Radical Roots: The Village Model

Elizabeth Adkisson
Nov 22, 2024
7 min read

Updated: Jul 8, 2025

Visualize with me for a moment:

You park your bike, take a drink of clean water, sip in a deep breath, and smile- you know its going to be a good and productive day. A group of friends to your right is playing music on a terrace and the glorious sound floods your ears. You look to your left and another group in the distance is working in the garden, laughing and picking fresh vegetables that you helped plant in the spring. In the building in front of you, through the window, you see a group of people painting. You know that they are also talking about what needs to be done on the land and in the community as someone is taking notes on the whiteboard. They seem positively fired up. As you walk down the path that is freckled with berry bushes, medicinal herbs, and vines sneaking into the sidewalk, you notice an elder walking through the garden with a group of children, teaching them about how plants can heal, and how you can hear them too- if you truly listen. It’s a hot day, but you’re shaded by the giant beautiful trees overhead and the air is fresh from their constant and abundant respiration. The mural that was painted during a work party last summer is looking a little chipped and you set an internal reminder to let the community know during the roundtable that will happen at the potluck tonight. Oh! That reminds you-you've picked fresh mint and were planning to make some tea for the party tonight. They encourage everyone to bring something, even if it’s small, but the pressure is off. You know that you’ll be cared for even if you’ve nothing to contribute this time.

Waving to a friend sitting on a bench, you notice that they look a little down and you go to sit down next to them, your work on the new cob house can wait. They tell you that they’ve been experiencing a bout of depression ever since they lost their mother and they haven’t been eating. You ask if it would be helpful to have some community meals delivered for a bit and they reluctantly nod their head. After spending some time comforting them and making another mental note to get a support group together, you both go on your way. As you walk, you see people sitting by the meandering riverbank that is absolutely full of pollinator plants, wetland biota, and little animals skittering along. A sense of harmony fills your soul, this village has made itself at home in the gentle hand of Mother Nature. Tucked within the city, these few blocks are a hotspot for biodiversity as well as community solution building, mutual aid, spiritual connection, creativity, celebration, and diplomacy. While it’s never perfect, and there are always new problems to solve and relationships to mend, this feels like a place who’s roots are spreading deeper into the city. People who aren’t even part of the village volunteer team come to relax, to find support, to work in the garden, come to the ceremonies that are organized here, or just observe and read the educational signs scattered around the area. This here is a seed for change in a time and place still dominated by individualism, consumerism, and overproduction.

The response I often get when I tell people I’m a sustainability consultant is “so…what does that mean exactly?”

Owning a business is new to me, and marketing my work often feels unfamiliar. When asked what I do, my response usually goes something like, “I work with businesses and communities to measure environmental and social impact, navigate regulations, find incentives, and set sustainability goals.” While accurate, this explanation often feels generic, as if I'm saying what people expect to hear—emphasizing cost-cutting, reputation-boosting, and aligning with trends.

Yet, this approach doesn’t feel authentic. Greenwashing is a pervasive issue today, where minimal changes are marketed as significant accomplishments, masking widespread harm to the environment, workers, and supply chains. It’s not just misleading—it’s a distraction. While progress in any form is valuable, I can’t help but question: What are the true intentions behind these efforts?

Why address this at all when potential clients might wonder, How could a sustainability consultant criticize businesses for pursuing sustainability? The truth is, I’ve been told that success means “playing the game”—recognizing profit as the primary incentive and proving the financial viability of sustainable initiatives. If upfront costs outweigh immediate benefits, why would a company invest? An action may not be profitable now, but in the future it could have widespread positive impacts, and this can’t always be demonstrated in a cost-benefit analysis. It feels tiresome for me to focus my work into convincing people that sustainability will save them money or bring in profit. In simple terms, it feels wrong.

I envision a future where, when considering the costs, we aren’t just thinking of ourselves, of the monetary possibilities right now. I envision that every action is carefully considered and that we take into account the plants, animals, employees, resource providers, and Tribal Nations who’s land we are on or taking from. Where we think about how our future generations will be impacted. And if we are focusing on ourselves, how about our whole selves- the larger part of ourselves that wants to do good, to feel less anxious and rushed and impossibly burdened, and to be connected to the larger living web around us. I think so much of our health issues come back to the disconnect that we feel with the immediate world around us, our communities, and the needs of our bodies. We are plugged into an economic system that does not care whether our morals are in line with our actions and asks us to put aside our wellbeing to make a profit.

I envision a future where sustainability projects don’t just weigh on one individual, one business, nonprofit, or community. Where the burden is spread to ensure that people can take breaks and care for themselves and their family, ask for help, and actually feel passionate about what their doing rather than feeling forced. It's one thing to do the work and another thing to find joy in it. My ideal future is putting action to words in a way that is enlivening and collaborative.

Stepping back into our imagination, let's explore what I call "The Village Effect":

The more people who come to the commons, the more you start to notice that a network is building around the city. Some changes you notice include:

People reaching out to local farmers and artisans because they attended the weekly market put on here.
Catering services start sourcing their ingredients from this market as well, demonstrating to event attendees that it is entirely possible to create a local food chain.
Policy changes protecting rivers from pollution are taking place, inspired by water-honoring ceremonies led by the local Tribal Nation and attended by city council members.
Youth crime rates are decreasing due to coming-of-age ceremonies and educational programs that encourage community involvement and provide strong support systems.
Obesity rates are declining thanks to the “Farm to School” program launched by the farm as well as frequent body movement activities for all ages.
City-dwellers are learning essential survival and resiliency skills through free workshops put on by passionate community members. Classes like foraging, food preparation/ preservation, clothing repair, fire starting, navigation, shelter building, water purification, first aid, community communications, weather reading, tool making, cordage and rope tying, and more are highly attended and deeply appreciated.
Those with illnesses are improving greatly due to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program covered by insurance through a partnership between the village and local medical providers as well as traditional plant medicine administered regularly.
Tiny homes are constructed on a nearby lot, with work-trade opportunities encouraging community engagement.
Mental health is improving outreach campaigns invite struggling individuals to participate in community events.
People are seeing the flyers and social media posts, and they come en masse. They come not only to enjoy the events but also to help create them- bringing instruments, food, crafting supplies, infrastructure, decorations, workshops, free items to share, and hands for helping.
Elders who’s families are working are here daily for meals, sharing circles, book clubs, and crafting days. They tells stories to the young ones who listen earnestly as they teach them about art, food, culture, music, pacifism, and revolution.
Offers and needs markets are getting peoples needs met without the need for expensive and unnecessary consumption. Tools, books, transportation, childcare, skills and services and many more things are shared joyfully without the need for monetary exchange. Following ancient community practices, the village becomes more connected/self reliant and a "sharing economy" is built. Neighbors know neighbors and they care about their wellbeing.

Most mornings, people do yoga and meditate on the lawn. They are led freely by the healers who are there only to help their community get centered and make peace, love, and joy a community priority. Most afternoons, people forage the village, clean up, create art, play music, and enjoy the beauty of collective effort. Most nights, people dance. Every genre, every culture, every type of person is welcome here and the movement encourages people to be their authentic selves. Celebration is the pulse that drives change forward- it is at the heart of everything that is created here.

As you take a step off of the clover field onto the sidewalk, you look at this beautiful landscape, feeling refreshed and enlivened. You know that even the couple hours of work you put in today made a difference. That whatever skills and passion you brought to the table are incredibly valued, despite being unpaid. The currency exchange of food, art, music, and community connection is much more satisfying. You get the sense that this is how life should be. The cracks in the pavement below show signs of life as moss, little saplings, and “weeds” make their way through. The future has arrived, and it lives below your feet and within your heart, soul, and mind. You and the world around you have officially gone rogue, together.