(7) The Legal Structure

God gave each and everyone equal authority. Consequently, the only social structure that can claim perfection is one where there is no centralised authority - where every individual is endowed with equal power.


 - Rites of Love (book 8.2)


While spending time with Emily, I have discerned she is a combination of two different personalities. I call one of them 'Silly Emily' and the other one 'Serious Emily'. I love both of them dearly. Silly Emily wants to cuddle all day, make up funny sounding words, be tickled and generally pretend to be a lot younger than she really is. Serious Emily is more inclined to action focused on achieving a particular goal, and she has no time for tickling (though I still try!). 


I have come to understand that Serious Emily is what gives room for Silly Emily to express herself. One is necessary for the other to exist. I too have the multiple personalities of 'Silly Alex' and 'Serious Alex', and I would not give either of them up. By having purpose in life and being disciplined in reaching set goals, we give ourselves permission to have fun!


In a similar way, Santosha exists on two levels - each is necessary for the other to exist. There is the 'Spiritual Santosha' and the 'Practical Santosha'. The Spiritual Santosha is where we direct all of our dreams of creation. We aspire to live in harmony with nature, to live sustainably, to raise healthy children and to delight in the company of our neighbours and friends. However, these dreams will amount to nothing if we don't take the concrete, practical steps of putting our dream into practice. 


In this post, I want to explore some of the legal structures of the community. Many communities begin with noble aspirations of living a spiritual lifestyle, and neglect the importance of addressing the 'bottom line'. I sincerely believe that it is essential for the worst case scenario to be outlined in detail so that people feel secure and comfortable. Any vagueness breeds doubt and doubt can quickly become fear. 


If everyone has full awareness of where they stand from a legal perspective, then they are free to concentrate on creation and joyful contemplation. There is so much to look forward to in the future. Sometimes in my daydreams I become overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the future that awaits us! It is the Spiritual Santosha that inspires me along the journey to complete to necessary tasks of Practical Santosha. 

I completed half of a law degree before found the courage to leave the course and follow my heart. I understand now how useful this legal background will be in creating a solid legal framework for Santosha. I won't say that the world of contracts and companies is a world that I was eager to return to, but it is good to know that some skills from my old life will have some purpose in helping create the New Earth. 


While Emily and I are directing this process, we also have professional advice. Aside from our main consultant, we have friends and family who are lawyers, accountants and city planners, who will be double/triple checking everything. 


I also want to make it clear that we are finding out more about our legal needs for Santosha every day. I have tried to give a comprehensive overview of the legal structure in this post, but please note that it may be subject to change. As we discover new information, and as we better clarify our needs, we will refine the legal components to reflect this.




The Company


According to the advice I have received, the simplest structure for Santosha is a company. We need a legal entity capable of taking deposit money, as there are certain costs for Santosha that will need to be paid before we can buy the land (housing estimates, legal contracts etc).


When the time comes to purchase the land, money will be paid into this company, and in return for that money each person will be allocated shares. The company will then buy the land. Please note that when we have enough people/money to purchase the land, we will be making an offer 'pending approval' from the council for our plans. This ensures that we don't take on any risk of the council not supporting our plans after we have already given over our money.


The company itself will hold the deed of the land. It is important to note that you cannot borrow against the land to pay for your share of Santosha. We have explored this option, and ultimately deemed it an unacceptable risk. If the company takes out a loan against the land, if even one person fails to make their payments, it might put everybody's domain at risk. If you are seeking a loan from a bank or credit union, our advice is to not mention land at all. 

To become a shareholder in this company, it will be necessary to sign a contract that outlines your rights as a shareholder. One of these will be the right to set up your domain on the piece of land purchased. By owning shares, you will be guaranteed full property rights. Please note, however, that the basis of these rights will be contractual, not on possession of a deed (which will be held by the company).


The company will have a policy document that will outline functions and procedures. The decision making body of the company will be composed of every person living in the community (shareholders). We will make the contracts and an overview of policy document available for people who have made a deposit into the trust. As the policy document will be defining shareholders rights, as well as guidelines within the community, it is essential that all relevant information be included. To some extent, this can be a collaborative process, and so before finalising the policy document, we will be welcoming input from anyone who has made a deposit.




Deposits and Domain Allocation


In order to secure your spot in Santosha (there are 28 places available) it is necessary to make a deposit to the trust that we set up. In legal terms this deposit will be called an 'option'. You deposit this money and buy the 'option' of purchasing the shares that will entitle you to a domain at a later date. The deposit will be $3 000. 


We understand that circumstances can arise that are out of peoples control, and so we have made provisions for  most of this money be refundable. However, we have decided that $500 of this will not be refundable. This is to act as a deterrent from people casually depositing money without being serious about following through when it comes to buying the land. It would be disastrous if it came time to purchase the property and people began to drop out.



The other important factor involving deposits is that they secure your order in the community when it comes to choosing your domains. While your choice will be naturally limited to the housing timeframe you have selected (see note '(6) Housing'), you are otherwise free to choose your place in the community. 


When the land is purchased, and divided into domains, it is time for people to choose their future home. Choices will be made in order that people placed their deposit. Each person will have one week to register their choice, before the next person's turn. In this way, everyone in the community should know which domain is theirs within 3 and a half months! If someone fails to register their choice within their 1 week allocation, then the next person can register their choice. At that stage it is 'first come - first served'.


For example, consider this is a deposit list.

Order of Deposit

1. Bob

2. Greg

3. Alice

4. Joe

5. Mary

6. Vanessa

The first week, Bob chooses his domain. The second week Greg can choose any domain, except the domain that Bob chose. In the third week, Alice fails to register her choice in time, and in the 4th week Joe chooses a domain. However Alice can still choose any domain in that 4th week (though she cannot choose the domains that Bob, Greg or Joe have chosen) etc.




Not for Profit


Emily and I did not create Santosha as a business to make money. The company is really just a convenient legal structure that allows our beautiful community to come into being.


Ours will be the first deposit, paying to set up the company, get estimates on the housing costs etc. When it comes time to purchase the land, Emily and I will be paying the same amount as everyone else. It doesn't make sense to extend to yourself special privileges in a community like this, only to incur the resentment of your neighbours. However, I don't believe in martyrdom either. 

I do believe in fair compensation for work. As anyone can imagine, creating a community that will be the future home to 28 families is a large undertaking requiring many different skills. At the time of writing this, Emily and I have contributed a combined total of more than 200 hours. For our time, we will receive an hourly rate, the market average for someone doing this kind of work in a not-for-profit organisation. 


We have kept records for all of our hours, the nature of the work we did and the dates of that work. Everything is designed to be completely transparent. For anyone interested, we can make this information available during the dialogue process (There will be more information on the 'dialogue process' in our next note '(8) Promoting Peaceful Coexistence within the Community').


There will be two permanent positions within the company. One of these will be the book-keeper. This person is like the accountant for the community, keeping track of the community funds and making payments when necessary (council rates etc). Emily has been trained in how to run a business and will be in this position. Again, transparency is the name of the game. All books will be open for inspection by all members of the community. 


I will be filling the other position in the company, the 'Hired Hand'. This position is responsible for liaising between the community and the council, or other bodies. Essentially, this position carries out the decisions made by the shareholders of the company. 


It makes sense in the short term for me to fill this position, as I am familiar with all of the details of Santosha. Having said that, as we stated in our note '(2) The Process' Emily and I never set out to create a domain community. Our intention was to live on a domain, surrounded by beautiful neighbours, plant a garden and start a family. Had we been able to join an existing community, we would have. As there was no community in W.A that suited our needs, we recognised that we needed to create one. 


I sincerely hope that the position of 'Hired Hand' is one that can be rotated among community members in the future as a way for people to give back to the community. Once we are already established, there should be considerably less work to do and perhaps people can volunteer for the role, or be elected by the shareholders for a period of time. 




Buying/Selling


Anastasia states that one does not take a domain as an investment property or a holiday home. You establish a domain with the intention of living there and eventually passing the land on to your descendants. 


We hope that everyone who takes a domain will be able to live out their lives on their land. We must be prepared for the bottom line though. What if someone, for whatever reason, needs to sell their shares (along with their domain)?


In the contracts people will be signing before they can purchase shares, there will be very strict conditions that govern the buying and selling of these shares. First, the shares must be offered to the company first. From the time of this offer, the company has one year to buy the shares. If, after one year (or earlier if the shareholders of the company decide) the company has not bought the shares, the owner is free to sell the shares to whomever he wishes. 


Furthermore, the price of the shares will be fixed at their original purchase price, adjusted for inflation by the gold/silver index. In the case that someone needs to sell their shares, they receive the just return of how much they invested. After the company has bought the shares, they are free to sell them on at whatever price they wish, or keep the land as community land. This allows the company to decide who can join the community, ensuring that only like minded individuals sign on. 



This information gives the basic idea of the legal structure of the community. For those serious about joining the community, by making a deposit and securing your place you will have access to the contracts and the company documents for review. Then you can really examine the specifics and feel safe that your rights have legal protection. Then you can busy yourself with those things that are really important. Co creation and joy from its contemplation :) 


 If we really listen to our hearts, together, we ought to go from simply talking about spirituality to its material embodiment. One hectare is but a tiny dot on the face of our planet Earth. But millions of these dots will transform the whole planet into a flourishing garden. Trillions of flower petals, along with the happy smiles of children and oldsters will tell the Universe that the people of the Earth are ready for a grand co-creation.


 - The New Civilisation (book 8.1)