If Camping's Your Game, Visit an Ecovillage or Intentional Community

So you want to go camping and you don't know where to go? Here's an alternative suggestion - try camping at an ecovillage.

More than 1,000 intentional communities are scattered all throughout the United States of America, so finding an ecovillage near you should be surprisingly easy. Camping at an ecovillage provides all the benefits of camping, such as getting closer to nature and getting away from a fast paced life. Additionally, visiting an ecovillage may provide extra unexpected benefits. First, you may learn something. Also, when it comes to the bare essentials, you can not get any more essentially bare than at an ecovillage. If you really want to rough it, then a trip to an ecovillage is, without question, your only choice.

Afterwards, you'll appreciate your everyday amenities and luxuries that much more. Take it from someone who lived at an ecovillage for half of 2007, which was a wonderful experience, having never even previously visited one. Furthermore, I recommend that everyone should visit an ecovillage during their lifetime. There's no reason not to. It's typically relatively cheap, as ecovillage members are often less capitalistic than much of the rest of the World. I guarantee you won't be bored, you'll consistently be intrigued by something or someone at the ecovillage and you may yearn to return. Truly, if you're thinking about going camping anyway, then you must camp at an ecovillage.

Ecovillages are often very happy to have guests, as they like to share what they are doing with the rest of the World. However, contact them first. Don't just show up. After all, the ecovillage is their home. While I was living at an intentional community last year, at least one person showed up unannounced. It was off-putting, to say the least. However, most everyone still tried to be perfectly amicable, because that was their general nature. But, I do not recommend showing up unannounced. Like one ecovillage member said, "It's not an amusement park." In addition to this precept being apt to your arrival at an intentional community, it should also apply to your activities while visiting the community. So, think about that before taking kids who merely want to go to an amusement park. That being said, after contacting an ecovillage, you should go camping at one. At the very least, it'll be a new experience.

The Intentional Community Web site is a great resource for your endeavor, listing intentional communities throughout the United States by location, as well as ecovillages all over the World.