Co-living, Community and Societal Structure

There is a reason “sharing is caring” is a time-honoured adage – something we say to our kids and repeat to each other. No, not because it rhymes, but because, despite its simplicity, it is deeply, undeniably true. At the core of how we should (and traditionally did) behave as human beings, is the intrinsic, basic necessity to share. It is coded into us. 

But sharing isn’t just caring, kind or something nice to do (although it is). It is clever. It is efficient. And it is imperative for our wellbeing – just as it has been since our cave-ancestors shared shelter, food and defence.   

However, post-industrialist society saw a shift away from our sharing structures. Moving out of community pods, neighbourhoods and barrios and into too-fast-growing cities to better feed factories and, later, offices, we were siloed, segregated and separated. In every way, life was less sustainable, less practical, less loving and less fun.

We think the world needs a return to this community concept; the sharing is caring societal structure – collective living inspired by the traditional village model, but updated for modern needs (think shared kitchen gardens, childcare, ceremony and transport, plus superfast fibreoptic broadband). To find out more about what we mean by collective living, check out how we build our habitats. 

Why?

It’s natural

The community system is nature’s system. Look anywhere in nature, from a jungle to a herd of mustangs, and you will see natural structures designed around the life cycles of their individual parts – catering to strengths and weaknesses within each being’s lifespan, both utilising the gifts of and looking after the young and old. 

A good community has the power to care for the young and old, while valuing and using the strengths of each: looking to the elderly for wisdom and guidance for children, to the young for their infectious joie de vivre, is simple symbiotic relationships, giving everything its place. Just like in nature, everyone is looked after, and everyone has a purpose, a role, and an important, life-affirming sense of worth. 

It’s good for us

Shared living is safe, sound, and kind: meaning it protects and enhances our holistic health. 

Just as animals use the collective power to defend their packs from predators, protect the old and young, and pool their hunt, and our ancestors used it as a way to share information, to pass on intel on predators and prey, the community structure has immense power to keep us secure. Today’s “predators” may be different, but in a time where international imports might become difficult and securing immunity-boosting, nutritious food and locally sourced medicines is more important than ever, the ability of the collective to power the cultivation of shared food and medicine is invaluable to wellbeing and security. 

And it’s not only our physical wellbeing that benefits from a community structure: that life-affirming sense of worth we mentioned? Of course that boosts mental and emotional health. And in an era where we are suffering from a widespread loneliness epidemic, nothing could be a simpler fix than structurally coming together. We are, naturally, social creatures – when we live, work, cook, learn, play, create, together, when we care for each other, when we laugh, chat, hug, we thrive. Togetherness allows humans at every age to thrive at every level, and our structures should facilitate this.

In fact, our concept of a healthy, happy, working community involves more than simply enjoying the benefits that co-living automatically brings – it also offers community practise. 

Humans, we know, exist on four simultaneous planes: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual –each intertwined, and each as important as the other when curating a happy life. Honing our emotional intelligence, for example, and catering to our psychiatric health protects us in times of unpredictability or trauma the way building muscle strength helps us heal from injury. At The Moth, we integrate this development into our community offerings – and we address the spiritual, bringing in time-honoured, tried-and-tested (in countless cultures and eras), literally vibration-raising practises of communal ceremony, group meditation, singing or sound healing, prayer or yoga practise. Interested? Find out more about how practises, conditions and collective activity can raise our vibrations, enhance us and help us access our flow.

And, of course, this collective activity and ceremony takes on even more power when we connect it to our ancestral knowledge of life cycles: honouring harvest, full moons, solstices and human occasions such as births, weddings and teenage rites of passage.

It’s efficient

Heading back down to earth with a bang, communal living also makes immense economic sense; the collective power works so well because group investment and manpower means the community can aggregate resources for optimum result – they can implement an infrastructure and systems that just wouldn’t make sense for a single household. 

Think about it, it’s not efficient to grow a field-full of veg for a family of four, but makes total sense for a handful of households, growing a variety of foods on a smart scale. Similarly with creating preserves, creating milks, tinctures or baking anything by batch. It’s all cheaper, easier and more sensible done for and by the group. And a community “buyers’ club” dramatically lowers what it spends on outsourced food by buying in bulk – something allows the collective to buy directly from high-quality suppliers (three gallons of organic honey, anyone?), supporting local businesses and dramatically reducing packaging, transportation and food waste. 

Speaking of waste, the systems afforded by consciously-designed community structures are much more environmentally sustainable too: composting systems, on-site recycling plants, streamlined waste systems – they all only make sense in a collaborative living context where the positive impact > the use of resources. Just like tools, workshops and fun stuff like boats. 

This goes for childcare too – it is largely easier to look after several children than one, say (they entertain each other, it’s basic economies of scale). But, more than anything, it’s far more nourishing for them socially. Moreover, a community can fully invest in their chosen teaching systems, brilliant nannies and incredible play spaces, toys and games – as well as sharing transport and driving to get everyone where they need to go AND reduce their carbon footprints. 

And on the topic of teachers and nannies, collective hiring power means collective living hamlets can support their local communities by creating steady jobs: be that cleaning or gardening, a community can make an extensive commitment of hours and training that a single household just couldn’t. This creates proper, solid jobs and long-lasting training for the local community. 

It’s creative 

And it’s not just the working lives of those around us that thrive – co-working spaces are proven to boost the way we think and work, and a great collective living space can host a great collective working space. This is where the superfast fibre optic broadband comes in – but also where the genius of the brilliant minds around you have the power to boost your own ideas and efficiency, taking your work to another level. Find out more about the power of the collective to boost your brainpower and help you harness your genius. 

And it’s fun

Maybe we should have put this first before shared wastewater systems… The best, most brilliant thing about community living is that it has, by design, brought together brilliant like-minded people. That’s a readymade friendship group: shared ideas, shared infrastructure, shared FUN. 

And with your community of friends-neighbours, you can pool resources to share the things that you’re more likely to share an interest in. You can share spiritual practise or bring to life a shared belief system. Want a yoga shala or daily meditation teacher? The group can have it. A herd of horses, or resources for surfing, sailing or skiing? A pottery kiln, pizza oven or telescope? Sure.

It all makes sense with the collective: the sharing, caring, nature-inspired societal structure – informed by our ancestors, integrated all the cool new technology at our fingertips.

Inspired by the collaborative living model? Learn more about our habitats and how you can experience them.