Every human being has the need for Safety: Food, water, shelter, companionship.
When the larger system can not deliver these resources, we will have to help each other out.
These are the steps I believe we have to take:
Step 1. Know who you would like to start a village with. Max 150 persons (according to dunbars number) –> google it.
* Stockpile food for about 1 year, which will act as a bridge to your own village-sufficiency
Step 2. Know what skills, resources and competences you have.
* Builders?
* Hunters/fishermen?
* Craftspeople of all sorts.
* Tools?
* “Food bridge”?
* Map put your skills and resources.
* Seeds
Step 3. Prepare and start building the Common House.
* for cooking common meals
* for dwelling in together until individual housing is built
* build the common house first as a symbol that “we are in this together”.
* the firewood for the common house is gathered together in the daily action through “the fire wood team”.
Step 4. Build Individual housing: Start with the largest family. Continue with smaller families and then individuals.
* Small houses for each family/individual. Every home solution for each individual need.
+ smaller homes are easier to heat
+ easier to look out for your own need of firewood
Step 5. Organize the daily and weekly rituals
1. Daily Time for self (healing, growth, spiritual work, alone time, praying)
2. Daily Time for group work (hunting, firewood, foraging, fishing, farming, building)
2. Daily Common lunch
3. Daily Time for family
4. Time for meeting in the “interest groups”
5. Time for the Village Dwellers to connect through dance, music, food and celebration
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The Interest Groups
Have interest groups who are focused on certain areas. Each category has one main responsible person who receive information from village dwellers and pass it on to the council of elders.
The purpose of having interest groups is to know who you should turn to if you have a problem or want to learn more:
1. Physical Health
2. Mental Health
3. Housing & Building
4. Food preservation
5. Hunting
6. Tools
7. Vegetable Growing
8. Livestock
9. Foraging
10. Firewood
(what more groups are needed?)
There is one main responsible in each of these groups. And anyone who is drawn to the subject can join the weekly group meeting.
In these meetings there is place to discuss systemic or individual challenges and opportunities. Also a time to grow, question, learn, deepen knowledge and strategy.
Each group leader is responsible for the development of useful knowledge and skill in each category.
Resources for the development of the categories are: a) The Village Library and b) The weekly meetings and c) The council of elders.
The Council of Elders:
The council is elected in direct democracy by the village dwellers. Their role is to get information from each main responsible in each category 1-6. (more if needed)
The information is discussed and ideas are developed.
The Village Meeting:
Each week there is a Village Meeting. It is based on two parts. The first part of the meeting is where the weeks challenges, opportunities and possible solutions are presented to the Village. This part of the meeting concerns the village as a whole. Systemic development and updates.
The next part of the meeting is for information which is concerned for only a few members of the tribe. It might be to work on resolving relational conflicts and open discussion between fewer members.
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What do you think about this strategy?
DANIEL GALOVAN 
Hey brother!
Love this post and the ideas you share!
This vision feels very reasonable to me. A possible way forward. Something thatvis a little unclear as I read this, is whether it is intended as a General Outline that could be applied anywhere, or a Specific Plan, intended to be applied in a specific time and place. I get the feeling that it is a bit of both, and believe the document would rise in potency if you made a choice in this matter.
I LOVE your ideas here and feel that it is realistic way forward. Since you asled for feedback and critique I will share additional thoughs and suggestions for improvements below.
– Council of Elders –
First, this concept should be introduced before it is referenced. For clarity of reading. Also, to me, I interpret the name as indicating a council of actual elders. That is, people over the age of 52 (symbolically) who have a lot of life experience and wisdom.
Your description of the council gives the impression that it is not based on age or necessarily experience and wisdom. Again, clarity in this regard would make the vision more clear and potent.
– Daily and weekly rituals –
Rituals and routines are not the same thing. Ritual connects us with the numinous, while routine keeps our feet on the ground and ensure that what we need for survival is there when we need it. I think both are necessary for a healthy community and I see that you honour that too, but I do not think the two should be mixed or that the words should be used interchangably; collecting firewood is a routine that serves a practical purpose and while it *can* be done in a ceremonial way, it is not a ritual unless made into one and if it is made into a ritual, its transforming effect should be in focus, not the practical result.
When it comes to tasks, ritual and routine, I suggest that you sort these important tasks into (for instance) survival, social and spiritual. They all overlap in some ways, but it is also beneficial to keep them separate; building and growing food has to do with survival, and should be first, or at the bottom in a “hierarchy of needs”. Second is social needs and events, such as festivities, dance and so forth. Lastly is spiritual such as prayers and ceremony.
These are my thoughts for now. Love the way you approach the topic and happy to be in your tribe!
Much love,
-M
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