For many people another way of living starts with this book...
So you’re fed up with living in a little box. Maybe just by yourself. Maybe with your family. Just being a docile consumer alongside the billions of other docile consumers. And the combined outcome of it all is a wrecked planet.
Isn’t there something more to life than this? Couldn’t we have access to many of the best things in life without doing such harm if we were prepared to share more with our neighbours? Perhaps in an intentional community – that’s a community that has come together by intention rather than by chance.
Believe it or not, many people have been living in intentional communities like this for decades. And it’s not all hippy crash pads where nobody does the washing up! This website will open your eyes to the multifarious ways in which communal living happens in the 21st century.
It’s your way into the future!
Here are a few sample pages…
Diggers & Dreamers first appeared in printed form in 1989 and – in its various incarnations – has now been an invaluable resource over many decades.
The name came from the recognition that there are two classic types of people living in intentional communities. The Dreamers: who spend a lot of time imagining different ways of doing things; and the Diggers: who do the day-to-day work of making it actually happen. A successful community blends both of those ways of being together.
In 2019/20 the Foundation for Intentional Communities generously awarded us their Geoph Kozeny Communitarian Award! 
The Intentional Communities Research group will be hosting their Fourth symposium entitled ‘Intentional Communities as experimental spaces’. This year it’s online and Diggers and Dreamers is getting involved.
The morning will consist of presentations from academics and other commentators in the field who are currently researching Intentional Communities. The afternoon will include a series of learning circles on a continuation of the theme.
The day will conclude with a shared discussion drawn from the separate learning circles and discussion of the day. All this for £20!
Diggers and Dreamers will be hosting a FREE online Fringe event after the daytime conference. All four contributors will talk about their experience of writing about communal living.
Registration for this event is separate from the Symposium.
One thing that we really want you to know:
There are many different ways to live communally
Cohousing Community
Living fairly separately but with the possibility of sharing a lot of facilities. The best of both worlds perhaps!
Big House Commune
This is the classic idea of the commune in a big mansion in the country. Here are some places that fit that mould.
Bowden House Community
Bowden House Community is a thriving intentional community which has been established since 2005 one mile from Totnes in rural…
Urban Communal
These housing co-ops and big shared houses in built up areas show that not every commune has to be rural!
Auchinleck Housing Co-operative
Auchinleck Housing Co-operative is a women’s co-op in the Newhaven area, on the north side of Edinburgh. We are currently…
Spiritual Community
Having a focus often helps. These places all have some spiritual or religious belief that underlies their existence.
Sahaja
We are not currently seeking new members. We would like to maintain our presence here on Diggers & Dreamers though…
Low Impact Community
Many aspire to low impact living but these places go all the way with off-grid, low consumption lifestyles.
Want more Detail?
The D&D Reviews are more specialised books about particular types of community
So where
are all these
communities?
Explore our online Directory
Currently seeking... communards
Check out these noticeboards for communities that like to host volunteers as well as those that are currently looking for people to join.
Volunteering and WWOOFing are amongst the best ways to to try communal living out for yourself. Once you’ve decided that you really want to go for it then Places needing Members is the next stop.
Places needing Volunteers
Pendragon House
We enjoy when Wwoofers visit us in Glastonbury Somerset, at the moment we are looking for help in the garden. 5 hours per day nominally. Please get in touch if you are interested.
Places needing Members
Wild Peak Housing Co-op
Wild Peak is looking for members! We have six spaces opening up at our housing and land coop in Derbyshire.
So you want to start or join a forming community?
Don't underestimate the scale of the task! Maybe follow up some of these links...
Developing Groups
Prospect Permaculture Community
We are a group of like minded people who are setting up an intentional community based on permaculture principles. The…
This noticeboard is for Developing Groups that are fairly well established – they may even have a building or a site lined up.
People Forming a Group
New start up
Hi. I'm in my sixties and I'd like to find people in the South Yorkshire area who might be interested…
People Forming a Group is our noticeboard for those at the very early stages whereas Developing Groups are usually quite a bit further down the road.
Properties might suit communities
Lincolnshire property
Spotted this when looking for a property for myself - regrettably the work that might be needed is beyond my…
Properties might suit Communities is where people who are trying to sell or make people aware of a particular vacant property can place a message.
And don't forget our other Noticeboards...
People needing Communal Places
Two Free Spirits
I'm a 33 year old single mother living with my 7 year old son looking for a less conventional way…
General Noticeboard
Looking for ancient woodland
Hello everyone. I have a house and garden of about 3,000s/m for sale in the north of Portugal. The house…
Ghosts of Communes Past
What was that about people that don't learn from history being doomed to repeat it?
And finally... are you up-to-date with Chris's Blog?
