Page 26 - C.A.L.L. #31 - Spring 2009

The following is an article written specifically for a C.A.L.L. by Alexia Demetriou, a
researcher based in the UK, who spent a week each in six different communities.

Outside the Alternative….

I have always been intrigued by
alternative ways of living. Having

been brought up within the
restraints of mainstream society I

decided to flirt with the notion of
opting out and living collectively. My

journey began as I explored an idea
for my anthropology dissertation,
but has developed into a thirst for Monkton Wyld: Membership to this
community has changed since my visit,
knowledge, on what seems to be a which was at a very turbulent time for
more collective and sustainable way the community, struggling with ideals

of life. versus practicalities of living together.
The new community remains a holistic
education centre, open to families
certain weeks of the year, and continues
to run a kindergarten.
My visit to the unknown took me
from the woods of Devon, to a Town House in London, from those with no

religious persuasion, to those living the way they felt the Bible required.
I visited six different communities in the UK, spending a week in each.

The places were as varied as the people I met – vegans to staunch meat

eaters, spiritualists to hard core
activists, and, perhaps most
surprisingly, many people like me –
just people who felt that there

must be more to life than the
conventional.

Othona: This beautiful building hosts a Naively, I thought I would
small, spiritual community. Based on encounter militant activists,
Christianity, the community opens its hippies and sexually liberated
doors to people of all faiths. While
visiting I was considered a community groups. I was surprised to find this
member, and felt a real connection with not to be the case. I found
the place and the people.
communities that worked as a

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