Project Of The Day: Beneficio

Have you ever lived on a compound with a group of people? I’ve done it twice: once in the United States and once in Kenya.

I found both experiences intense. It was great getting to really know the others. Yet no one is perfect and inside a compound people’s flaws are magnified.

But as we transition to a peer to peer economy, there will be no single referee. So aptitude in getting along with others becomes essential.

Beneficio is one experiment in peer to peer living. It has survived for many years and may be worth investigating as an example of self-organization.

Extracted from http://www.ic.org/directory/beneficio/

Community Description:

We are open to travelers from all around the world and offer great land for camping in the open almond orchid or in the public national park of eucalyptus or pine trees.

Communal gathering occur in the “big lodge” tipi, located at the top of a first field after entering through the car park and the eucalyptus forest. Springs, at the bend before the paths, zig zag all the way up to the town of Canar. About four km below is Orgiva, all in Sierra Nevada, Spain. From Orgiva, drive up towards Bubion, and turn toward Canar, and then take the immediate left turn down into car park.

Extracted from https://decentralize.hackpad.com/Beneficio-IhEduLvEypp

Inside Beneficio there are small businesses, including a shop, bakeries, free range eggs, and cheese making. There are shared facilities including a large communal tipi, shared outdoor kitchen, composting toilet, and a sports pitch. Drinking water is provided by a mountain spring, and secondary water is provided by the stream running through the valley.

Extracted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneficio

Beneficio is often referred to as a permanent Rainbow Gathering. It consists of a plot co-owned by many residents ^[1] in a river valley, outside of the Alpujarra village of Orgiva in Spain. Within the community, alcohol consumption is prohibited but drugs are widely used.

Inhabitants live largely in various styles of light shelters such as tents, benders and tipis, although some more permanent structures have been built, including straw bale constructions. There is also a number of people living in vehicles along the dirt road that leads up to the Beneficio valley. The settlement is against Spanish law and the Junta has been evicting its inhabitants since spring 2013.

Extracted from http://maguliciousworld.blogspot.com.es/2011/04/beneficio-hippies-paradise.html

I must admit I somehow had a different image of the camp (a funny thing seeing how I’d never been to a similar place and yet still managed to built up a certain image in my head). I thought it would be a kind of a big valley with houses, or dwelling places to be more adequate, all around. But as someone smartly explained it to me: “We leave the big crowded cities to live in and with nature. If we’ve got that much space available, why cram all together?“. Makes sense to me!

Photo by Public Places