BYLAWS OF KRUTSIO COMMUNITY
Approved initially and unanimously on September 15, 1983.
I. Generalities
1. Name- The complete name of the community is: Krutsio; Rural Integral Community, abbreviated henceforth as Krutsio Community, the Community, or Krutsio.
2. Legal Character- Krutsio Community is established as a Civil Association, or Non-Profit organization, dedicated exclusively toward the betterment of humanity.
3. Background- Krutsio Community was founded on June 30, 1976 with the purpose of existing permanently.
II. Objectives
4. To increase love (unity) in the world, promoting primarily the full development of the individuals in the community.
5. To develop a community or rural village with the following characteristics:
* A model that integrates a valid, desirable lifestyle with general application.
* Complete cooperation in all aspects of social life.
* Egalitarian with real equality of rights and obligations among all members, eradicating exploitation , discrimination, and unjust privileges.
* Appropriate development that bases its progress on economic and ecological considerations as much as on human factors.
* International population, with members from all the major cultures of the world.
* Esperanto is promoted as a second language.
* Cellular village that can be organically interconnected with other cellular villages.
6. Promote Communal Metamorphosis, or to actively contribute to the transformation of the dis-unified humanity of the present into the unified humanity of the future through the proliferation of cellular villages.
III. Means For the Development of the Communal Model
7. Cultural Selection: Systematic review and selection of many cultural practices, knowledge, and material that can contribute to a better way of life.
8. Selective Interaction: To filter cultural contamination principally via geographical isolation.
9. Integration: To join experimentally all positive cultural elements into a better way of life.
IV. Means of Promoting Communal Metamorphosis
10. Diffusion to the outside: To promote the appropriate development in traditional society.
11. Diffusion within the community: To train within the community agents for changing the outside.
12. "Budding": To create new cellular villages via human nuclei leaving the Community.
13. Interconnection: The creation of a central organization to connect and organize all worldwide efforts oriented toward the genuine advancement of the conditions for life on Earth.
V. Behavior
Desirable behavior specifically supports the Golden Virtues, that are all habits that exalt humankind. Golden Virtues are:
Self control
Positive, open , and present attitude towards the world
Loving one's neighbor; considerate peaceful, forgiving, charitable, and a good listener
Action; careful disciplined, orderly in time and space, persistent, hard working.
Intellectual, thoughtful, creative, studious, and experimental
Social, cooperative, egalitarian, independent, responsible, and truthful
Communal behavior control shall be:
* Loving, to promote full development of all.
* Horizontal, to emanate from the community as a whole.
* For good, with a minimum of aversive elements.
Rewards granted to people who conduct themselves as good Communitarians:
* Informal approval
* Communal recognition
* Special, adequate for the recipient
Sanctions for noticeable or persistent behavioral deviations:
* Private or public criticism
* Temporary or permanent expulsion
VI. Government
Criteria for decision making:
* Consideration, sticking to the objectives
* Consideration, appropriate knowledge
* Consideration, majority of votes (the type required by the matter in question: unanimity, 2/3 or 1/2+1)
Work roles:
* "Helper" does co's assigned work.
* "Manager" completes fixed, routine jobs.
* "Responsible" occupies coself with a defined area of action. The "responsible" plans, coordinates, evaluates, and participates in the work of the co's area. Co has the authority to decide matters with in co's area. All "responsibles" must have a substitute.
Cessation of responsibilities:
The duration of responsibilities will be indefinite, but can be terminated when:
* The member wishes.
* A more capable person who is interested in the job appears.
* Fulfillment of the responsibility is deficient or abused. All responsibilities are reviewed yearly, in the Annual Meetings.
Assemblies :
All permanent members have the right and obligation to attend communal meetings.
* Ordinary, every Saturday.
* Out of the ordinary, when urgent circumstances arise.
* Annual, for information, balance, and annual planning. These yearly meetings are held in December.
Committees :
The "responsibles" of related areas may form committees in which common matters are studied and decided.
Directing Committee
The Directing Committee concerns itself with the general coordination of the Community. The Committee is formed by the following "responsibles":
* President; functions as general coordinator and Community representative.
* Secretary; in charge of administrative matters and correspondence.
* Treasurer; responsible for accounting.
* "Responsibles" of all areas; representing the interests of each area.
Decision making Mechanism
All decisions of general importance are made in the General Meetings by the following mechanism:
* Notification; any member may initiate community deliberation by advising the Ordinary Assembly.
* Study; normally the Assembly gives a week (or more if it sees fit) so the interested parties may have the opportunity to study the matter in question.
* Deliberation of the Assembly; the Assembly always tries to reach reasoned, unanimous agreement in all decisions, based on the decision making criteria. In some cases unanimity is not only desirable but mandatory, but in other cases the Bylaws accept either a majority of 2/3 or of 1/2+1 of the permanent members.
* Appeal; any member has the right to appeal a decision to the assembly if in co's judgment a decision departs from the essential direction of the community.
It's important to note that in all cases the rules should meet the needs of the people, and not the people changing to serve the rules.
VII. Economy
1. Self sufficiency; the community will try to generate the essential goods and services for its independent survival.
2. Appropriate consumption; rather than living to consume. The Community consumption will be the minimum needed to live and develop fully.
3. Specialty; Krutsio's specialty is Education, or the diffusion of a new and better way of life.
4. Optimization of local resources; as a complement to the exportation service, the Community also tries to export surplus that results from the Community's availing itself of local resources.
VIII. Work
All have the obligation to do their individual work loads.
* Work load- The normal individual work load is 48 hours per week.
* From each according to co's ability- Each person needs to try to polish the skills in areas which co like and does well.
* Balanced labor- Daily labor should normally includes a portion of physical work and a portion of intellectual work,
* Rotating work- All members must take turns at work designated as rotating.
* Vacation- Members are entitled to 4 weeks of vacation a year.
* Diminution of work- For permanent members, weekly hours of obligatory work diminish with seniority at 6 hour for every six years worked. This is:
1-6 years------------48 hours/week
6-12 years----------42 hours/week
12-18 years------------36 " "
18-24 years------------30 " "
24- years------------24 " "
As it can be seen, the bottom limit of obligatory work is 24 hour per week.
* Free time- Free time acquired by seniority will be employed in activities in accordance with personal and communal development, for example, research, art, out reach, etc.
* Revalidation- Part of the work done before joining the Community may be revalidated if in the judgment of the Assembly it is equivalent to obligatory of a member.
* Member exchange- Member exchange with like communities is permitted and seniority is maintained.
IX. Property
Egalitarian
- All members of the Community have approximately the same things.
Private
- Personal property is limited to the private room and the things kept therein.
- No one may enter the private room without permission, nor call on an occupant when the room shows a red signal (except in emergencies).
- It is not permitted to own objects which represent unjustifiable privileges (for example, a record player) if other members would be envious of it. Nevertheless, members with seniority have precedence in the use of goods which are at the moment insufficient for all, such as, for example, electric light or a definite place to live.
Communal
- All the non-private material goods are communal, i.e. the land, the communal buildings, equipment, furniture, vehicles, etc.
- Private property becomes communal upon occupying community space.
Money
- Among members of the Community there are no commercial relationships, nor exchange of money. Members have a right to receive a small monthly allowance for personal spending on the outside, and a quantity for yearly vacation.
Privatization
- Communal objects taken into private rooms are called "privatized." Temporary privatization, given prior notice, is allowed if it doesn't interfere with the use of the object by others. Public objects most commonly used, such as books and magazines, will have an established loan system.
Under Custody
- Communal goods with specialized use are under the custody of the "responsibles" of the area.
Renouncement
1. Partial - Provisional members must give up personal use of their property outside the Community. Provisional members remain free to keep property outside the Community, store it in the Community, or lend it to the Community. In the latter two cases, the Community takes no responsibility for the deterioration of objects due to normal use or unforeseen mishaps.
2. Total - Permanent members must renounce all external property.
Gifts
- Members have the right to receive gifts as long as they don't represent privileges over the other members.
Vacations
- Money gotten outside the community during vacations (acquired through work or gifts) may not be spent on personal goods which enter the Community giving unjustified privileges.
Robbery
- Robbery merits definite expulsion.
X. Education
Communal
- Education is imparted in the Community hopefully by all people of the Community. Positive participation of children by their parents is encouraged. The primary relationships of a child are at least one man and one woman, who may or may not be cos biological parents.
Independence
- Education, as an artificial procedure directed by adults, should be at a minimum, limited to the first years of the children's lives. Basic habits (especially the Golden Virtues) shall be emphasized more than specific abilities.
Concentric
- In agreement with a concentric model of education, children are born in the center of a group of concentric educational circles whose outside border is the real world. Children pass from the center to the periphery in various stages, each one under less artificial and controlled conditions. Exit from the last educational circle represents total entry into the real world. Those who emerge from the "school" may become permanent members or not.
Actualized
Integral
- Communal education is concerned with the full development of the individual, procuring the simultaneous and harmonious development of all the positive human faculties.
- To consult what human beings need to know and practice in the complementary writing How to LOVE More.
Integrated
- Education shall be, as much as possible, from the natural life of the Community. Children soon take part in normal communal activities.
Pyramidal
- Each student also takes on the role of teacher, imparting recently acquired knowledge.
Continuous
- Learning and teaching doesn't end at "school" for they form a part of the communal life of all members. Furthermore, the Community supports all members who want to learn things relevant on the outside.
Bilingual
- Education shall be imparted in Esperanto and in the mother tongue, in the proportion which at the time is considered convenient.
XI. Various Norms
Abolition of Unnecessary Conventions
- For example, in the Community it is not customary to say "bless you" if someone sneezes, or "excuse me" if one repeats, etc.
Good Communication-
- Educational technique incorporates advances in educational technology, (such as programmed instruction), as well as technological advances in general (such as use of computers and video systems).
- Members of the Community try to be communicative and constructively critical but not gossipy (critical of others behind their backs).
No "Hangings" (Rings, Necklaces, Earrings, etc.) nor Make-Up
- People in the Community receive approval for their good actions, not for their good looks. Permanent members of the Community don't wear jewelry or make-up.
No Vices
- Consumption of all types of addictive drugs is discouraged. The consumption of a drug (nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, etc.) as part of getting rid of an addiction, is a personal and private matter.
Pacifism
- Interpersonal matters should always be cordial and friendly.
Loving Sex
- Sex is considered part of love, not as a pastime or independent diversion.
Appropriate Clothing
- In the Community, clothing is confined to its functions of protection and covering.
XII. Amendments
Unchangeable Objectives
- The objectives of the Community are its essential base, definitive and fundamental, thus for no reason may be modified.
Changes for Improvement
- Aside from the objectives, any part of the By-laws may be modified, so long as the change represents a better accord with the objectives.
Procedure for Amendments
- To modify the By-laws the normal mechanism for making decisions is followed, but making a special effort at reaching consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, a 2/3 majority of permanent members is acceptable.
Annual Actualization
- The changes which have occurred in the By-laws during the year are annexed as appendices. But, at the end of the year, in December, the entire By-laws are rewritten, incorporating all the modifications.
XIII. Dissolution
Causes
- Extraordinary event
- Total abandonment
Disposition of Goods
- In case of dissolution, the goods of the Community shall be disposed of according to the following points, in order of preference:
1. Pay debts (though the Community tries not to contract debts).
2. Restitution to original members, in cases where it seems relevant.
3. A payment to each member of three months minimum wage at the date of dissolution, or, if there's not enough, equal division of disposable funds.
4. Donation to the Community or an organization which at the time of the dissolution best represents the original interests of the Community.
Complementary Readings
1. How to LOVE more
2. Communal Behavior Control
3. Communal Rebirth
4. Introduction to Appropriate Development
5. Particulars of Krutsio
6. Short Summary of Project Krutsio
7. Golden Virtues
8. Terlando
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