Robin Allison

This is a fascinating story of the development of Earthsong an intentional community in Ranui in West Auckland. I liked the way the author has alternated chapters - one dealing with the story, one dealing with the theme.
It is well supported with maps and photos of the development of the cohousing scheme. And it has an index.
Robin Allison sub-titles her book 'a personal story' and indeed it is. For me it is too personal . While I recognise that her personal life story as separate from the co-housing development does affect her co-housing life, it was irritating. If she tells us that her son was injured in a fight then we want to know how he is/was. Did he recover?
I would have liked more emphasis on the development of the permacultural aspects of the community but acknowledge that by the time of writing maybe they hadn't been fully put in place. More detail on the earth used for the rammed earth walls might also have been useful for others.
Pity that the orchard trees were cut down in the end - were cuttings taken or seeds saved - this aspect was skipped over so quickly and seemed out of character with the ethos of the project.… (mer)