# ToGather

> ToGather is an independent research project documenting intentional communities and ecovillages worldwide through first-hand field research, interviews, photography and thematic analysis.

ToGather maps how people live together — the governance, conflict, money, culture, belonging and joining practices of communities that have chosen to build collective life deliberately. It is a living atlas of intentional living, grounded in primary field research.

## What ToGather is

ToGather documents intentional communities — ecovillages, co-housing projects, kibbutzim, communes, land trusts, and cooperative settlements — through:
- Multi-day field visits and immersive research
- First-person interviews with community members, founders, and stewards
- Thematic analysis across six research dimensions: governance, conflict, money, culture, belonging, and joining
- A searchable community directory with coordinates, governance models, and membership information

The project is led by Sharon Avraham and based in Europe, with documented communities across Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Israel, and beyond.

## Key pages

- /Communities — Searchable directory of documented intentional communities and ecovillages
- /Interviews — First-person interviews with community members and founders
- /Research — Thematic research findings and analytical insights
- /Themes — Six research dimensions: governance, conflict, money, culture, belonging, joining
- /FieldNotes — Field news and updates from intentional communities worldwide
- /LivingLibrary — Curated library of books, articles, frameworks, and resources on collective living
- /Exhibition — Visual exhibition of community life
- /About — About the ToGather research project

## Research themes

- **Governance** — How communities make decisions: sociocracy, consensus, holacracy, and hybrid models
- **Conflict** — How communities handle disagreement, repair relationships, and maintain cohesion
- **Money** — Economic models: shared income, contribution systems, land trusts, and cooperative finance
- **Culture** — Shared rituals, values transmission, and the glue that holds communities together
- **Belonging** — Thresholds of membership, identity, and what it means to truly join
- **Joining** — Membership processes, trial periods, and the journey from visitor to member

## Sitemap

- https://togatherproject.eu/functions/sitemap (XML sitemap of all pages and community profiles)

## Data and research

Community profiles include: country, region, coordinates, founding year, population, governance model, land tenure, membership status, visitor programs, and curated field research notes.

Interview transcripts are available in full on individual interview pages.

All research is original and based on direct field visits.