About Us

What is the FEC?

AngieTupelo — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 20:36:19 -0600

The Federation of Egalitarian Communities is a network of communal
groups spread across North America. We range in size and emphasis from
small agricultural homesteads to village-like communities to urban
group houses.

Principles of the FEC

Each of the FEC communities:

Holds its land, labor, income
and other resources in common.
Assumes responsibility for the needs of its members, receiving
the products of their labor and distributing these and all other
goods equally, or according to need.
Practices non-violence.
Uses a form of decision making in which members have an equal
opportunity to participate, either through consensus, direct vote,
or right of appeal or overrule.
Actively works to establish the equality of all people and
does not permit discrimination on the basis of race, class, creed,
ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Acts to conserve natural resources for present and future
generations while striving to continually improve ecological
awareness and practice.
Creates processes for group communication and participation
and provides an environment which supports people's development.

Why We Exist

Because we share so much, and because we are committed to a vision of community which transcends our individual groups, we have joined together to cooperate on publications, conferences, recruitment efforts, community support systems including health care, and a variety of other mutually supportive activities. Our aim is not only to help each other; we want to help more people discover the advantages of a communal alternative, and to promote the evolution of a more egalitarian world.

Connect With Us

We cannot promise utopia, but if you are seriously interested in
our joyous struggle, we invite you to come and see for yourself. To
arrange a visit, read here and then contact the individual community
you want to go to. Other opportunities to connect with us include internships and conferences on community living.

If you are part of an existing community that is interested in potentially joining the FEC, see info on becoming an FEC community.

For other queries, please Email secretary@thefec.org.

Becoming an FEC Community

Bucket — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 08:20:33 -0500

Becoming an FEC Community has many benefits for your community and its members!

All FEC Communities are given instant access to PEACH , our catastrophic health care fund. Members may also engage in our Labor Exchange program, called LEX. The FEC also provides support for recruitment and outreach for your community, among many other projects and programs. And by becoming a member of the FEC, your community joins a group of like minded yet diverse communities that work together to try to make a better world.

The first step in becoming an FEC Community is to contact the FEC Secretary. secretary@thefec.org

The FEC Secretary will help guide you through the process.

The Secretary will send you information and a questionnaire to fill out.

You will then be invited to come to our next FEC Assembly and meet members of our communities.

The applying community:

Expresses interest in FEC membership.
Receives a package of written material from the FEC explaining what
the FEC is about, the membership requirements, and the application procedure.
Sends back to the FEC:
1. written information describing itself (e.g., bylaws,
  behavioral norms, membership criteria, outreach material, etc.);
2. some collective binding agreement, with a defined process for
  changing that agreement, that represents a written affirmation
  of the FEC's seven
  basic principles;
3. a response to the FEC Questionnaire.
Develops and maintains an active relationship with at least one FEC
community through activities such as visiting or labor exchange, written
communication,
attendance at conferences, or other forms of sharing.
Attends at least one assembly prior to the one at which it formally
applies for membership.
Is visited by a designated representative of the FEC.
Comes to the next assembly, formally applies for membership, and receives
an answer at that assembly.

Note that steps 1-5 may occur in any order and that at any point in the
process prior to attaining membership, a community may apply for Community-In-Dialogue
status.

In the above process the FEC Assembly takes the responsibility for designating
a representative to handle correspondence with an applying community, including
sending the written materials required in step 2, and for designating a representative
to visit that community, as set out in
step 6.

Consensus of the existing FEC communities is necessary to accept a new group.
Once accepted the new community is granted full member rights and privileges
from that point on.

FEC Membership Questionnaire

Ownership of Property

1. Who holds legal title to the land?

2. What is held in common, and what is owned by individuals? If anything
is owned privately, are there any restrictions on what kind or how much?

3. What happens to the community's assets if it decides to disband?

Membership

4. What is the procedure for becoming a member? Are there any membership
requirements? Do you accept children, and, if so, at what point do children
become members?

5. How many members do you currently have? How long have they been members?
How many members have you had in the past? What are the most you have had
at one time? How many members do you intend to have? How long has the group
been in existence?

6. Under what conditions could someone lose co's membership? What would
the expulsion procedure be?

Work

7. How do you organize your income-producing and domestic work? How do you
decide who does what?

8. Do members take vacations, and if so, how is it decided who goes, when,
and for how long?

Money

9. How do you make money? What is the community's gross annual income? How
do you foresee making money in the future?

10. How do you decide to spend money?

11. Do members get money to spend on themselves? If so, how is it decided
who gets how much? If members get different amounts, what are these amounts
based on?

Decision-making

12. How are major and minor community decisions made?

13. How can existing decisions be changed?

Health, Affiliation, and Welfare

14. How does your community deal with members' major and minor medical problems?

15. Does your community have any religious affiliation or creed?

16. What does the group provide for its members, and what are members expected
to provide for themselves?

17. How does the group deal with members who do not follow group rules or
norms? How does the group deal with acts of physical and verbal violence?

Community-In-Dialogue Status

If a community is seeking FEC membership but is not yet at the point where
the Assembly will approve its application, or if a group simply wishes to
affiliate with the FEC though it is not planning to become a full member,
that community may apply for Community-in-Dialogue (CID) status. For a community
to be accepted as a CID, the Assembly need only be convinced that the community
is actively working toward meeting the membership criteria, and that there
exists a mutual desire for cooperation between the community and the FEC.

The Assembly shall not be obliged to accept a community as a CID, even if
it is working toward meeting the membership criteria, if it is felt that
the community in question is actively contradicting those criteria (e.g.,
using violence, being governed by a leader or minority, discriminating on
any of the grounds outlined in the Federationâ€™s basic principles).

A Community-in-Dialogue shall:

Maintain an active relationship with at least one FEC community through
activities such as visiting or labor exchange, written communication,
attendance at conferences, etc.;
Attend FEC assemblies if they so desire, and participate in discussions
on a limited basis;
Pay an annual base tax of $100, plus $5 per working member. This fee
covers short listings in the FEC brochure, general administrative overhead,
and other benefits that may be offered by the Assembly;
Be eligible to participate in FEC projects specifically designated
by the Assembly (e.g., conferences, training programs, etc.) on the same
basis
as members, but with the understanding that FEC members receive space
priority. For some projects, if a CID wishes to participate, payment of
a proportional
tax equivalent to the share paid by a member community may be required;
and
Have their status reviewed annually by the Assembly.

A Community-in-Dialogue shall not:

Vote upon or ratify decisions of the Assembly; or
Be eligible for transportation subsidies or loans.

History of the FEC

AngieTupelo — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 19:58:55 -0600

The Federation of Egalitarian Communities (FEC) was founded in December 1976
when the first assembly was held at East Wind Community in Missouri. The
organization was originally inspired by the networks of mutual support observed
among Israeli kibbutzim by Kat Kinkade. Early ideas for cooperation ranged from
loans and labor exchange to sharing community-building skills with low-income
people, and eventually settled upon outreach as the core activity.

The FEC is presently comprised of 6 full member groups and a number of Allied Communities and Communities in Dialogue.

FEC Businesses on the Web

AngieTupelo — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 20:09:25 -0600

Every FEC community business is a worker co-op, because all FEC
communities are cooperatively and democratically organized. If you'd
like to support the FEC but you can't see yourself moving to an
egalitarian community, please consider supporting our businesses!

East Wind Nutbutters

Sandhill Farm - sorghum, honey, mustard, salsas and condiments.

Skyhouse Consulting - web hosting, web design, and general programming

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Twin Oaks Hammocks