There is no such thing as utopia — I mean, there is no such thing as zero conflict, no matter where you are. But if you can deal with conflict in a healthy way, that’s critical! Thankfully, I think we do an above-average job of handling such conflict.

(I’m with you there about meetings, too — I’d much rather be active outside. As hard as it is to believe, some people enjoy them! Weird. But anyway, perhaps they are a necessary ‘evil’?)

All that is true. 100% true. 

If there are any places this article falls short, it’s where he fails to talk about the more challenging sides of ecovillage life. It’s great to talk about connecting with the dirt, renewable energy, and building natural materials. All sounds very romantic. At to a large degree, he’s right. It is romantic. 

It’s also a lot of work. Making candles? Beekeeping? Growing food? building houses? Hard work my friend, not for your average couch potatoes, which a significant portion of our population unfortunately is. 

Not to mention the other challenges that living in community brings. 

“Group decisions are made through the process of consensus.” 

AKA – long, regular, often very dry meetings where I’d rather be watching a movie or hunting, hiking, or doing just about anything rather than sitting in a long meeting. 

Living in community means you can’t just shut someone out of your life the way we would (and do) in regular society. You have to interact with them on a daily basis. There will inevitably be people in a community setting that grate your personality, and you have to learn how to deal with it (and them) in a way that doesn’t disrupt the harmony for the rest of your co-inhabitants. Again, it’s can be hard work. 

This is not to say that community living isn’t wonderful at the same time. I just think it’s important to realize both sides of the coin. 
Overall, great piece. My 2 cents, peace