Annual Conference, International Communal Studies Association. On the last Monday in June, I arrived at the front gate of ZEGG's 43-acre site, ready for the seventh international conference of the International Communal Studies Association (ICSA, pronounced "ICK-suh") which brought together about 200 scholars, networkers, members of intentional communities, and seekers of community for three days of talks, workshops, networking, and socializing. The program featured 66 interesting and informative presentations on a wide variety of topics including "Communal Living: An Alternative to the Crisis of Contemporary Civilization," "Women and Intentional Community," "The Challenge of Inter-generational Change," "Communal Education: Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice," "Changing Our Vision of Nature," and "Close Human Relationships: Are They Impaired by Communal Life?" However, the most-mentioned conference highlight was the unplanned bonding and healing that happened between the Israeli Kibbutzniks and the various German participants, especially ZEGG members. The magic that catalyzed this healing stemmed from the ZEGG choir's long-standing tradition of singing folk songs from around the world.
Their repertoire includes a number of Hebrew songs about peace, and by the time they'd sung a couple of those, the barriers seemed to melt. Additionally, this was the first time ICSA's
triennial conference had been hosted at a real live contemporary community, and the experience was so inspiring to most participants that there's now widespread enthusiasm for finding other intentional communities to host future ICSA gatherings.
ICSA Post-Conference Tour. At the end of the week there was a 3-day post-conference tour . A double-decker tour bus took more than 50 of us to visit three other communities in central Germany: UFA-Fabrik in Berlin (a live/work urban commune focused on social, cultural, and ecological innovations); Kommune Niederkaufungen (located in the middle of a small town, it's the largest secular income-sharing community in Germany); and Ekodorf Sieben Linden (a new ecovillage being built outside a small village that's long seen itself as the center of the world). It was a great tour, and many strong connections were created with members of the host communities, and especially between participants as a result of our sharing considerable one-on-one time on the bus, at meals, and in the dormitory-style accommodations.
International Communities Meeting. We returned to ZEGG just in time for the opening of the week-long fourth annual International Communities Meeting (ICM), an informal gathering of communities from all over the world. Representatives from about 40 communities were present, as well as a dozen networkers from various corners of the global communities movement. The sessions featured a good mix of sharing, brainstorming, organizing, and socializing.
Annual Meeting, Global Ecovillage Network/Europe. After the ICM, I enjoyed a few days of rest and recreation at ZEGG before heading southeast with three ZEGGites and one Kibbutznik who decided to stick around for post-ICSA networking. The five of us carpooled about six hours to Wolimierz, a formerly abandoned rail-road-station-turned-community-culture/art center in southwest Poland, about two miles north of the Czech border. There we were greeted by a ragtag collective of artists and their friends who were hosting the annual meeting of the Global Ecovillage Network/Europe. One of the meeting's official highlights was witnessing the signing of the paperwork to accept a $70,000 grant given by the EU (European Union) to support ecovillage education and development in the coming year. A second highlight was their decision to convene, probably in Germany in the fall of 2003, an international gathering of communities, networks, and networkers. (My biggest chuckle was hearing that one of the regional sub-networks, GEN-Italia, has changed its name due to the considerable number of jokes made at its expense.)
We left the GEN-Europe gathering right after the closing circle, though it was tempting to stay for at least the first day of Wolimierz Station's annual festival which features three days and nights of free, nearly non-stop music, theater, food, workshops, partying, and all-night drumming . However ZEGG's annual summer camp was starting the next day, and I didn't want to miss the starting bell.
ZEGG's Annual "Sommercamp." There were another 200 visitors converging on ZEGG for the two-week "Sommercamp." A few participants stayed in the ZEGG Hotel, though most of us were on tight budgets and opted to sleep in tent villages or the dorms. We were divided into about a half dozen dorfgroups (village groups) of about 25-30 participants who met regularly for check-ins, discussions, and forums-the process at the heart of ZEGG's cultural experiment. My dorfgroup was comprised of English-speakers, so I got to regularly hang out with the more international crowd, and I greatly appreciated being able to share and socialize in my native tongue.
ZEGG's forum is a ritualized form of communication, done in a circle, where individuals go into the center to share, ask, emote, or speculate about whatever is moving her or him in the moment. Experienced community members facilitate the process, aspiring to help the participants explore their feelings and thoughts, and enabling them to be seen and heard by everyone present. Sharing one's deepest self in this way is called "transparency," and they use it as a foundation for building trust, clarifying communication, and gathering information that will later be used to help guide the community's decision-making process. It's a very creative and entertaining process, and what you can get out of it ranges dramatically with how much you're willing to put into it. I did some constructive, encouraging work on a few of my own lifelong personal issues.
The daily topics of conversation tended to branch off from whatever speech was given in the morning plenary, most of which were delivered in German with simultaneous English translation through a network of earphones. Planers included such topics as "Social Culture and Spirituality in Matriarchal Societies," "Political and Spiritual Conditions for a Culture of Peace," "Sustainable Regional Development," "From Inner Peace to World Peace," and "Sexual Vitality and Spiritual Connectedness." And to round out the experience there were guided tours, nature walks, women's groups, men's groups, children and youth camps, music and dancing, choir performances, "dancelust" classes, meditation and yoga groups, kitchen shifts, slide shows, star walks, volleyball, a talent show, a swimming pool scene, and late-night hanging out at the dorfkneipe (village pub).
Of course, no report about ZEGG would be complete without at least a glimpse of the community's sexual attitudes. In the early days they advocated "Free Love," but over time that has transformed into a philosophy of "Liberated Love," which means their sexual adventures used to be more widespread and spontaneous, whereas today they aspire to be in "relationships free from fear." How this translates into daily life is that there are a few monogamous couples, a number of singles who date around but tend to have a few favorite partners, and a bunch of open couples who have a primary partner and a number of other occasional lovers. There are probably also a few who are having little luck attracting sexual partners, but I heard little mention of that, and one woman I spoke with had decided to be celibate during a time of personal evaluation and relationship transition . At this stage of the experiment, I noticed a widespread preference for having a primary partnership base from which to operate. My impression is that most people living at or visiting ZEGG can have a romantic adventure if they want one, but folks who are awkward, hesitant, or "too shy to ask" still end up being left out, feeling inadequate, and wondering what they're doing wrong - just like in the mainstream, only not as common - and here people regularly ask you how you're feeling about it and what you want to do about it.
All in all, my time at ZEGG was stimulating, thought-provoking, and inspiring. The fact that they have the facilities and energy to host three back-to-back networking events speaks volumes about their vision and dedication. And the experience, insights, and enthusiasm of the many participants at these events promises great hope for the role of intentional communities in creating a positive future for the planet.
Geoph Kozeny has lived in various kinds of communities for 28 years, and has been on the road for 14 years visiting communities - asking about their visions and realities, taking photos, and giving slide shows about the diversity and vitality of the communities movement. Presently, he is producing a foil-length video documentary on intentional communities.