How The Monasterion Network Works

Own the Land. Fund the Future. Build with Purpose. Design for People.

Own the Land. |

To build a new system you must have a solid foundation. For us this means that the spaces we call home, are not at risk of foreclosure, rent hikes, or evictions. This means that wherever we are we own. Wether that be a house, an apartment, or 50 acres outside of town.

We understand that this may seem to be difficult, prohibitively expensive, or sub-optimal. But we see this as a small price to pay for permanent community security and stability. When building for the long term these issues are negligible in comparison to the benefits of being freed from market demands and pressures.

But there is an all to common pitfall when it comes to communal ownership, it's often implemented individually. Memebers investing the majority of their wealth in one communal assets... dooming them to either stay in perfect alignment or for the community to die. OR the all too common trap of communal nativism descent, wherein the core group that actually owns the property begins to become too insular until they are nothing more than a culty HOA. Neither of these outcomes actually bring us into the new world we wish to inhabit. This is because they both make a fundamental mistake of not realizing that a community is more than/seperate from the members currently in it. For proper communal ownership the entity that is the community needs to own itself not the members that are currently residing within it.

This is what it means to build an institution. Something that can outlast all of it's members while perserving it's function, shape, and relative culture.

Fund the Future |

To build a community that lasts you need more than just land, you need financial stability. For us this means each property has its own endowment - a pool of money invested to generate ongoing returns that cover maintenance, food, and basic needs.

We understand this sounds expensive upfront. It is. But it solves a problem that kills most intentional communities: the money problem. From day one, all resident fees go directly toward building this endowment - no mortgage payments, no fundraising treadmill, just growing financial independence.

Most communities fail for predictable financial reasons. Either members burn out from constant fundraising, the community becomes a business that compromises its values to survive, or they embrace such extreme frugality that only the independently wealthy can afford to join. None of these create the world we want to live in. They all miss that a community needs financial stability independent from its current members' economic situations.

With basic needs covered, residents can work on what matters. Someone can spend two years developing a more efficient solar design. Another might create art that takes months to complete. Others can build software that helps communities coordinate better. These aren't just nice activities - they're practical experiments in building better systems.

This approach compounds over time. As endowments grow, communities become stronger and eventually help start new nodes. We're building financial infrastructure that creates freedom to work on what's meaningful rather than just what pays the bills. That's how we fund not just spaces, but the future itself.

Build With Purpose |

Most living spaces today function as containers rather than communities. Think about the difference between 50 strangers in adjacent studio apartments versus friends sharing a mansion. Same density, entirely different experience. In one, people share walls but remain disconnected; in the other, they share purpose, meals, and lives. Modern housing optimizes for separation even when people crave connection. Proximity alone doesn't create community—shared direction does.

The Monasterion Network builds communities around purpose, not just proximity. Every resident joins with a specific project they'll develop during their stay—whether creative, technological, or personal. We've designed different environments to support different types of work. Inner spaces focus on personal development, healing, and reflection. Outer spaces concentrate on bringing ideas to life through collaboration and creation. This tailored approach means each community naturally develops environments suited to its particular purpose.

When everyone arrives with a clear focus—writing a book, developing technology, pursuing healing—the community gains a natural momentum. Conversations become more meaningful, resources align more effectively, and decisions become clearer. The community develops a coherent culture not through enforced rules but through shared dedication to creation and growth. Each space evolves its own character based on the work happening within it, whether that's the quieter rhythm of an Inner space or the collaborative energy of an Outer space.

Most communities either stagnate as the same people remain indefinitely or collapse when key members leave. We've designed a different approach: residents stay for a maximum of three years. This creates healthy renewal while ensuring enough stability for deep work. People arrive knowing their time is limited, focusing their efforts while preventing the formation of entrenched power structures that resist new ideas.

When purpose becomes the center of a community, something remarkable happens. People find themselves part of something larger than themselves without surrendering their individuality. The space between people fills with meaningful connection rather than just proximity. And as residents move between different spaces in our network, they create bridges between communities, carrying ideas and practices across the ecosystem. Building with purpose doesn't just create better spaces—it creates the conditions for continuous evolution.

Design For People |

TThe digital tools dominating our lives weren't built for us—they were built to extract from us. Social media platforms selling our attention to advertisers. Messaging apps harvesting our conversations for data. "Smart" devices that spy on our homes. The tech industry has convinced us to trade our privacy, agency, and mental wellbeing for convenience and dopamine hits. But technology shouldn't diminish our humanity—it should amplify it. And we deserve digital spaces built with the same care as our physical ones.

We're building technology with a fundamentally different foundation. Our digital systems are designed with the same care and intention as our physical spaces—thoughtfully crafted to enhance rather than exploit. We prioritize user ownership, privacy by design, and genuine connection. Every tool we create starts with a simple question: "How does this serve the people using it?" This shifts the entire design process, creating technology that extends human capability rather than extracting human data.

Technology choices reflect deeper values. Open-source software allows transparency and community adaptation. End-to-end encryption protects conversation privacy. Self-hosted services keep data under community control. Peer-to-peer architecture reduces dependency on central authorities. These aren't just technical decisions—they're expressions of our commitment to sovereignty, cooperation, and human dignity. Digital infrastructure becomes an extension of community values rather than a contradiction of them.

Residents maintain direct control over the digital systems they rely on. This doesn't mean everyone needs to become a programmer. Rather, we create interfaces that make powerful technology accessible regardless of technical background, while ensuring transparency about how systems work. Community decisions about digital infrastructure are made collectively, with education built into the process. This approach embodies our values of accessibility and collective governance—technology becomes something we shape together rather than something imposed upon us.

Technology should feel like an extension of ourselves—a tool that amplifies our humanity rather than diminishing it. When we design digital spaces as thoughtfully as physical ones, something remarkable happens: technology becomes invisible, allowing human connection to take center stage. Messages flow across continents without surveillance. Knowledge becomes a commons rather than a commodity. Communities collaborate across distance while maintaining the richness of local connection. This isn't utopian thinking—it's simply what happens when we reclaim technology's purpose. By designing for people first, we create the foundation for a digital environment as nurturing as the physical spaces we inhabit. The devices fade into the background, and humanity moves to the foreground.

The Network: Present and Future

These four elements—land, funding, purpose, and technology—work together as a system. Secure land provides the physical foundation necessary for long-term planning. The endowment model frees residents from constant financial pressure, creating space for meaningful work. Purpose-driven projects generate the energy and direction that keeps communities vibrant. And technology designed for human connection bridges physical distances while maintaining each community's sovereignty.

When residents join a space, they agree to a contribution model that sustains the network. Those in Inner spaces focused on personal development may contribute a percentage of future earnings above a certain threshold. Those in Outer spaces working on creative or entrepreneurial projects might contribute a portion of what they develop. This creates a cycle where successful projects help support future residents.

Currently, we're securing our first property that will serve as both proof of concept and foundation for future expansion. Our next steps include working with other aligned communities to create complementary environments for different types of work. By 2027, our aim is to have 6 functioning spaces supporting ~72 of residents across diverse locations.