INTENTIONAL COMMUNITIES, SOME INSIDE VIEWS

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To share what we've learned about education with other parents, The Stelle Group publishes a Parenting/or Excellence newsletter and sponsors a comprehensive, two-day "Parenting for Excellence" seminar.

The Stelle Group is also developing the means to survive possible future economic and political strife, as well as disasters caused by the destructive forces of nature. With this goal in mind, we established an Office of Technology in 1978 to research and develop various self-sufficiency systems and technologies. In 1980, for example, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded The Stelle Group a $50,000 grant to compile a design package for a 1,000-gallon-per-day fuel-alcohol production plant. (The 185-page package is now available for $17.50 from National Technical Information Services, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA 22161; it includes an illustrated report and specifications on the pilot plant we built, operating procedures, regulatory information, and financial work sheets. Ask for NTIS Report No. DE 82017453.)

In 1983, we received a $52,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources to build and demonstrate a commercial-size greenhouse using a new liquid-foam insulation system that dramatically reduces energy consumption. And we are currently attempting to determine how best to integrate solar greenhouses, confinement fish raising, and alcohol fuel into a controlled environment system.

The results of The Stelle Group's experience with various self-sufficiency techniques and technologies are made available to the public through special project reports and Personal Preparedness, a newsletter that presents basic self-sufficiency and survival information at a subscription rate of $15 per year.

Stelle is one of an estimated 100,000 intentional communities throughout the world that are dedicated to personal growth and to serving the needs of humanity and society. Yet, if intentional communities are defined as places espousing "alternative lifestyles," then Stelle is perhaps an "alternative alternative," since we differ from most intentional communities in some significant ways. First, we're not communal; we actively encourage individuals to achieve their own personal prosperity. This, of course, means that we each earn our own money and spend it as we judge best.

Then, too, we are neither counter-culture nor antitechnology. Instead, we're searching for technology that's so advanced that it's efficient, cost-effective, and ecologically sound.

And while most intentional communities plan to remain small and somewhat specialized in focus, we expect to grow into a large city of up to a quarter of a million people dedicated to New Age concepts, while providing the autonomy and high standard of living so important to most Americans.

If you'd like to know more about Stelle, we offer two free brochures and a free newsletter. We also schedule several guest programs each year which provide weekend and week-long opportunities to experience life in our unique community. For more information, please write The Stelle Group, Box 330, Stelle, IL 60919.

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