Skip to content
EcoHubs RCOS Standard

An open standard for intentional communities

RCOS - Regenerative Community Operating System

Every community runs on rules, but most of them are never written down. Then a crisis forces the question, and the group has to decide in a hurry. RCOS collects those questions up front, so you can answer them calmly and together, before it hurts.

How it works Download Templates

Already know RCOS? Read the Standard v0.1 →

  • Free & open (CC BY 4.0)
  • 7 layers
  • 5 languages

New here? Start with the short intro video.

Prefer to listen?

A podcast conversation about why RCOS exists and how communities use it.

A story you might recognize

The day nobody knew the rule

  1. A member walks away down the path with a backpack and bags while the others watch, a wheelbarrow of belongings beside them. 01

    Someone leaves

    A long-time member moves away. Everyone is sad, and in the middle of that grief a practical question comes up: what happens to their tools? Their room? Their share of the house they helped build? Nobody had ever decided.

    Layer 1 · Membership
  2. The group sits in a tense circle: one person holds their head in their hands while others argue. 02

    A decision in a hurry

    The group decides on the spot, under pressure and full of emotion. It's the best they can do in that moment, but not the choice they would have made with a clear head.

  3. An argument breaks out: people talk over each other, some with crossed arms, some pointing. 03

    The fallout

    Some people feel it was unfair. Old tensions come back. What started as grief turns into conflict, and it takes months to settle.

    Layer 4 · Conflict & Repair
  4. The group sits on the grass and writes their rules together on a large sheet. 04

    The lesson

    Afterwards, the group sits down and writes a clear rule for next time: what belongs to whom, how leaving works, and who takes over which jobs.

    Layer 6 · Evolution
  5. One person asks the group a question while the others listen and think. 05

    The real question

    Then someone asks the uncomfortable thing: what else have we never decided? Where is the next crisis we're not ready for?

RCOS exists to answer that last question.

What RCOS is

A list of the questions every community has to answer

RCOS, the Regenerative Community Operating System, is an open standard that collects the questions a community should settle before they turn into problems. It doesn't tell you what to answer. Your values, culture and choices stay yours. It makes sure you don't forget to ask.

The question

“What happens to someone's things when they leave?”

In RCOS · Layer 1

§3.6.2Exit procedures MUST be explicit, documented, and non-punitive.

§3.6.5Asset, role, and responsibility separation MUST be defined prior to exit.

The question

“Why does this community exist, in one sentence that will still be true in ten years?”

In RCOS · Layer 0

§2.1.1A community MUST define exactly one primary purpose.

MUST means every community using RCOS has to give an answer here. The answer itself is up to you.

Read the full standard

How it's organized

Seven layers, from “why we exist” to “how we change”

The questions are sorted into seven layers. Each layer builds on the ones below it, and a higher layer can never overrule a lower one. That way, a day-to-day rule can't quietly undo your purpose.

Core Required for every community · Tap a layer to explore

1 Membership2 Governance3 Economy4 Conflict & Repair5 Operations6 Evolution0Identity& Scope

Modules

Optional add-ons

Plug in what fits what your community does. Each module adds its own questions on top of the core; the core itself never changes.

Browse all modules

What's inside

Five parts, each with one job

You don't need all of them at once. Here is what each part is for.

Where to start

Start where you are

Build the structure from day one, instead of patching it after the first crisis.

  1. 1

    Get the big picture

    Read the seven layers in plain language.

    Read the layers
  2. 2

    Write your purpose

    Start with Layer 0. Everything else builds on it.

    Get the templates
  3. 3

    Add what fits

    Pick optional modules for what your community does.

    Browse modules

Also in the knowledge base

We'd like to count visits with Google Analytics. It sets cookies only if you accept; declining changes nothing else on the site. Privacy Policy