.

zorrro76655 .......... zorro76655@hotmail.com

Dolores Finney ………. dee777@aol.com

John .......... vintrest@yahoo.com

Sat Sep 8, 2007 4:27 pm (PST)

Hi All,

Just wanted to extend an invitation to anyone who is in the Bay Area that Green Valley Village, an intentional community-in-forming (over 2 years old) is holding its monthly Second Sunday Open House/potluck dinner tomorrow from 3:30 PM to ???? (until the music in the barn stops) We're located at 13024 Green Valley Road northwest of Sebastopol off Hwy. 116. The open house gives visitors a chance to learn more about our community and to see first hand the complexities in maintaining an intentional community. If anyone decides to come, just ask for John when you get here-I'll give you the grand tour.

Peace, John S.

The probability of a major economic meltdown is like the probability of a major earthquake along the San Andreas fault-sooner or later, it's gonna happen. Like the elusive Big earthquake, no one can pinpoint when or where.

Rushing to form an intentional community out of fear seems like a poor reason. We should not let ourselves get into we vs. they mentalities. We've forgotten precisely why America is so great is because we care about each other. Working together, a great nation was built. (looking aside from the environmental and indigenous plunder and destruction in the process) I would hope, in a major crisis, people would NOT turn against each other in a form of Darwinian survivalism but instead, would ban together, share resources, and get through a crisis collectively. On a smaller scale intentional communities are ideal to weather a crisis. However, the time to form one is before the crisis happens because once it does, people's priorities become changed by fear and greed. Here's hoping the COL will happen in the right time.

John S.

From: Gabriella ………. sacredsensual@yahoo.com

Hello,

I am in Portland Oregon and have been planning a community much like the one you have envisioned. I am currently opening a dance studio and tantra school and writing two books. I have lined up a number of people who have an interest in various levels of participation

Sterling Stipe .......... sstipe2021@hotmail.com

Subject: Just another thought re the group

Hi Dan:

You might look in farm magazines to see if an older couple nearing retirement might be advertising to sell a going vegetable farming enterprise.

That might be the safest way for your group to come together on something.

Check with county agents in several counties where small farm-truck farming is common to see if they know of older people needing to hire help and/or wanting to sell their operations including the land. I know from living in army housing at Fort Ord (near Seaside and Monterey)for a year (1956/57) that many of the California farming operations are huge and are operated with huge equipment and many workers. We were very impressed with the huge fields we saw between Fort Ord and Salinas and around Watsonville.

It might be a long shot---but surely there are older people with small farms who are wanting to sell their land and--perhaps-- you could let them continue to live in their family home until they needed to go into a nursing home.

It would be safer if your group could learn the business, I.e., the growing and marketing of of the crops from someone who has been successful over a period of many years.

It takes time and it is not easy to learn all you need to know to run a successful veggie farm.

I know you are going slow and trying to be cautious. I think that's the right way to go.

Another approach would be for all your people to join a successful group and plan to be a spin-off group later on when everyone is ready to go it alone as a separate group.

Just some musings---just vague ideas---I have no experience with group living and have never operated a business, so take all this with a grain of salt!

Jim Miller ………. jimmiller5417@yahoo.com

Re: Housin Containers I designed and built a similar one: 8' wide, 40' long, 9.5' high. One bedroom, one bath, kitchen and study. Cash cost was about $5,000. It's portable on a flatbed semitrailer, but no trailer wheels. When I find and join an IC, I intend to put it on a foundation and build two additional "units" so I would have a 40' x 24' house.

My mistake was in not building it on a trailer frame at the beginning and am now looking for a very sturdy, 20,000 GVW frame with four 5,000 lb. axles with brakes.

Jim Miller

A very easy way to give food to the hungry is to set the Hunger Site as your browser's home page. Check out the Hunger Site to see what it is about and how it works.

If you want to research intentional communities this is a good place to start.

Communities Magazine comes out regularly and is a resource for those seeking to explore communities. The directory that is a great primer in the variety of the community universe. You can write them at the address given below. This is their office address.

Communities Magazine, 138 Twin Oaks Road, Louisa VA 23093 USA or call them at: Tel/Fax: 540-894-5126. Their website is at Intentional Communities

The resources on the Northwest Intentional Communities site might be valuable. There are lists of legal documents, process advice etc. They're at: http://www.ic.org/nica/resource.htm

This list of places seeking members, communities forming and the like. It's at the F.I.C.'s website: http://directory.ic.org/iclist/

It might be a place to do research, who knows there may be a place within a relatively short drive.

My yahoo ID is available for use as a means to chat online. I am willing to schedule a time(s) during a given month where we could chat. I am thinking that a Saturday or Sunday would be the best time overall, however I am open to suggestions. Please advise.

If you are a member of our Yahoo group you can access the current polling data, or vote: this is the link to our group This is what we have at "press time"

Would you consider a location outside the United States?

Choices	Votes	%
Outside the U.S. preferred	2	10%
depending on country chosen	5	26%
Neutral - no preference	2	10%
would but not first choice	7	35%
NOT consider outside U.S.	4	21%

Should we have a membership fee of some kind?

Choices	Votes	%
Income of entering members	4	25%
Money making capacity of the community	12	75%

If we had an entry fee what should it be based upon?

Choices	Votes	%
Number of entering members	0	0%
Income of entering members	2	14%
Money making capacity of the community	2	14%
Other	2	14%
A share buying system	8	57%

Areas or regions we'd like to consider: (See the site for details)

Choices	Votes	%
AZ, NM, W. Texas	0	0
Cent. US: NB KS OK DA	0	0
G. Lakes, AK, MO, IL, IN,WI, KY, TN	1	8%
E. KY, E. TN, WVA, W.VA, W.,PA,	2	16%
G. Coast, FL, LA, MS, AL	0	0
E. PA, NY, NH, VT, CT, RH ME, MD	0	0
N. Idaho	0	0
NW/W OR, W. WA,	6	50%
CA, NV, UT, E. OR, E, WA, MT, CO, Wy	3	25%

What kind of climate would you want to live in?

Choices	Votes	%
Tropical	1	4%
Subtropical	6	22%
Forest	7	31%
Woodland/meadow	9	40%
Tundra	0	0%

What land locations would you like?

Choices	Votes	%
Island	14	19%
Peninsula	11	15%
Land bound w/coast	14	19%
land bound no coast	11	13.04%
High altitude	13	17%
Low altitude	10	13%

What sorts of things would you want to use the land for?

Choices	Votes	%
Farming	17	13%
Raising livestock	13	10%
Raising feed crops	10	7%
Hunting	6	4%
Gathering	14	10%
Fishing	13	10%
Utilitarian crops	10	7%
Fruit bearing trees	20	15%
Lumber/milling	4	3%
Water/solar for alt. power	21	16%

Would you consider a buy/sell/relationship with the outside world?

Choices	Votes	%
Yes	20	100%
No	0	0%

Safety, from the "who would have thought" category:

Hello to All, please take a couple of minutes and read this information. As I do know some people that do ignore these precautions and one day will pay the penalty. As I have tried to tell them many times at the pumps why take the risk.

By the way Snopes.com states this is the truth also. So take notice, and spread the word.

The Petroleum Equipment Institute, along with several other companies now, are really trying to make the public aware of this danger.

In the first case, the phone was placed on the car's trunk lid during fueling; it rang and the ensuing fire destroyed the car and the gasoline pump.

In the second, an individual suffered severe burns to their face when fumes ignited as they answered a call while refueling their car.

And in the third, an individual suffered burns to the thigh and groin as fumes ignited when the phone, which was in their pocket, rang while they were fueling their car.

You should know that mobile phones can ignite fuel or fumes

Mobile phones that light up when switched on or when they ring, release enough energy to provide a spark for ignition Mobile phones should not be used in filling stations, or when fueling lawn mowers, boat! , Etc.

Mobile phones should not be used, or should be turned off, around other materials that generate flammable or explosive fumes or dust, (i.e. solvents, chemicals, gases, grain dust, etc.)

To sum it up, here are the: Four Rules for Safe Refueling

1) Turn off engine,

2) Don't smoke

3) Don't use your cell phone - leave it inside the vehicle or turn it off

4) Don't reenter your vehicle during fueling

Bob Renkes of Petroleum Equipment Institute

is working on a campaign to try and make people aware of fires as a result of "static electricity" at gas pumps . His company has researched 150 cases of these fires.

His results were very surprising:

1) Out of 150 cases, almost all of them were women.

2) Almost all cases involved the person getting back in their vehicle while the nozzle was still pumping gas. When finished, they went back to pull the nozzle out and the fire started, as a result of static.

3) Most had on rubber-soled shoes.

4) Most men never get back in their vehicle until completely finished. This is why they are seldom involved in these types of fires.

5) Don't ever use cell phones when pumping gas.

6) It is the vapors that come out of the gas that cause the fire, when connected with static charges.

7) There were 29 fires where the vehicle was reentered and the nozzle was touched during refueling from a variety of makes and models. Some resulted in extensive damage to the vehicle, to the station, and to the customer.

8) Seventeen fires occurred before, during or immediately after the gas cap was removed and before fueling began.

Mr. Renkes stresses to NEVER get back into your vehicle while filling it with gas.

If you absolutely HAVE to get in your vehicle while the gas is pumping, make sure you get out, close the door TOUCHING THE METAL, before you ever pull the nozzle out. This way the static from your body will be discharged before you ever remove the nozzle.

Thanks for passing this along.