How color has faded from all parts of the planet
For years now, millions of people have been abandoning rural villages and small towns in favor of China's wealthy, job-filled megacities—but it's a dream that seems to have passed its prime. Young people are tired of elbowing their way up the ladder, and they're disillusioned with late-stage capitalism's material obsession. They want a more fulfilling life where they get to decide what they value rather than having to navigate other people’s values. They want to live in harmony with nature, free of societal pressures and expectations, and they want to become self-sufficient.
“Another Community” is a rural commune in China that is building a way of life very different from a homogeneous, narrow-minded system, and it is welcoming anyone who wants to do the same. Click through to see the inner workings of this ambitious project.
In the case of Another Community, a rather young bunch (mostly in their early thirties) are ditching the city life and seeking out a much slower pace in a reclusive, mountainous part of southeastern Fujian province, about a two hours’ drive from the capital, Fuzhou.
According to the South China Morning Post, the couple witnessed pressure on resources increase, personal space diminish, and housing prices multiply, so they took off in 2015 to an overgrown plot of land on which they had to do everything from scratch.
Members of Another Community are influenced by environmental and holistic ideals, similar to the monastic Taizé fraternity in France, the ZEGG ecovillage in Germany, and the Tamera peace-research village in Portugal.
Largely inspired by British environmentalist John Seymour's 'The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency' (1976), Another Community aims to live in harmony with nature, and to be self-sufficient regarding electricity, food, clothing, soap, etc.
The lease for the commune’s land is 200,000 yuan, or about US$29,000, a year, and is paid for by a foundation committed to advancing society by supporting innovative environmental projects.
None of the commune members had farming experience, but they’ve learned how to harvest different vegetables, observe the weather, assess the soil, and much more.
Members enrolled in classes to study things like agriculture, forestry cultivation, natural farming, sewing, and how to safely work with electricity.
A shirt reportedly takes about two weeks to make, which doesn’t include the time needed to plant, grow, and harvest kudzu, a fast-growing vine. The fiber is then spun into thread, woven into textiles, and then sewn to become a wearable garment.
Xing, who had previously worked a 9-5 job in an office, set up a studio on the ground floor of a rented farmhouse and installed three looms that she built from scratch.
Members still buy things like rice from a nearby organic farm, and they rely on store-bought sauces and meat, which are purchased with savings or donations. They do, however, brew their own herbal liquor.
After disputes arose from using a neighboring village’s well, they dug out their own well next to a swampy stretch of meadow.
Former software developer Yang Zhaoyu (pictured, foreground) said the most important thing about the lifestyle is not whether you live in the city or the countryside, but rather about the change you make in your heart.
Liu Peilin is a transgender resident in her sixties who is welcomed at Another Community, but facing discrimination elsewhere. Members of the commune put up posters in the neighboring Guandong village, campaigning against discrimination towards her.
Not many would think of a toilet as a luxury, but flushing water compared to a hole in the ground—with burnt ash occasionally thrown in to cover the smell of feces—truly is a luxury.
Another Land, in 2010, was a small hut on Laoshan mountain. Tang learned about planting seasons, natural fertilizers, how to extract salt from seawater, and how to brew vinegar, soy sauce, and beer.
Until he learned to make cooking pots, he ate mostly raw peppers. Eventually, the project attracted volunteers who came and made soap, crafted shoes, and installed solar panels and a self-made wind turbine.
Tang was dating Xing, but she had kept her job in the city and visited him twice a week, providing moral and material support, and slowly opening her mind to sustainable living.
Tang realized he couldn’t become self-sufficient on his own, which is where the idea for the commune came from.
Tang’s father raised him to be an independent thinker, so he’s proud of his son. However, he admitted to the South China Morning Post that it’s difficult for him, as people think he wasn’t strict enough with his child.
Another Community wants to show society that there are many different ways of dignified living, and that lives don’t have to be measured in degrees, incomes, material possessions, or compromise.
There is no leader, but rather a division of labor. Residents have a say in group affairs like finances, land use, crops, and consumption of electricity or water, and everyone is heard and respected in a mixture of democracy and consensus.
With the ability to do what they wish with the land and their time on it, members find they are able to more freely generate their own creative thoughts and ideas.
There are about a dozen residents, of whom less are permanent because they cannot yet sustain themselves without jobs. Residents include a children’s book designer, a public health expert, a filmmaker, and a Cisco security expert.
They’re currently learning all the knowledge they will have to eventually pass on to sustain this commune.
As permanent homes are not technically legal on commune land, they fear government demolition. Even so, they reportedly hope to grow to 30 residents by the end of 2020, 150 by 2030, and 300 by 2036.
Young people are ditching cities for this rural China commune
City dwellers are leaving everything behind for "Another Community"
LIFESTYLE Curiosity
For years now, millions of people have been abandoning rural villages and small towns in favor of China's wealthy, job-filled megacities—but it's a dream that seems to have passed its prime. Young people are tired of elbowing their way up the ladder, and they're disillusioned with late-stage capitalism's material obsession. They want a more fulfilling life where they get to decide what they value rather than having to navigate other people’s values. They want to live in harmony with nature, free of societal pressures and expectations, and they want to become self-sufficient.
“Another Community” is a rural commune in China that is building a way of life very different from a homogeneous, narrow-minded system, and it is welcoming anyone who wants to do the same. Click through to see the inner workings of this ambitious project.