Communes & other 'C' words

I confess to having long-struggled with the notion of 'communes'. Historically,  the word evoked pious hippies, tyrannical chore rotas, and endless meetings dominated by a gobby, bearded bloke.  Throw in a few wife swaps and it was very obvious to me why they failed as a serious and sustainable way of life.

  

AND YET, I want to live in commune with others and develop land-based enterprises. I also have to admit to holding quite a few so-called ‘hippy’ ideals around non-intensive agriculture, holistic education and shared child-rearing.

Land-based ‘co-housing’ is perhaps a less-offensive ‘C’ word. It is a bit like choosing your neighbours and then entering into certain contractual arrangements with them around shared spaces and work. Intentional communities have been around for centuries but recently there have been welcome developments designed to facilitate non-nuclear, co-habiting arrangements.

There is a strong needs-must element to current trends towards alternative housing. According to the Land Registry the national average cost of a house is £131,731, almost four times the average household income. Deals with small deposits are scarce and buyers are likely required to find a 20% deposit. The situation in the West Country, in particular Devon is more exclusionary.  Despite the recent drop in house prices nationally, the last decade has seen house prices in the countryside more than double, with the average home in Devon now costing £245,000. The average salary for those who work here has risen by far less, to £21,000. At their annual conference in Torquay, the Young Farmers warned that rural communities were becoming increasingly inhabited only by wealthy second home owners and the elderly. They cited high house prices, outbidding by developers and the difficulty of getting land approved for development as causes. When the average mortgage is ten times the average salary and the required deposit could be £50.000, the rural housing situation is at the very least in desperate need of repair. 

Co-operative, multi-family run farms might be a way forward (with a few more clothes on one would hope, at least in Winter!).