Retreat or re-connect: how effective can ecosophical communities be in transforming the mainstream?

Abstract

ABSTRACTEcosophical communities are utopian projects that have the potential to empower socio-ecological transformation. However, due to their tactical withdrawal from the mainstream, they also face a tension at the heart of their transformative project; namely, how do they forge their (re-)connections to the broader population? This paper draws on research at the self-styled ‘leading European eco-centre’ [CAT 2007a. What Do We Do? Accessed July 2007. http://www.cat.org.uk/information/aboutcatx.tmpl?init=1, no page] – the Centre for Alternative Technology, Machnylleth, UK, in order to gain critical insight into the tension. The paper explores how tactical withdrawal has been successful in generating a coherent and consolidated ecosophical community, but offers critical insight into how this withdrawal compounds the estrangement between this community and mainstream society. It also portrays how the pace and direction of change in both the ecosophical and mainstream community can serve to further isolate the former even when the latter makes strides towards sustainability.