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Building Capacity to Live and Work Together at an Ecovillage in Support of Sustainable Community: a Case Study

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Building Capacity to Live and Work Together at an Ecovillage in Support of Sustainable Community: a Case Study BUILDING CAPACITY TO LIVE AND WORK TOGETHER AT AN ECOVILLAGE IN SUPPORT OF SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY: A CASE STUDY by Lisa Helen Mychajluk A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Lisa Helen Mychajluk (2014) BUILDING CAPACITY TO LIVE AND WORK TOGETHER AT AN ECOVILLAGE IN SUPPORT OF SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY: A CASE STUDY Master of Arts 2014 Lisa Helen Mychajluk Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education University of Toronto Abstract Ecovillages are important models of sustainable community and reflective of an alternative lived paradigm that values collectivism over individualism and cooperation over competition, in pursuit of bio-regionally-based, shared prosperity. In the face of growing threats to the predominant social and economic models of individualism, globalization, and unfettered growth (e.g. the decline of cheap oil), some experts have postulated that the greatest contribution that ecovillages can make is to help us understand of how to live ―smaller, slower and closer (Litfin 2013)‖ – in other words, how to organize socially and economically in a post-carbon world. Through a qualitative case study of Whole Village ecovillage in Caledon, Ontario, this thesis explores the structures and processes through which ecovillagers build capacity for living and working together, and reveals the complex interplay between elements of community building, community dynamics and capacity building, which can either support or undermine the development of sustainable community. ii Acknowledgements The deepest of thanks to my thesis supervisor, Professor Jennifer Sumner, for your guidance and support, which helped shape this thesis and provided a much needed lift whenever I was starting to feel bogged down. Thanks also to my second reader, Professor Edmund O‘Sullivan, who validated for me the importance of my research topic, and the need to create sustainable human experiences under drastically changing planetary conditions. I credit both of these professors for igniting my desire to undertake this research, as I was inspired after taking their courses in Education for Sustainability (Sumner) and Transformative Learning (O‘Sullivan). Thanks also to the residents and members of Whole Village ecovillage and intentional community in Caledon, Ontario; in particular, those eight brave souls who opened up to me, without apparent reserve, to be interviewed for this thesis research. Each of you provided invaluable insight on the ecovillage experience. In addition, I am deeply thankful for the opportunity to have spent time in the community, making friends and building a greater personal understanding of what it truly means to live sustainably. I have come to think of ecovillagers as ‗front-liners‘ in the quest for sustainability, and I commend you all for your dedication and the energy you have committed to this pursuit. Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to my amazing husband, Marcel Pijper – I would not have been able to do this without you. Thank you for keeping our family functioning throughout this process; for your positive attitude; for the thoughtful discussions after putting the kids to bed; for your endless and unwavering support. I simply cannot thank you enough. iii Dedication To my children, Simon Alexander and Evelyn Grace: ―When you act on behalf of something greater than yourself, you begin to feel it acting through you with a power that is greater than your own. This is grace.‖ - Joanna Macy (edited into verse by Tom Atlee), Grace and the Great Turning iv Quotes ―There is one overriding problem with collaborative groups – they are groups of people, and people are damn difficult to get along with. Were it not for that fact, we would have already saved the world many times over. Instead, we‘re left down here in the muck, struggling with the irritating, irresponsible, pig-headed, stubborn, judgmental, egotistical and petty people who are supposed to be our allies.‖ - Starhawk, The Empowerment Manual ―If you want to bring fundamental change in people‘s belief and behaviour, you need to create a community around them where their new beliefs can be practiced and expressed and nurtured.‖ - Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point v Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... iv Quotes .............................................................................................................................................. v Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research questions .......................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Chapter Outline ............................................................................................................... 4 Chapter Two: Contextualizing the research .................................................................................... 7 2.1 What is sustainability? ..................................................................................................... 7 2.1.1 Ecology .................................................................................................................... 9 2.1.2 Economy ................................................................................................................ 11 2.1.3 Community ............................................................................................................ 15 2.1.4 Consciousness........................................................................................................ 18 2.2 Getting to Sustainability – The three-part model of bioregionalism, permaculture and ecovillages ........................................................................................................................ 20 2.3 Ecovillages .................................................................................................................... 23 2.4 Why study ecovillages? ................................................................................................. 26 2.5 Chapter conclusion ........................................................................................................ 28 Chapter Three: Theoretical framework ......................................................................................... 31 3.1 Group dynamics theory ................................................................................................. 31 3.1.1 The study of groups and group dynamics .............................................................. 32 3.1.2 Group qualities and group efficacy ....................................................................... 33 3.1.3 Understanding the dynamics of cooperative groups .............................................. 37 3.1.4 Section conclusion: the effective group ................................................................. 40 3.2 Interactional theory of social organization and capacity-building for sustainable community development .................................................................................................. 42 3.2.1 What is ‗community‘? ........................................................................................... 42 3.2.2 Ecovillages – a post-carbon community model ..................................................... 44 3.2.3 Interactional theory and sustainable community development ............................. 46 vi 3.2.4 Community capacity building: definition and operational framework .................. 49 3.2.5 Section conclusion: capacity-building for sustainable communities ..................... 53 3.3 Linking the theoretical frameworks ............................................................................... 54 3.4 Chapter conclusion: theoretical framework ................................................................... 56 Chapter Four: Literature review .................................................................................................... 58 4.1 Community building structures and processes .............................................................. 58 4.1.1 Purpose / Vision / Principles ................................................................................. 59 4.1.2 Membership process .............................................................................................. 63 4.1.3 Decision-making process ....................................................................................... 65 4.1.4 Agreements / rules ................................................................................................. 69 4.1.5 The Intangibles: group cohesion, interdependence and reciprocity .....................
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