The Role of Individuals in Community Change Within the Findhorn Intentional Community

Abstract

The processes whereby intentional communities change are many and complex but change they must if they are to survive the challenges they will inevitably meet. Most communities do not survive the challenges they meet in their first two years. But the Findhorn community in north‐east Scotland has survived and grown in the more than 40 years since it began. This article provides a description by two former, long‐standing members of that community of the main changes the community has gone through that have enabled it to respond to change and continue to grow. It describes the role played in those changes by key individuals and contends that, without them, the community would probably have stagnated and gone the way of those communities that were not able to respond to the challenges they faced. The authors use these case studies to show how a handful of practical visionaries have ensured the long‐term future of the community.

Keywords:

• Findhorn
• Individual
• Community
• Influence
• Diversification
• Decisions

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peter M. Forster

Peter M. Forster is a chartered psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Gloucestershire. Marijke Wilhelmus is a registered nurse and web developer.