The Promise of Paradise

image credit: Tara Sprickerhoff

A new book by journalist Andrew Scott called The Promise of Paradise showcases some of the unique stories British Columbia and the South Cariboo have on offer.

The book delves into the history of "intentional" or "utopian" communities throughout British Columbia, exploring their roots and the many different attempts to build idealistic colonies in the wilderness of B.C.

The Promise of Paradise is an updated version of a book by the same name, published 20 years ago by Scott. The new edition contains a chapter on the history of the Emissaries of Divine Light the spiritual community led by Martin Exeter that helped found 100 Mile House as well as how intentional communities have evolved in British Columbia.

"Quite a bit has happened in the last 20 years and nobody else has really written about it," says Scott.

Scott says it was important to include the Emissaries of Divine Light in the revised version of the book.

"They were one of the largest and most successful for a long time of communal intentional communities in British Columbia."

While the Emissaries of Divine Light were spread throughout B.C., they were headquartered in 100 Mile House for many years. Scott says they were unusual because of their size.

"They built 100 Mile House. There were hundreds and hundreds of other communal communities in the 60s and 70s but most of them might have had a dozen or 20 people. At the most, to have 100 people working together and learning together is unusual, but to have 1,000 is unprecedented."

Among other stories, the book also tells the history of the Ochiltree Organic Commune, a "rebel commune" with an interesting history that often brought meat to more traditional "hippy" vegetarian conferences and often saw themselves in conflict with other groups or local government. The group has now morphed into the Community Enhancement and Economic Development Society (CEEDS) located near Horse Lake.

The new version of the book also includes a chapter on modern day intentional communities.

"The earlier communities were often led by a single charismatic leader who inspired people and had followers. While he was leading, if he was doing a good job, some of those communities flourished."

Styles of intentional communities have since changed, however.

"Over the years what I call distributed forms of leadership became more successful," he says. "Most intentional communities are really based on developing consensus, not having a strong leader, but having everyone at once participate in the leadership."

Scott tells the stories though a combination of careful archival research and first-person accounts, where he brings the stories and people featured in the book to life.

"I generally have a lot of respect for people who have stuck out doing these kinds of things. The Emissaries of Divine Light are very much reduced in size, but they keep hanging on and I wish them well," he says.

"There have been a lot of hilarious accidents and failures over the years, but generally speaking I think people will feel inspired reading about these groups."

Read more:

The Promise of Paradise features area - 100 Mile House Free Press