BUILDING CAPACITY TO LIVE AND WORK TOGETHER AT AN ECOVILLAGE IN SUPPORT OF ...

211 Pages·2014·1.27 MB·English

BUILDING CAPACITY TO LIVE AND WORK TOGETHER AT AN ECOVILLAGE
IN SUPPORT OF SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY: A CASE STUDY

by

Lisa Helen Mychajluk

A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts
Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
University of Toronto

© Copyright by Lisa Helen Mychajluk (2014)
BUILDING CAPACITY TO LIVE AND WORK TOGETHER AT AN
ECOVILLAGE IN SUPPORT OF SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY: A CASE
STUDY

Master of Arts 2014
Lisa Helen Mychajluk
Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education
University of Toronto

Abstract

Ecovillages are important models of sustainable community and reflective of an
alternative lived paradigm that values collectivism over individualism and cooperation
over competition, in pursuit of bio-regionally-based, shared prosperity. In the face of
growing threats to the predominant social and economic models of individualism,
globalization, and unfettered growth (e.g. the decline of cheap oil), some experts have
postulated that the greatest contribution that ecovillages can make is to help us
understand of how to live ―smaller, slower and closer (Litfin 2013)‖ – in other words,
how to organize socially and economically in a post-carbon world. Through a qualitative
case study of Whole Village ecovillage in Caledon, Ontario, this thesis explores the
structures and processes through which ecovillagers build capacity for living and working
together, and reveals the complex interplay between elements of community building,
community dynamics and capacity building, which can either support or undermine the
development of sustainable community.

ii
Acknowledgements

The deepest of thanks to my thesis supervisor, Professor Jennifer Sumner, for
your guidance and support, which helped shape this thesis and provided a much needed
lift whenever I was starting to feel bogged down. Thanks also to my second reader,
Professor Edmund O‘Sullivan, who validated for me the importance of my research topic,
and the need to create sustainable human experiences under drastically changing
planetary conditions. I credit both of these professors for igniting my desire to undertake
this research, as I was inspired after taking their courses in Education for Sustainability
(Sumner) and Transformative Learning (O‘Sullivan).
Thanks also to the residents and members of Whole Village ecovillage and
intentional community in Caledon, Ontario; in particular, those eight brave souls who
opened up to me, without apparent reserve, to be interviewed for this thesis research.
Each of you provided invaluable insight on the ecovillage experience. In addition, I am
deeply thankful for the opportunity to have spent time in the community, making friends
and building a greater personal understanding of what it truly means to live sustainably. I
have come to think of ecovillagers as ‗front-liners‘ in the quest for sustainability, and I
commend you all for your dedication and the energy you have committed to this pursuit.
Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to my amazing husband, Marcel Pijper – I
would not have been able to do this without you. Thank you for keeping our family
functioning throughout this process; for your positive attitude; for the thoughtful
discussions after putting the kids to bed; for your endless and unwavering support. I
simply cannot thank you enough.
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Dedication

To my children, Simon Alexander and Evelyn Grace:

―When you act on behalf of something greater than yourself,
you begin to feel it acting through you
with a power that is greater than your own.

This is grace.‖

- Joanna Macy (edited into verse by Tom Atlee), Grace and the Great Turning

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Quotes

―There is one overriding problem with collaborative groups – they are groups of people,
and people are damn difficult to get along with. Were it not for that fact, we would have
already saved the world many times over. Instead, we‘re left down here in the muck,
struggling with the irritating, irresponsible, pig-headed, stubborn, judgmental, egotistical
and petty people who are supposed to be our allies.‖
- Starhawk, The Empowerment Manual

―If you want to bring fundamental change in people‘s belief and behaviour, you
need to create a community around them where their new beliefs can be practiced
and expressed and nurtured.‖

- Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point

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Table of Contents

Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii
Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... iv
Quotes .............................................................................................................................................. v
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix
Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Research questions .......................................................................................................... 3
1.2 Chapter Outline ............................................................................................................... 4
Chapter Two: Contextualizing the research .................................................................................... 7
2.1 What is sustainability? ..................................................................................................... 7
2.1.1 Ecology .................................................................................................................... 9
2.1.2 Economy ................................................................................................................ 11
2.1.3 Community ............................................................................................................ 15
2.1.4 Consciousness........................................................................................................ 18
2.2 Getting to Sustainability – The three-part model of bioregionalism, permaculture and
ecovillages ........................................................................................................................ 20
2.3 Ecovillages .................................................................................................................... 23
2.4 Why study ecovillages? ................................................................................................. 26
2.5 Chapter conclusion ........................................................................................................ 28
Chapter Three: Theoretical framework ......................................................................................... 31
3.1 Group dynamics theory ................................................................................................. 31
3.1.1 The study of groups and group dynamics .............................................................. 32
3.1.2 Group qualities and group efficacy ....................................................................... 33
3.1.3 Understanding the dynamics of cooperative groups .............................................. 37
3.1.4 Section conclusion: the effective group ................................................................. 40
3.2 Interactional theory of social organization and capacity-building for sustainable
community development .................................................................................................. 42
3.2.1 What is ‗community‘? ........................................................................................... 42
3.2.2 Ecovillages – a post-carbon community model ..................................................... 44
3.2.3 Interactional theory and sustainable community development ............................. 46
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3.2.4 Community capacity building: definition and operational framework .................. 49
3.2.5 Section conclusion: capacity-building for sustainable communities ..................... 53
3.3 Linking the theoretical frameworks ............................................................................... 54
3.4 Chapter conclusion: theoretical framework ................................................................... 56
Chapter Four: Literature review .................................................................................................... 58
4.1 Community building structures and processes .............................................................. 58
4.1.1 Purpose / Vision / Principles ................................................................................. 59
4.1.2 Membership process .............................................................................................. 63
4.1.3 Decision-making process ....................................................................................... 65
4.1.4 Agreements / rules ................................................................................................. 69
4.1.5 The Intangibles: group cohesion, interdependence and reciprocity ...................... 70
4.1.6 Raising consciousness ........................................................................................... 77
4.1.7 Section conclusion ................................................................................................. 79
4.2 Community dynamics .................................................................................................... 79
4.2.1 Vision / principles .................................................................................................. 80
4.2.2 Organization .......................................................................................................... 81
4.2.3 People .................................................................................................................... 82
4.2.4 Economics ............................................................................................................. 82
4.2.5 Section conclusion ................................................................................................. 83
4.3 Capacity-building - tools and skills ............................................................................... 84
4.3.1 Conflict management ............................................................................................. 85
4.3.2 Decision-making .................................................................................................... 86
4.3.3 Facilitating discussion ........................................................................................... 88
4.3.4 Communication ..................................................................................................... 90
4.3.5 Interpersonal relations, reflexivity and growth ...................................................... 91
4.4 Chapter conclusion ........................................................................................................ 96
Chapter Five: Methodology ........................................................................................................... 98
5.1 The qualitative case study approach .............................................................................. 99
5.1.1 Strengths of the case study approach ................................................................... 102
5.1.2 Weaknesses of the case study approach .............................................................. 102
5.2 The case: Whole Village ecovillage and intentional community ................................ 103
5.3 Use of literature ........................................................................................................... 105
5.4 Data collection methods .............................................................................................. 106
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5.4.1 Obtaining consent ................................................................................................ 107
5.4.2 Study period......................................................................................................... 107
5.4.3 Document review ................................................................................................. 107
5.4.4 Participant-observation ........................................................................................ 108
5.4.5 Semi-structured interviews .................................................................................. 111
5.5 Data management and interpretation ........................................................................... 112
5.6 Limitations ................................................................................................................... 114
5.7 Chapter conclusion ...................................................................................................... 115
Chapter Six: Findings .................................................................................................................. 117
6.1 About Whole Village ................................................................................................... 117
6.2 Findings of document review and participant-observation ......................................... 119
6.2.1 Community building at Whole Village ............................................................... 120
6.2.2 Community dynamics at Whole Village ............................................................. 128
6.2.3 Capacity building at Whole Village .................................................................... 133
6.3 Results of semi-structured interviews.......................................................................... 137
6.3.1 Perceptions on community building .................................................................... 138
6.3.2 Perceptions on community dynamics .................................................................. 143
6.3.3 Perceptions on capacity building ......................................................................... 155
6.3.4 Perceptions on links to sustainable community ................................................... 165
6.4 Chapter conclusion ...................................................................................................... 169
Chapter Seven: Discussion .......................................................................................................... 172
7.1 Community building and positive group dynamics ..................................................... 173
7.2 Capacity building and group functionality .................................................................. 182
Chapter Eight: Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 188
References ................................................................................................................................... 193
APPENDIX A: Information sheet and consent form .................................................................. 197
APPENDIX B: List of documents reviewed ............................................................................... 201
APPENDIX C: Individual interview questions ........................................................................... 202

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Relationship between theoretical frameworks ............................................................... 54
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Chapter One: Introduction
1
North Americans consume the equivalent of four Earths worth of resources , and
the primary resource fuelling this consumption – cheap oil – is in decline (Heinburg,
2005; Kunstler, 2006). Over-consumptive lifestyles, and the systems which support them
(e.g. long-distance transport of goods), are blamed for a myriad of environmental, social,
and economic problems - global climatic change, unmanageable waste levels, war and
violence, to name a few. It is clear that the way we live is no longer sustainable, leading
change advocates to call for massive overhaul of our economic and social systems, a
transition to a post-carbon world, and to pursue prosperity in a more local direction (for
example: Heinburg, 2004; Hopkins, 2008; McKibben, 2008). This is, essentially, a call to
create sustainable, place-based communities.
While there is growing recognition of the need for change, much of the response
appears superficial (e.g. buying ‗greener‘ products), and ‗the great turning‘ – described
by Korten (2006) as a time when we learn to live in partnership with one another and the
living Earth - does not appear to be an approach embraced by much of modern society.
Like Serrano, many believe that a transition to sustainability is only possible if we
abandon our ―faith in growth‖, which he states ―has great cost for humanity – poverty,
destruction of culture, community and environment, and increased conflict – but perhaps
the greatest failure is never succeeding in learning how to live together (2000:86)‖.
Ultimately, the perspective of these theorists is that the viability of the human experience

1
We have been in global biocapacity overshoot since the 1970s, meaning we use more resources in a year
than the Earth can produce. Currently we are in 50% overshoot globally, meaning we need the equivalent
of 1.5 Earths worth of resources; but North America uses much more than that, and is the primary global
culprit contributing to overshoot (Moore & Rees 2013).
1