Welcome to the ClimateSafe Villages FAQs. Because joining such a “village” would be a major life commitment, many people will have many different types of questions. Over time, this website section will expand and evolve and attempt to collect most of those questions.

Because there will be so many questions, they are divided into topics. When you see a topic in which you are interested, click that link, and it will take you to a list of questions relating to that topic. (To find the appropriate topic, you can also skim through or use the cmd-F [Mac key] or ctl-F [PC key]).

Here are the currently available ClimateSafe Villages TOPICS: (This FAQ is still under construction. but it has many answers.)

• • ClimateSafe Villages – General Questions
  • Education
  • Effort Sharing
  • Property Sharing – material goods
  • Real Estate
  • Spirituality
  • Social Composition
  • Social Practices
  • Village Locations
  • Village Process Issues
  • Village Process History
  • Village Scope
  • Village Types

If you do not see an answer to your ClimateSafe Village question in our FAQ, email your query to ([email protected]). Put ClimateSafe Village Question in the subject line.

ClimateSafe Villages – General Questions

• What questions should I ask when considering joining a ClimateSafe Village (CSV) model or location?
• Reproductive freedom
• Who is the audience for the JobOne website?
• Who is the audience for the ClimateSafe Villages?
• Will ClimateSafe Villages be self-sufficient?
• How should ClimateSafe Villages deal with rival organizations who try to adopt our model?
• Do you have a discussion forum exclusively for CSV?
• Do we see ourselves as trying to create a utopia?
• Who is the driving force behind the ClimateSafe Villages movement and the growth of new ClimateSafe Villages?
• How long does it take to become climate change resilient in an urban or rural community?
• CSV is not-for-profit. It does not get involved in for-profit investment schemes. It warns members against using other CSV members for personal profit. But Why?
• Survival of the most cooperative versus survival of the fittest.

What questions should I ask when considering joining a ClimateSafe Village model or location?

The Bellingham, Washington, new CSV headquarters member application process found here is particularly applicable to use in reverse to help you determine if you want to join a specific ClimateSafe Village or any eco-community. Before joining any CSV model anywhere in the world, we strongly recommend you use the applicable member application questions found here to interview the lead coordinator and leader(s) of that community to find out how well and how much they have screened their current members for potential problems or issues. The quality of individuals living cooperatively in any community will be a major factor in that community's long-term survival.

You could also use the CSV frequently asked questions list or the critical topics in our online guide table of contents to ask how that village will or is handling the issues you are most concerned about because every village is slightly different in how it runs itself. It may or may not follow some of the values, principles, and actions of the Bellingham headquarters CSV.

It is entirely in your hands to do your own complete, detailed, and proper due diligence when investigating any CSV model or community location as a possible place to join or relocate. Treat this evaluation process as one of the most important decisions you will ever make because as climate change and other factors worsen, it may well be.

An area of questioning you also will want to pursue is understanding the current resource level and or reserves of any community in relationship to what its plans are for the future and its promises of what it wants to deliver to its members.

If you find the key people in any community are unwilling to answer your questions openly and transparently, that is not a good sign. There is an old proverb that particularly stands true when it comes to investigating any new community you are thinking about joining during the climate change emergency. "True sincerity, never minds scrutiny."

Reproductive freedom

The concept of “reproductive freedom” is important. It is the goal of all ClimateSafe Villages to honor reproductive freedom for all. This covers a lot of concerns, but women should never be forced to have children at any age. The decision of a woman to have an abortion is considered a citizen’s right. HOWEVER, because the population collapse is coming, and “overpopulation” is acknowledged to be a major cause, the concept of “reproductive freedom” isn’t so simple. In fact, the approach that our new vision of Personalized Democracy suggests is that every community would establish a “community size goal”. This is NOT “the collective view of the community.” It is essentially a scientific “climate footprint” calculation. The community must come to an agreement on how that goal is to be achieved that respects the 10 Principles of Personalized Democracy. For example, setting a “rule” of “2 children per family” is much too simplistic. For example, if one couple chooses to have zero children, another might have 4. This is decided through a major analytical process of the entire community.

Who is the audience for the JobOne website?

Our website was not intended or designed for individuals under 13 years old. We believe that the grave nature of some of the climate change extinction emergency information on our website is not suitable for children under 13 years old. We believe that children under 13 should not have to deal with “extinction-level” climate change issues. This adult and young adult information would only disturb the peace and happiness normal and natural to their childhood with no obvious benefits. That said, read the question related to climate education.

Who is the audience for the ClimateSafe Villages?

The program does not discriminate against anyone based on race, age, sex, sexuality, income, financial-worth, profession, handicaps, or educational status. While the general criteria will be attractive to intellectuals and those with higher educational levels. The entry requirements are primarily the ability to understand and live up to the provisions of each community’s social contract, and physical environment. 

Handicapped or disabled people, for example, will not be refused access, as long as they have the finances to support any equipment then need and can live comfortably with the medical facilities the community has access to.

In addition to the above, our main ClimateSafe Villages audience are individuals who:

1. Know climate change is real.

2. Know climate change is far worse than our governments and the media are telling us.

3. Want to protect their families and businesses from the many escalating climate change consequences until our governments finally fix climate change.

5. Want to do something to stop climate change from getting worse within their zones of control ad resources.

Will ClimateSafe Villages be completely self-sufficient?

No. It is impossible, especially over periods longer than a 6-12 months. They will be designed for shorter to medium term resilience, and minimum reliance on external support, but will also strive for a higher than “subsistence” quality of life that can’t be self-sustained by any community indefinitely without some external support.

For example, contact with the outside world would not be stopped. That means, access to modern communications. Most people, of any age, will be subject to medical problems which require pharmaceuticals from pain relievers (Tylenol) to heart medications (Lisinopril). The community could never produce those. Even just addressing food, any “reasonable” spice cabinet cannot be maintained without outside replenishment. Coffee and tea, for example, don’t grow well in aquaponics for northern hemisphere conditions. Producing salt is too difficult for most locations.

Communications are first encouraged with other ClimateSafe Villages through the Internet. But eventually, all replenishment channels will be needed.

How should ClimateSafe Villages deal with rival organizations who try to adopt our model?

We will support them! The ClimateSafe Villages program is NOT a competitive program. It is being done to “SURVIVE” the coming climate change-driven catastrophic collapse of the human population and global civilization. Anyone who adopts our model is helping everyone, including us.

Do you have a discussion forum exclusively for CSV?

We now have setup a forum communication and project tool called BaseCamp. It is open to individuals actively helping to create this CSV community model. It is now available.  Email [email protected] for access to this private forum.

Do we see ourselves as trying to create a utopia?

There are critical semantic advantages in avoiding using the term utopia when discussing the CSV Vision. The word utopia is linked to a long historical chain of failures by individuals trying to create a utopia. There's hardly a discussion about utopias without it being followed by a discussion of how they failed. 

The farther we stay away from referring to ourselves as building a Utopia, the better and more honest we will be in the sense of being realistic, practical, and having a good understanding of the term's history.

The original CSV vision was never seeking utopia-like perfection, but only to create a truly cooperative community with high levels of evolutionary preparedness, adaptability, and resilience to survive better the challenging and ever-changing conditions in front of us.

Additionally, CSVs are not trying to create a utopia, but we are doing something urgently needed.

While we do not see ourselves working to create a rigid utopia-like structure, nor do we use utopia language, many of us do see ourselves as experimenting visionaries, aka Evolutioneers.

In addition to our goals of building climate resilience through preparation and adaptation and ending the climate emergency through promoting immediate government climate action, CSVs have other potential goals besides promoting their members' long-term safety, security, and overall well-being.  

Some CSVs, like the new CSV Bellingham headquarters, will, by member choice, also be working on discovering and testing new possibilities for better models for our social, economic, political, and religious systems and interactions. They will be engaged in designing, testing, and proving new evolutionary iterations for those systems. 

They will do this so that after the widespread global collapse driven by the primary and secondary consequences of climate change, there will be better solutions and proven examples available for future generations. We believe that because of the horrendous shared post global collapse trauma, new generations will be more open to new solutions for sustainably living together.

The preceding means that individuals participating in CSVs are far more than survivalists or progressive preppers with a detailed knowledge of climate change consequence timeframes. They also can be by choice, future activists and Evolutioneers working to create a more sustainable, just, and equitable future for ALL of humanity despite, the worsening global crises we all now face.

Who is the driving force behind the ClimateSafe Villages movement and the growth of new ClimateSafe Villages?

It is you. It is not the CSV staff, team members, or volunteers! And, it will always be you. 

Please do not wait for anyone else to lead you in getting what you need to be done to protect yourself, your family, and your business, as we are a leaderless movement. All we have is willing and wise collaborators and cooperators sharing knowledge and efforts.

If you want to get something done on creating a ClimateSafe Village or preparing for what is coming, do it! You never need anyone's permission to do good in the world.

Be the lead coordinator and let other cooperators gather around you with similar circumstances and interests.

While there is no need to panic, we are running out of time before we cross critical climate change tipping points (from 2025-2031.) Things will get much worse during that 2025-2031 period, far faster than they can be prepared for or adapted to. Additionally, once things get far worse and many more people finally recognize we are in an accelerating climate change emergency, many of the critical supplies you will desperately need will be unavailable or unaffordable.

All this only means what it has always meant in every area of your life. 

You are the driving force behind the ClimateSafe Villages movement and the growth of new ClimateSafe Villages.

Please select and start your first CSV-related project. Other wise collaborators with similar circumstances and interests are already looking for you.

How long does it take to become climate change resilient in an urban or rural CSV community?

In general, if you are working part-time on the necessary emergency preparations and adaptations (described on this preparation page and this adaptation page), it will take 2 to 3 years to make your home or business in an urban CSV climate change-resilient. If you are building a rural CSV, you could easily be looking at 3 to 5 years. 

If you do it full-time, it will be quicker. Many things, like using permaculture to build high-quality food-growing soil, will still take several years to complete.

Construction companies are extremely busy dealing with the housing shortage and repairing climate change damage. Many of them will put you on a waiting list for up to six months or even a year or longer before they even start your remodeling, upgrading, or construction project.

What these additional long build-out times mean is that there is a real urgency to get started on your emergency preparations and adaptations today because after we cross critical climate change tipping points from 2025-2031, things will get much worse very fast. They also will continue to worsen from 203o to about 2050, which also means emergency and adaptation supplies will steadily be harder to get. And their costs will continually rise far faster than other commodities. 

This time-sensitive issue does not mean you should ever panic. You have adequate preparation and adaptation time before the worst consequences occur. This time-sensitive issue only means get busy today while you also "Keep calm and carry on."

CSV is not-for-profit. It does not get involved in for-profit investment schemes. It warns members against using other CSV members for personal profit. But Why?

• The community provides full administrative transparency for all legal and other administrative records (except for personnel file sections, which we have agreed to keep confidential.)
• Because finances are an area where many communities run into trouble, we provide administrative transparency for all community financial records and maintain a three-person signoff and approval system for all disbursements or purchases over an amount agreed to by the community. This three-person signoff finance integrity system will go a long way to help prevent incorrect, incomplete, or inaccurate community financial records and other types of mistakes, fraud, or embezzlement. 

Education

At what age do we start speaking about climate change to young children? They already practice gun drills.

Current society raises this question because they are too narrow minded and lazy to learn and understand its complexity. As with sex education, all “rational” and “science-based” programs for climate education are geared for each child’s age and personal maturity. That is, it has long been known that children get curious about climate issues in stages. So programs are carefully designed to provide only the material that is appropriate to adequately address a child’s questions. This is determined by asking the child questions. There are many resources on the website that provide rational adults all the information they need to answer any child’s questions. And they will have questions because the issues are all around them. In general, children under 13 should not be given the serious adult level facts of the climate change emergency.

Effort Sharing

Is it possible for ClimateSafe Villages hubs to share labor?

ClimateSafe Villages are economic units in their own right.  Working out some kind of inter-community and community work or product exchange system is still in the developmental stages. (2023)

Can eco-communities support registered members in nearby cities or towns who are running their own local network in conjunction with local government 

Absolutely. It is highly probable that the rural or surbaban communities Will develop local members who are not living in the eco-community compound./span>

Property Sharing – material goods

Is property sharing common in a village?

To reduce expensive and unnecessary redundencies, sharing of material property between individuals is strongly encouraged. To facilitate this, each village should have a “property management group”. They would coordinate the effort using an “online” program. It would list all the items available, where the items currently are, and any notes related to their use. To show the range of such property, here are a few examples.

Distributed Library: Rather than a central “library” that is large enough for a huge book collection, the “village book collection” would be distributed to all member homes. An “online book catalog” tracks and shows the status of all village books.

Village trucks: A pickup truck sure comes in handy for “odd jobs”. But, for many people, it is not used often enough to be affordable. The village would have specialized vehicles for “general use”. Unlike “rental car” businesses, a village member who expects a possible need for such a vehicle would register with the village program. That means, there is no need to go through all the paperwork every time the vehicle is used. It would be as easy to use a truck as it is to get a book. 

Each village should also have a “maintenance center”. This is a centralized location that stores items not being “remotely stored”, or items brought in for repair. Village members, who are handy with repairs, can provide repair efforts, in return for village “credits”.

External to the village

Sharing of material property between villages is encouraged. This is encouraged particularly for items that are very costly and not frequently used. An example might be an audio system for a major holiday party. This type of property would be coordinated just like the local use property by a working relationship between “property management groups” in each village.

Real estate ownership 

How is real estate managed in ClimateSafe Villages?

The answer is, each village would establish its own system based on the constraint of its size, location, and social structure.

For example, members in a “virtual village” manage housing on their own according to the customs of their location. Members in an “urban village” can manage real estate all the way from having “independent” dwellings to living in high-rise buildings owned collectively by the residents. Even in rural villages, ownership can vary from being totally independent to totally communal.

Spirituality and Religion within the ClimateSafe Villages

Can a ClimateSafe Village have a religious or spiritual group orientation?

Each separate ClimateSafe Village will have its own social structure. They may use or reject as many of our design recommendations as they feel fit or as are applicable to their local conditions. If they want to have some religious affiliation that is their choice. That being said, ClimateSafe Villages Bellingham in Bellingham Washington will be closely associated with the philosophy expressed at Universe Spirit. 

The important thing to realize here is that ClimateSafe Villages without deep philosophical or spiritual unity will not have the same level of resilience needed to make it through an increasing number of catastrophes. Religion or personal spirituality are a part of many individuals' lives who will be a part of our communities. Even though each ClimateSafe Villages will set its policies for how it will deal with its members' different religious and spiritual practices, we do have some suggestions and recommendations.

1. Unfortunately, many beliefs and practices in today's religions harm or impede the creation of a sustainable, just, and equitable world for ALL. Therefore, self-selecting religious members within the four eco-community models should continually explore how to include the safe and healthy values and ideas of existing religions for their personal or eco-community use while also transcending the no longer applicable, unjust, or unworkable religious practices, values, and beliefs from humanity's vast spiritual heritage.

2. Allow any individual of any religious denomination to join any model of our eco-communities. Likewise, any humanist, agnostic, or atheist may join the eco-community. But, if their current religious or spiritual behaviors and actions strongly conflict with the values of your eco-community model, it will not work out well. For example, if a potential member's religion is intolerant, authoritarian, or "is the only true religion" or requires them to recruit and preach to others aggressively, the four eco-community models will not be a good fit. 

3. While there are many dangers in forming an eco-community around a particular religious or spiritual belief system, there is one crucial benefit if the religious or spiritual belief system is healthy and non-coercive. As things get worse in the outside macro-culture, members within the eco-community will witness unthinkable suffering and death. A healthy faith can provide deep value roots that will give additional psychological and emotional resilience that will be dearly needed to survive. 

4. If an individual's spiritual practice is found on the third or fourth level defined by Fowler's Four Levels of Faith, they will most likely be very comfortable within our eco-community models. (Click here to learn about Fowler's third and fourth religious and spiritual development levels.)

5. Educate every community member about actions of members or community managers that could harm individuals or the community by introducing or using these manipulative and harmful religious or spiritual practices within the community. We also proactivelyeducate our members about the long-established principles of healthy spiritual practices,which apply to all religions and spiritual practices.

6. Small communities with religious or spiritual affiliations frequently adopt one or more destructive cultish behaviors. To safeguard against this, educate every community member about actions of members or community managers that could harm individuals or the community by having all members understand these fundamental tactics of destructive cults. 

7. Furthermore, while the ClimateSafe Village models will protect an individual's right to have opinions and beliefs about anything, spiritual or otherwise and without interference, behaviors springing from those opinions or beliefs are entirely subject to community examination and limitation.

e.

Social Composition

Are relatives and friends allowed to visit communities or give notification and how long can they stay? 

Yes of course visit providing they respect the community values while they are there. Each community will work out its own rules and processes for how this should happen./p>

Social Practices

Guns - individuals

Individuals will be allowed to own, possess, and use guns.

These functions must adhere to the “limitation” rules of the surrounding communities.

However, every gun must be declared for one or more specific uses and only used for those purposes. The uses allowed are: hunting, target shooting, work related purposes (i.e. security guards or police), and historical display. No form of modern “military assault weapon” is allowed All gun owners will be required to have taken a gun safety course and store their weapons under lock and key.

It is possible, as the outside world worsens, that communities may adopt additional gun management policies. But these would only be considered in “community” forms.

Village Locations

What is the ClimateSafe Village position on safe village locations?

We provide the most accurate, and comprehensive scientific truth we have found. 

No place on earth is completely 100% safe from the many consequences of accelerating climate change and global warming. But there are places that will be safer and safer longer from many of the global warming consequences. With our additional adaptation strategies to make these ClimateSafe Villages climate change safer, (high wind resistant, fire, flood, rain bomb resistant, and drought resistant, energy and water independent, etc.), thus more resilient and more sustainable, and they will be climate-safer places longer, but not climate-safe places.

Where are the better regions or places to set up ClimateSafe Villages.

This is covered in great detail in the Members-Only section of our website at Job one. There is a ton of material there far too much to include in the 6 page overview.

Village Process Issues

Registration Forms

Instead of just a loose email reply, would it not be better to have registration forms: One about expression of general interest. One about wanting to join an actual ClimateSafe Village as defined... and one about making donations in money or goods but NOT joining a community (they support the idea and are doing their own thing)…. 

To view the preliminary application forms for each of the four different models of ClimateSafe Villages (the urban variation, the rural variation, the hybrid variation, and the virtual variation,) click here and look at the very end of each description. To view the application forms for the ClimateSafe Villages Bellingham in Bellingham Washington, USA, click here.

Funding Village formation

Each ClimateSafe Village creates and does its own funding as they are separate legal entities. Although Job One for Humanity is a rare volunteer only organization and we have no paid staff currently, at some point we realize we are going to have to use some of the funds we raise for ClimateSafe Villages to hire some critical staff to help create our closely connected ClimateSafe Villages worldwide network.)

Publicity

Each ClimateSafe Village sets up and enlist a publicity group, videos, flyers, pamphlets, etc... or uses money to hire publicity people such as Fivver… 

Village Naming and branding Formats

Anyone can name their independent eco-communities anything they like. If your eco-community closely follows the ClimateSafe Villages guidelines and policies, you may (with our written permission) be able to use our name like this, ClimateSafe Villages Berlin, ClimateSafe Villages Melbourne, etc. 

Village Process History

ClimateSafe Villages Bellingham

This is designed to be the premier or flagship eco-community for the ClimateSafe Villages project. The “lead coordinator” for the effort is Lawrence Wollersheim. 

The ClimateSafe Villages Bellingham eco-community will also be the headquarters for ClimateSafe Villages, Job One, the Universe Institute, the Universe College and Universe Spirit. Click here for more information about the ClimateSafe Villages Bellingham Village.

There are individuals associated with those organizations and that essential work for the future who may move to the ClimateSafe Villages community because it includes those things and hopefully it will also become a leadership source for the other ClimateSafe Villages in the affiliation.

ClimateSafe Villages community – Social Contract

Here is the ClimateSafe Villages basic and evolving social contract.  

What is the connection with Universe Spirit

Universe Spirit is the name of the other organization that has been contributing to the pre-ClimateSafe Villages eco-community project for years.

Village Scope

Does the ClimateSafe Village project have society at large in mind or is it about those who are already tuned into climate matters by and large?

Our initial audience will be progressives who already understand or feel the need for such a climate change emergency aware community to exist because of worsening climate change and other global issues. Because of the shortness of preparation time we will only involve those with strong and aligned in motivation. Once the communities are established and running well each community can decide on its outreach actions to the larger community.

Village Expansion

At some point we are going to reach out to the other 1200 intentional communities and 10,000 eco-villages around the world and either ask them for their input or offer our model for however they want to use it. If some small portion of humanity is going to survive, we need to encourage as many people as possible to set up these ClimateSafe Villages-like eco-communities either in close unity with us or as independent experiments using whatever they can for my models.

The ClimateSafe Villages Roll-out process

The roll out process for each ClimateSafe Villages model is described on this page at the end of each model description. The roll out process for the ClimateSafe Villages is described on this page.

ClimateSafe Villages will work with those willing to help get ClimateSafe Village in Bellingham, Washington, running first. By studying other successful and unsuccessful intentional communities, we discovered that it's best to start from scratch if you're trying to build a model eco-community. Intentional communities that try to evolve in major ways once they are going and have established a culture do not have a high success record.)

Village Types

How many types of village are there?

Click here for a description of all four ClimateSafe Villages models.

Community inclusivity

Click here for a description of our social values.

Details of farming methods

Our farming and garden specifications are still evolving as we research recent breakthrough in these areas.

Everything we do in this area will have a side effect, some of those will be negative. The key is to minimize the negative side effects and maximize the good. The carbon emissions from organic gardening and Permaculture are minimal compared to the carbon emissions of big agribusiness.

We have to move the human food supply away from big agribusiness, which will crash under the weight of extreme climate conditions. The key here is to minimize our carbon footprint by wise gardening and farming, which will be essential to our survival.

About ClimateSafe Villages Legal Status

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