Overview of Building a Small Community of 20 People: Why a Community of About 20?
If you’ve developed robust solo prepping skills, you bring invaluable experience to this community size. You can guide others, share survival hacks, and help shape the group’s culture.
Transitioning from Solo to Community Life
Start small by collaborating with just one or two people on a limited project—like building a shared rainwater collector. Evaluate how well you work together before expanding the group.
Setting the Foundation: Vision, Structure, and Culture
Before officially forming the community, invest time in clarifying the group’s vision and culture. Aim for alignment on core values—like fairness, cooperation, respect for individual autonomy—and practical approaches to resource management, security, and conflict resolution. By setting a solid foundation, you reduce future misunderstandings and disagreements.
Draft a simple “Community Charter” early on. It doesn’t have to be formal; even a verbal agreement outlining goals and acceptable behaviors can guide initial actions.
Not everyone wants or needs a community. Some individuals remain fiercely independent, while others may not share your long-term vision. That’s okay. What matters is building a community of people who voluntarily come together, understand the mutual benefits, and commit to sustaining the group through challenges.
Pre-Collapse Preparations for Community Formation
While you might initially prioritize your solo prepping strategy, remain open to the idea of joining or creating a community should conditions allow.
Identify Potential Candidates Beforehand: Keep an eye on friends, family, neighbors, or like-minded acquaintances who demonstrate reliability, useful skills, or a cooperative mindset. Making casual connections now could facilitate community-building later.
Keep a discreet list of people you’d consider inviting into a group if the time comes. Consider their character, not just their skill sets. Trustworthiness is as important as competence.
Establishing a Conflict Resolution Framework
Group Discussion or Council: If unresolved, bring it to a small committee or the entire community if it affects everyone.
The Value of Clear and Consistent Communication
Effective communication weaves together the threads of your community’s efforts—resource management, security, governance, skill-building—into a cohesive, functional whole. By establishing clear internal communication patterns, fostering a culture of respectful exchange, and developing diplomacy with external groups, you enhance trust, unity, and adaptability. A community that talks openly, listens carefully, and collaborates smoothly can address challenges more efficiently and seize opportunities with confidence.
Components of a Vision Statement
Cultural Ethos: In a collapsed world, you have the rare chance to shape a new culture. Will your community emphasize egalitarian values, respect for nature, technological rediscovery, or spiritual revival?
Balancing Skills with Values
If you must choose someone who’s “rough around the edges” due to their skillset, ensure you have a strong moral core in the rest of the group. Peer pressure and a supportive culture might guide them toward better behavior.
Handling External Communication
Scouting and Information Gathering: When contacting other groups, choose diplomatic, open-minded envoys who can observe others’ conditions, negotiate trade, and build rapport. Knowledge of regional languages or cultural norms is invaluable.
Develop a simple phrasebook or symbol guide if dealing with a group that speaks a different language. Even a few words in their tongue or recognizable symbols can ease tensions.
Treat group size as a planning scenario
Twenty people is an example for exploring coordination, not a scientifically established ideal size. Count actual needs and capacities: children, older people, accessibility needs, caregiving, available time and useful skills. A group of the same size can have very different resources and obligations. Begin with a modest shared activity and learn how decisions, supplies and disagreements are handled before proposing shared living or major purchases. Record commitments and make participation voluntary. The practical foundation is a workable agreement among real people, not reaching a target head count and assuming the community will organize itself.