First: Thank You JK for starting this tribe and hosting.

I first heard of the Arcosanti project in the early seventies when ecology and sustainability were enduring as household terms left-over from the sixties. After a presentation at my high school, I attended a 6 week construction workshop. Mostly I worked on tying re-bar for the pool. I also contributed a bit to finishing the vaults and starting the lab building, and re-building the camp kitchen after a fire (crafts III
was just being topped-off, and all the meals still came out of the camp kitchen in 'plywood city').

I returned to attend a fall festival featuring a Jackson Brown concert and began working and living at Cosanti in the foundry. In those years I worked at Cosanti I got to know Mary & Roger, Ivan & Tomiaki, McCleave, Colly, Luciano and many notable alums. like Richard Register, Erney Poor, Steve Bear, Modistino Conty and others.
In the eighties I moved to the bay area where many alum migrated, and found a 'tribe' of like-minded workshoppers actually trying to apply some of Paolo's ideals in practice in the sub-urban environment of the San Francisco bay area (Arcolgy Circle, Urban Ecology, Eco-city Builders).

The Arcosanti experience was for me a rush of emotions and possibilities and expectations and frustrations and love and friendship and awakening... I then found it a bit difficult to transition between living in Soleri's world and finding a lifestyle quite as intense or fulfilling.
It seems that from such a culturally rich environment, everyone comes away with a unique personal experience - from 'yucky / dusty' to 'dreamers' to 'fascism' to 'fantastic!'. One thing is for sure - Paolo puts it out there, he asks the question "what if' you do things differently, or do things the same?! He proposes alternatives, and I believe some of his theories and insights have yielded positive results, way more than just the 'Apse Effect'.
I believe living at Arco promotes more leisure time to explore the arts, relationships and lifestyle. It also comes at a cost - some have abused this extra free time and yielded to over-partying, others get lost in lack of structure or needing to feel secure with their future. Some critics say the 'bee-hive effect' and friction of live/work relationships can be negative byproducts of the experience, or blame Paolo of being some kind of dictator unwilling to relenquish control.
Many find it a fantastic space dedicated to possibilities and spirit and life and love - and it shows in all the beautiful people associated with the project! One observation surely endures: you get back what you put into it.

John S. '75