“We Do This at Dancing Rabbit”: Recruitment and Collective Identity Processes in the Ecovillage

Abstract

This article outlines the various ways members of an intentional community erect barriers to entry in their village and lifestyle, and how they use boundary maintenance tactics to both protect their own personal spheres as well as the integrity of their mission and vision. Members of Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage (“DR”) seek to create an alternative model for a more just and sustainable world. They face twin challenges in seeking to expand that model through recruitment to their community and retaining the integrity of their unique lifestyle that makes it possible and enjoyable. DR utilizes processes of recruitment and retention to construct and defend a collective identity based in accommodating for personal and political concerns, one characterized specifically by the values of egalitarianism and environmentalism as focal points for their shared lifestyle. Yet they also erect barriers to keep out potential recruits who may compromise that identity.