Living  Alternatives?
Let us live intentionally!




Today's soaring prices and high costs of living compel us to look at alternatives. As a child, I learned about communes such as the combites (konbit, in Haitian Creole), kibbutzim, kolkhozi, and the ones right here in the USA that had cropped up during the short-lived revolution of the 60's. My earliest and only association with that knowledge and those memories is one of cooperation, voluntary sharing, peaceful discussions, and civil resolutions of disputes. The individuals who had tried to resurrect the sytem of  the combite/konbit in Haiti were visionaries who dreamed of equality for Haiti's people. The Israelis with whom we interacted-- principally Sabras-- were grounded individuals who saw people as people and seemed to understand the human struggle; they were Compassion in the flesh. I had the privilege of meeting hippies and free-loving souls from the Lama, Gorda, and Morning Star communities; they exuded clarity, respect for Natural Law and Other, and a deep respect for God. They believed that as earth's stewards it was our responsibility to care for one another as well as the planet through communal efforts that did no harm.  


Konbit, Kibbutz, Kolkhoz...

The earliest of the three is the Konbit. It was/is a system of 'division of labor' established by free and freed blacks in  the  western part of the  Island of Hispaniola-- now Haiti. This group of individuals  devised a system of communal labor where skills were/are bartered among members of the community, for the greater good of the community. The system predominantly was adopted by the peasant class. 



The first kibbutz was established by Josef Baratz who was one of many who did not espouse the class structure that he espied in Palestine. Prior to that there had been communes in Palestine; however, they were not called kibbutzim. A Russian, he patterned his collective along socialist ideals, principally, he based it  upon the Soviet collective farm--the farming association. Later, these associations would develop into the kolkhozi-- the plural form of kolkhoz.. He asserted that there should not be employers and employed at all." The members of a kibbutz collectively owned production. Much like the global village, children were raised as part of a collective; consequently, they were parented by all. INitially, kibbutzim were agrarian-based enterprises.



Another type of intentional living arrangement was/is the Co-op House or cohousing initiative. This was/is very different from cooperative apartments in that the individuals who lived/live in such an arrangement predominantly were/are students. Interestingly, the arrangement is becoming more popular in mainstream society especially among professionals who are in academic or arts related employment settings. The residents of coop houses cooperatively own or rent their space and populate it with soul mates/like-minded individuals. When I was in college, a number of students lived in a coop house arrangement. If a resident moved out for whatever the reason, the house residents rallied together to recruit and then vote upon a replacement. Maintaining the numbers was important given that chores were divided among residents; sometimes, residents' friends even would chip in to help pay for the rent, utilities, or food if just one resident's financial situation changed. In all, it was a supportive, caring, non-judgmental, and humanistic community. Upon visiting other college towns, I noticed similar arrangements in those areas all of which brought back fond memories of my childhood and my parents' acquaintances. A theme common to the coop housing arrangement was that residents and their friends tended to be vegetarians, environmentalists, and conservationists. People who hold these interests do not have exclusive rights to this type of living arrangement; however, it is possible that they would be more psychologicaly adapted to sharing since depending on the 'house rules' it can entail sharing food, space, property, funds, or whatever would be deemed pertinent to the overall well-being of residents and maintenance of the community. If you have ever experienced living in a fraternity or sorority house, or other special interest living arrangement and enjoyed it, then a coop house arrangement is something that you might wish to consider if you are looking for living alternatives.


​The kolkhoz was a form of agricultural production constituted of peasants who voluntarily united by working cooperatively for the purpose of joint agricultural production. All decisions pertaining to operations and budget were decided upon by the  members. Today in the United States, food cooperatives function much like the konbit, kibbutz, or former kolkhoz.

The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers founded in the Nineteenth Century was a consumer cooperative. They were one of the first cooperatives to pay a dividend. Food cooperatives today actually function on the principles from that time that were established by them for cooperatives.

If you haven't a cooperative near you, then get together with like-minded friends and neighbors to  establish one.









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