An intentional community is a group of people who have chosen to live or work together in pursuit of a common ideal or vision. An ecovillage is a village-scale intentional community that intends to create, ecological, social, economic, and spiritual sustainability over several generations. The 90s saw a revitalised surge of interest in intentional communities and ecovillages in North America: the number of intentional communities listed in the Communities Directory increased 60 percent between 1990 and 1995. But only 10 percent of the actual number of forming-community groups actually succeeded. Ninety percent failed, often in conflict and heartbreak. After visiting and interviewing founders of dozens of successful and failed communities, along with her own forming-community experiences, the author concluded that 'the successful 10 percent' had all done the same five or six things right, and 'the unsuccessful 90 percent' had made the same handful of mistakes. Recognising that a wealth of wisdom were contained in these experiences, she set out to distil and capture them in one place. 'how-to' information on how to launch and sustain a successful ecovillage or intentional community. Through anecdotes, stories, and cautionary tales about real communities, and by profiling seven successful communities in depth, the book examines 'the successful 10 percent' and why 90 percent fail; the role of community founders; getting a group off to a good start; vision and vision documents; decision-making and governance; agreements; legal options; finding, financing, and developing land; structuring a community economy; selecting new members; and communication, process, and dealing well with conflict. Sample vision documents, community agreements, and visioning exercises are included, along with abundant resources for learning more.

HEALTH / BIOGRAPHY "Patch Adams's book ought to be required reading for patients, doctors, and ordinary mortals of all kinds. I have learned from Patch the courage it takes to be different and to reveal your wounds: behind his clownlike persona lies a great deal of wisdom, and it often falls to the court jester to speak the truth that those in power need to hear." --Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine and Miracles "At last, Patch Adams has put on paper his vision of patient-centered health care--a vision that has inspired so many over the years. Patch's "crazy dream" is, in reality, the root of what good health care should be all about and too often isn't. Any health care professional who reads Gesundheit! will come away with a renewed sense of mission and joy about what they do."--Rick Wade, Sr. Vice President, The American Hospital Association Meet Patch Adams, M.D., a social revolutionary who has devoted his life to giving away health care. Doctor, clown, man of many hats, Adams is the founder of the Gesundheit Institute, a home-based medical practice in West Virginia that has treated more than 15,000 people for free. Whether it means putting on a red clown nose for sick children or taking a disturbed patient outside to roll down a hill with him, Adams does whatever is necessary to help heal. In his frequent lectures and performances at medical schools and international conferences, Adams's irrepressible energy cuts through the businesslike facade of the medical industry to address how the need for a caring relationship between doctor and patient is at the heart of true medicine. This is the story of Patch Adams's lifetime quest to transform the healthcare system. Gainingsupporters across the country, the Gesundheit Institute will soon build a free, full-scale hospital that will be open to anyone in the world. Ambitious? Yes. Impossible? Not for those who know Patch. Patch Adams's amazing story seems like the stuff Hollywood movies are made from--and it is. But for those who loved the movie Patch Adams and want to know the whole story that inspired it, Gesundheit! is just what the doctor ordered. A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be used to fund Patch Adams's Gesundheit Institute, a hospital devoted to free health care.