We begin with people who want to live in a VillageTown

If 200 home buyers come together, their collective purchasing power for their Village is in the tens of millions. If 10-20 of those Villages come together for one VillageTown, their purchasing power is in the hundreds of millions, or even billions. Divided, these people are called customers, people who hold very little control over their future which lies in the hands of developers, bankers and bureaucrats. United they are called the Village Forum, where their combined purchasing power speaks loud, and where Village Forum processes enable them to secure a better life.

The Village Forum is not a developer, and while it may represent purchasing power that grows into the billions, it functions not as a business, but a community of interest. It is made up of people who want to live in a VillageTown and of Village Stewards, who are people who have stepped forward and offered to help coordinate the process.

The developers are called Village Organising Companies (VOC's). They are set up at arms-length from the Village Forum with a different web site. The VOC's function like developers, except their brief is more than pecuniary interest - it includes effects. The Village Forum identifies a country, then a region and finally a site or local area. When the location it clear, it establishes a formal, arms-length relationship with a VOC. The VOC builds the VillageTown. The Village Forum represents the future villagers to assure the VOC does the job the way the villagers want it done.

What does it cost?

Prices depend on land, development and construction costs. In order to assure a wide range of prices, homes will be priced by size and level of detail (a high-end kitchen costs more than an ordinary one). Pricing will be no different than with any development, except the intangible values (safety, security, social and cultural enrichment, etc.) will be higher... more value for money.

When will it be ready?

This depends on how quickly people come together and commit, the rapid design & approvals and the rapid build process. In theory, it can happen in three years, and if everything went well, in even less time. The big variable has to do with the critical mass... how rapidly you and 199 other people commit to building your Village within the VillageTown. So let's explore that question:

A gradual process of commitment

When people are consumers, they ask someone else to guess what the market wants, and they buy what is on offer. When the markets fail to deliver, people have to stop being consumers and take more control over their own lives. The Village Forum creates a process whereby people can take more control, but in an organised fashion. This involves a gradual process of commitment.

In the first step, the commitment is conditional and involves no money. You click on the Enrol button and provide enough contact information to enable the Village Stewards to know you are there, you are interested, and generally what your price range is. You identify where you want to live...

In the early stages, we may just identify a country. Then as interest becomes focused, it becomes a region, or even a specific piece of land. Parallel to this, people emerge who take a leadership role in creating their Village within the VillageTown. This can happen even if the site is yet unknown.

At one point, we hit critical mass. This means we have enough people committed to proceed to the next stage, where financial commitment begins. By this time, the enrolled future villagers are fully involved with the process. Many will have met - in person or online - others who will become their future neighbours. The business case will be transparent, so they will understand the steps and costs associated with securing approvals and constructing their homes, villages and the VillageTown. Individuals will have a choice of financing... some will use savings or proceeds from an existing home sale, others will secure mortgages from a consortium of preferred lenders negotiated by the VOC (we expect many of these to be pension fund investors), while other people will make their own financing arrangements for financing. For the most part, this will be conventional - no different than buying off plans.

If this sounds interesting, take the first step and enrol.