This is my community, but What are we? ![IMG_0457.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/eco-alex/EpNos4iXrgBQaURCV5j33BaDL15KpLnjM9wzRGSFGuND7ucx17K2DQzx8h9XBanqdyt.jpeg) ### Hey everyone! As i sit here writing this follow-up to our current Question of the Week about what community means to each of us, i’m properly excited about some developments happening here in Thailand. Both personally for me and for the Earthship Biotecture movement toward truly sustainable living that we’re all part of. ![IMG_0073.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/eco-alex/23tbnXCG2MbRmex29qMyBbTyiXpq1jsuTSoCinWGn7WidbsQhTkR26unuFsXVQ516nKcR.jpeg) I’ve been hesitant to share too much detail after two false starts, but now i’m starting what two new projects - a regenerative community restaurant concept - and more! But here’s the thing that’s been nagging at me: I keep hesitating to use the word “community” because it means such different things to different people. That’s exactly why i posed this question to all of you this week. i need to understand what this word really means before i go throwing it around. ## The survival game changes everything After spending years as an Earthship biotecture expert, teacher, educator, and now creating LLM apps for sustainable building education, i’ve come to understand something fundamental: true successful community can only exist when we remove the financial burden of survival from the equation. Think about it. When people are stressed about paying their power bill, water bill, mortgage, buying groceries - when survival is the daily game they’re playing - they operate from scarcity and fear. i’ve seen it countless times. People lying, cheating, cutting corners, acting unethically not because they’re bad people, but because they’re desperate. Survival instincts kick in and ethics go out the window. But here’s what happens when you eliminate those bills through Earthships that provide their own power, water, basic food production: suddenly people stop acting from desperation. When you’re not worried about where your next meal is coming from or how you’ll pay your electric bill, you stop needing to compete for resources. You stop needing to hoard. You stop needing to take advantage of others. i’ve witnessed this transformation firsthand. When people achieve true sustainability - when their homes provide everything they need to survive - something beautiful happens. Natural abundance emerges. Trust replaces mistrust. Collaboration replaces competition. ## From scarcity to abundance mindset Right now, most of our world operates on mistrust because everyone is desperate to make money just to survive. We’re all competing for the same scarce resources, the same jobs, the same opportunities to pay our bills. It creates this toxic environment where everyone is looking out for themselves first. But when you remove that pressure? When survival is handled by your living systems instead of your paycheck? People naturally become more generous, more collaborative, more ethical. They have bandwidth to actually care about others because they’re not drowning in their own financial stress. This is what i mean by real community. Not some idealistic vision of people holding hands around a campfire (though that’s nice too!), but a practical situation where people live close enough to collaborate in the real world. Not necessarily on the same piece of land, but nearby enough that they can actually help each other, share resources, work together on projects that matter. ## The Thailand developments Which brings me to what’s happening here in Thailand. i can’t share all the details yet, but i’m exploring ways to create spaces where this kind of natural collaboration can emerge. Places where the financial survival pressure is reduced or eliminated, where people can focus on creating value instead of extracting it, where trust can actually develop because nobody is desperate. The sustainable living movement here is incredible. There are communities successfully demonstrating that another way is possible. People are building with natural materials, growing their own food, generating their own power, treating their own water. And when they do this together, supporting each other, amazing things happen. ## Why words matter This is why i’m asking what community means to you. Because if i’m going to create something and call it a “community,” i want to make sure we’re talking about the same thing. i want to make sure it’s not just another word that sounds nice but doesn’t mean anything practical. For me, community isn’t about everyone living in the same house or sharing bank accounts or making decisions by committee. it’s about people choosing to live close enough to actually collaborate when it makes sense. Close enough to share tools, skills, knowledge. Close enough to help each other build things, grow things, create things. ![IMG_0085.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/eco-alex/EoAZL8j52m9w9UuJcodzSfSssyC8RKvtRAnakSj6YAqek64fL8Lanj21NgAmrtRSVpP.jpeg) But most importantly, it’s about creating conditions where people can operate from abundance instead of scarcity. Where they can be their best selves because they’re not constantly worried about survival. ## The real question So as we continue exploring this Question of the Week together, i’m curious: do you see the connection between financial security and ethical behavior? Have you noticed how differently people act when they’re not stressed about money? And when you think about community, are you thinking about proximity and practical collaboration, or something else entirely? Your perspectives will help me understand not just what community means to each of you, but what it could mean for projects like the one i’m developing here in Thailand. Because ultimately, if we’re going to create real sustainable communities - not just eco-villages or intentional communities or co-housing projects, but actual thriving groups of people supporting each other - we need to understand what we’re actually trying to build. Keep sharing your thoughts. i’m reading every single response and they’re all helping shape what comes next. Love and abundance from Thailand, ![att.DcC4AF6zwqZuk6pFEcV4UKD5vCbxOPCgJbXlZtvYPdk.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/eco-alex/23xKmc4rYKwwsoF2LYoP8Fsx6DBwLA6mH4GmCd1cjfEkABLuEZvKWUrUPs6JYw7bYFjCZ.jpeg) ![IMG_0101.jpeg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/eco-alex/23wqiZxnHZ6hHuVneNpRYwNaxtViPciZYyE66bhJmS5yJnH1fc8WddcF99woYHGwBLoyb.jpeg) alex --- ### QOTW: What does community mean to you? https://images.hive.blog/0x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/ecotrain/23zbgWMi7QSSFDWEysYdGA5RR1oGWWDTnCx7MSBYfBay8VfC41nyxgQ5SdKNuwuKEFkgL.jpg Click to join us: https://peakd.com/hive-123046/@ecotrain/qotw-what-does-community-mean-to-you