#004: Finding Co-Founders and Creating Cooperative Culture with Yana Ludwig

Feb 26, 2022

Yana Ludwig, cooperative culture pioneer and group process trainer, discusses the challenges and importance of finding trustworthy co-founders for intentional communities. She shares experiences from Dancing Rabbit Eco Village and Solidarity House. The podcast explores lessons for building sustainable communities, the ideal size and skills needed for a successful community, and the benefits of joining existing communities with shared values. It also discusses dismantling toxic culture, understanding social dynamics, and fostering cooperative culture within communities.

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ANECDOTE

Yana's Community Introduction

Yana Ludwig was initially reluctant to join her first intentional community while pregnant.
Once immersed, she realized they were actively solving social and ecological issues she cared about.

INSIGHT

Four Dimensions of Sustainability

Sustainable community success depends on worldview, social cooperation, economics, and ecology.
Addressing these dimensions creates motivation and systems that work together in harmony.

ADVICE

Choosing Founders Carefully

Founders should be three to eight people with diverse skills including social, legal, and business.
Look for trust, empathy, conflict comfort, shared power, and commitment to long-term work.

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Thinking of starting an intentional community? The first step is finding “your people” ⁠— the fellow founders you will join with to build community. This is no easy task! Timing, personality, finances, vision, and values are but a few of the considerations. How are you supposed to find and come together with the like-minded visionaries that will be your co-founders? Here to share her insights on this topic is Yana Ludwig.

Yana Ludwig is cooperative culture pioneer, group process trainer, and consultant and anti-opression activist who has lived in community for 25 years. She is the former Executive Director of both the Center for Sustainable and Cooperative Culture at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, and Commonomics USA, an economic justice organization, and currently serves as the Executive Director of Leadership Eastside in Washington. Yana is a dynamic, compassionate and thoughtful speaker and teacher, committed to creating a world that supports the well-being and vibrancy of all beings. Her writing includes Together Resilient: Building Community in the Age of Climate Disruption (published under the name Maikwe Ludwig) , The Cooperative Culture Handbook (co-authored with Karen Gimnig), and numerous articles in Communities magazine. She has spoken on Tedx and hosted the Solidarity house podcast which centers on policy, culture and law. She was also a candidate for US Senate in 2020, ultimately placing 2nd in a crowded Democratic primary field.

You can learn more about Yana and her work at www.yanaludwig.net.

Podcast listeners get 20% of Yana's books and other FIC bookstore purchases with code INSIDE20
Yana’s online course, Starting an Intentional Community, has been made into an on-demand course ideal for people just getting started with a community project or dreaming of starting one. Podcast listeners get 30% off FIC courses with code INSIDE30

If you want to learn more about finding YOUR people or any aspect of building community check out the Inside Community Podcast sponsor, The Foundation for Intentional Community. FIC is an incredible resource center with weekly events, online courses, classified advertisements, an extensive bookstore and lots of free educational materials. You can learn more about FIC and access show notes at ic.org/podcast. Your financial support of Inside Community helps us to continue to create meaningful and exciting content and I hope you’ll consider donating through our website while you are there.

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