Seeking Advice on Building a Commons-Based Community

I live in South Korea and have spent the past ten years practicing small-scale farming and exploring communal ways of living. My goal has been to live ecologically and equitably, free from exploitation, working a reasonable amount while enjoying life.

However, working mostly alone, I have not achieved the meaningful changes I hoped for. I now want to work with others to build a way of life based on the commons, reducing our dependence on the market and the state.

My greatest difficulty is figuring out how to transform not just individual activities, but the overall structure of everyday life—including production, labor, housing, food, energy, and care.

There is also a fundamental dilemma. I currently have time to devote to this project, but most potential participants must spend much of their time and energy earning a living. How can people explore alternatives to a system when that very system leaves them little time to do so?

I have no formal academic training in commons studies or sociology, which makes organizing such a broad inquiry particularly challenging. I believe that the knowledge of activists and practitioners is just as important as academic research, but I am unsure how to bring these people and their experiences together.

My initial idea is to study existing communities, develop an integrated model of shared living, and test possible alternatives through small experiments. I have also developed an early prototype of a computer-based Life Design Tool to help connect these ideas.

I would greatly appreciate your advice on three questions:

Are there examples of communities that have reorganized everyday life and livelihoods around the commons, rather than focusing on a single activity?

How can people with limited time and resources begin such a collective inquiry and gradually build a shared economic foundation?

Could you recommend researchers, practitioners, communities, or resources I might learn from or visit?

I have attached a brief introduction to my project, which is still at an early stage.

Any advice, including critical perspectives, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,