Collaborative Living Conference

Saturday, April 23, 2022

Belfast Boathouse

2022 Recap

Thank you for making our
first year truly spectacular

The conference has ended but community building is never done! Below are links to resources from the conference and upcoming community events. 

Slideshows, Photos & Documents 

Upcoming Community Events

  • November 12th: Collaborative Living Potluck Series at Two Echo Cohousing in Brunswick, Maine. See details here.
  • Spring 2023: 2nd Annual Collaborative Living Conference — Stay tuned for updates.

If you have any questions about anything whatsoever related to the conference, please email the organizers at myfriend@collaborativeliving.me 

a conference about building intentional community and More

In November 2021, a small group of friends and dreamers in Belfast, Maine got the big idea to explore buying land and starting a community together. 
 
At the very beginning, they knew the road would be long and they had the idea to expand the learning to the community by hosting a series of talks on the topic of Intentional Community. That idea became a series of Zoom calls since February called ‘Intentional Community Curious: A Learning Series to Grow Village in Maine and Beyond.’ We hoped 30 people would sign up. Turns out 75 people registered! YOU may have registered! Thank you for that.
 

The Collaborative Living Conference is built on the pillars of learning, networking, and celebrating intentional community in the Northeast. We will be learning from experts in an array of skills that will enhance any collaborative team you are a part of. You will network with other community builders who are at every stage of the process from building their dream, looking for collaborators, to settled in an established village. Finally, we will celebrate together with community with delicious food and live music on the shores of the Penobscot Bay.

   
This event is sponsored by the Possibility Alliance nonprofit. Any funds raised will go towards Wabanaki community building projects.

2022 Schedule & Location

Morning

9-9:30: Arrival and Welcome!

9:30-11: Session 1

  • Sociocracy Toolkit with Will Gowen
  • This interactive workshop will touch on consent-decision making, meeting practices, feedback and more! Learn to improve every level of collaboration from decision making to the structure of your organization with Will Gowen from Sociocracy for All.
  • Bring a draft of your community founding documents if you’re wanting direct feedback on options for organization structure. 
 

11-11:30: Break

11:30-12:30: Meet the Communities

Everyone who has a project to share takes the stage for a few minutes to share their vision, so you can follow up with the ones you want to learn more about!

Afternoon

12:30-2: Lunch

2-3:30: Session 2: You have options

  • Growing Up A Community with Cicada
  • Developing Legal Entities; Systems, Processes, and Policies; and Reaching Critical Mass with Cicada from Glomus Commune and the FEC.
  • Emotional Healing Toolkit for Community with Thumbs
  • Sample a variety of simple and effective tools for tending your communities emotional hygiene, so adversity makes your project grow stronger instead of collapsing. 

3:30-4: Break

4-6: Open Space

A time to dive into all the conversations participants are craving. Add your ideas to the topic pool here!

Evening

6pm: Dinner and Tea Service 

7pm: Live Music! DJ BEATrix

8pm: Live Music! The Midnight Riders playing a set of Original songs about Maine & Mainers. Spanning Alt. Country, Soul, Roots & Blues / Rock N Roll.

Belfast Boathouse
34 Commercial St
Belfast, Maine 04915

2022 Speakers

Cicada

cicada

Cicada is a farmer-poet-artist-witch living and working at Glomus Commune and East Brook Community Farm since 2018.  Originally from Colorado, she toured communities and farms up and down the East Coast from 2016-2018 looking for community and exploring the country. She is a dabbler in many art forms, appreciates ritual and song, and loves to grow and arrange flowers. As a communard, she brings optimism and catalyzing energy for the group, but also struggles to nurture her solo practices.

Will

will gowen
Will loves meetings! He is a big fan of collective decision-making, cooperatives and the potential held within groups that share power and decision-making. He has multiple years experience living in housing coops and for the past few years has been attempting to integrate democratic practices such as sociocracy into educational organizations. He is a certified Sociocracy facilitator. Will is a newbie to Maine, having moved here to take a job as the Director of Programs at School Around Us, a co-learning community for kiddos ages 5-14 in Arundel, and is excited to connect to other community loving folks in the area.

Thumbs

thumbs

My hometown friends gave me the name Thumbs when I found that my life project was to build community. So every day this name serves as a reminder to of my sacred journey in this brief, miraculous life.

I’ve been immersed in that journey for the last 13 years, and it’s taken me to every corner of North America and peaking under the hood of too many intentional community projects to track. I’m here to share every insights I glean with you, because your community dream is what this crazy world needs most!

  

You!

This conference is sourced from what you, the attendees, wants to talk about and share. Our 2 hours of Open Space is a time for breakout sessions designed and chosen by you about whatever you want to present or discuss. Start thinking about a collaborative living topic that you want to bring to a larger group. Are you ready to make a move past the “curious about community” stage? Looking for people to collaborate with? Eager to talk about raising children in community? Or farming in community? Open Space is the time to have those conversations. 

We’ll soon give directions for how to share Open Space topic ideas.

learn about open space technology

Tickets

We are asking for a sliding scale donation for the conference. The organizers are not making any money. Our goal is to cover the costs of producing the event and have enough to donate to a local Wabanaki organization.

Tickets for 2022 are sold out. Thank you everyone!!

Partial Day
Scholarship

We've sold our max # of scholarship tickets. Use Partial day ticket if you can come for only 1 session.

$5 $10

Cover Our Costs

Cover the costs of organizing the event

$20

Thrive

Put extra in for more food and drink for the day.

$50

Community Uplift

Enough to pay it forward to a local Wabanaki organization.

$100

To avoid the credit card corporations stealing crumbs from our cookie jar (aka the processing fees) we are only accepting payment via PayPal, Venmo or cash in-person. To purchase a ticket, register for the conference.

Tickets Sold Out

FAQs

What is the COVID policy?

  • For many of us this may be the first large gathering we’ve been at in a couple years. To create an inclusive space, that still falls within CDC guidelines we are taking these precautions:
  • Per City of Belfast requirement masks are optional inside the Boathouse venue
  • The Belfast Boathouse has vaulted ceilings and giant warehouse doors. Large doors on both ends of the venue will remain open for the entire event with seating near the doors for those who want to remain in the most ventilated areas.
  • In the back patio, wind permitting, we will set up pop up shade structures with chairs and tables for participants to enjoy all eating and open space sessions outside. We will also have space heaters to make these spaces accessible in a variety of weather.
  • If you want to remain outside all day, please give us a heads up, so we can organize the space accordingly.

Will there be childcare?

Yes! Children’s activities will be held from 9:30am-5pm in a large field next to the event, including exploring by the ocean at low tide. We imagine this working best with kids age 4 and up who enjoy being in a group outdoors, can stick together, follow directions and be safe. This is an all weather event, so dress them well, bring extra gear. There is a small amount of covered space in case of rain.

What about food?

Bring your own plate, mug and utensils! We want to minimize garbage, and will provide plates for anyone who forgets, but if you can remember to bring your own that will help.

A team of volunteers with a budget is helping organize meals for the day including snacks, lunch and dinner (coffee and tea will also be provided).

We will not be selling alcohol, but you may BYOB and some extra to share.

Bring your own plate, mug and utensils!

I’m driving from far away—can I stay the night in Belfast?

Some of the most extraordinary people coming to the event, have over an hours drive. We’d love to offer places to stay in Belfast so those travelers can easily be there for the entire day. Do you have a couch, room, or yard with tent available for our traveling community builders? If so, please email us at myfriend@collaborativeliving.me

Can you attend for part of the conference?

Absolutely! We know that the NE is buzzing with activity on Earth Day weekend, and while we have a robust schedule all day long, you are invited to join for any part of it. Please register and try to let us know when you will attend so we can accommodate.

Carpooling

Follow this link to coordinate with other participants:
http://www.groupcarpool.com/t/3iu0sf

Have Questions?

If you have any questions about anything whatsoever related to the conference, please email the organizers at myfriend@collaborativeliving.me 

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