The FiveBecomings (Pañchabhūmi) Commons^[1] has a unique and vital role. It is an ecologically abundant and biodiverse haven, where members of different villages of the beneficiary community (Community) of a FiveBecomings project^[2] come to work, learn, share, exchange, trade, innovate, and celebrate together on their journey to (re-)establishing their ecosymbiotic self-reliance. It is where entrepreneurship thrives, where Community members converge to collaboratively develop new regenerative Knowtep (Knowledge-Technologies-Practices) that support them in preserving their interconnected wellbeing and enable them to engage in ecosymbiotic livelihoods^[3].

Thus, the Commons should not be thought of merely as a training center or demonstration site, as it comprises the heart of each FiveBecomings project.

Various ecoself^[4]-rooted activities take place in each sector of a FiveBecomings Commons, together contributing to the interconnected wellbeing of the Community. A few aspects of the types of activities undertaken on the Commons are described herein.

Ecosymbiotic Livelihoods^[3]

On the FiveBecomings Commons, Community members engage in ecosymbiotic livelihoods, particularly in the earth sector^[5].

An individual/ household engaging in an ecosymbiotic livelihood undertakes a set of activities that depend on and regeneratively use the ecological resources (soil, water, plants, microbes, insects, fish, animals, etc.) of the local ecological web (ecoweb) the individual/ household inhabits to produce Commodities and Services (C/S) required to meet basic needs. 

These activities include agriculture, animal rearing, fishing, water management, ecological resource harvesting (e.g., honey), energy generation, and plant-based healthcare, and result in being able to regeneratively produce commodities (like food and medicine) and services directly from the ecological resources in the local ecoweb. In other words, an ecosymbiotic livelihood bypasses money in fulfilling basic needs. Individuals and households that are part of ecosymbiotic communities do not need a monetary livelihood to fulfill their basic needs.

The goal of every FiveBecomings project is to restore and revitalize the ecoweb of each Community, particularly in the FiveBecomings Commons, so that the Community have sufficient biodiverse ecological resources to self-reliantly produce the C/S they require to fulfill their basic needs, without the need for monetary income.

Sharing, Exchange, and Trade

Every FiveBecomings Commons is co-governed and stewarded by the Community that uses its ecological resources for self-reliance.^[6] Thus, a central feature is intra-Community (between villages) trade, sharing, exchange, and governance, for which there is a dedicated space in the water sector of the Commons (Figure 1). 

The Community-gathering space in the water sector is a key component of the FiveBecomings Commons, for it is where Community members from across the cluster of villages of the Community gather to share Knowtep (both newly innovated and also ancient Indigenous (Ādi)), trade their C/S, make decisions about the FiveBecomings Commons, celebrate together, and enjoy team activities. The Community-gathering space is where many of the activities of the LivingConfluence^[7] take place.

The LivingConfluence presents an innovative transitional/ regenerative alternative to the extractivist Economic-Law-Governance-Economics (ELGE) system that is globally institutionalized. The LivingConfluence is implemented in land-based FiveBecomings projects that have the goal of (re)establishing integrated self-reliant wellbeing for communities (ecosymbiotic self-reliance) by: 

• (i) restoring their ancestral and/or adopted ecowebs; 
• (ii) reconnecting them to their ancestral and/or adopted ecowebs; and 
• (iii) revitalizing their own local/ Indigenous ecoweb-rooted Knowtep, along with integrating other regenerative Knowtep.   

Figure 2. Original art by Kakoli Mitra: ‘Collaboration and Innovation on the FiveBecomings Commons,’ digital (2025).

Collaboration and Innovation

The success of FiveBecomings hinges on the collaborative and entrepreneurial innovation of Knowtep that is truly regenerative (that which restores, revitalizes, generates, and/or nurtures in a way that leads to ecosymbiotic health and wellbeing). The Commons thrives with such cooperative creativity. Figure 2 illustrates an example of such collaborative entrepreneurship and innovation in the fire sector.

Figure 3. Original art by Kakoli Mitra: ‘Leadership by Women on the FiveBecomings Commons,’ digital (2025).

Leadership by Women^[6]

FiveBecomings projects are led by women of the Community, providing them exciting opportunities to strengthen their self-confidence and have decision-making power over their own and their Community’s wellbeing (Figure 3).

Women not only nurture incipient humans in their wombs for many months before they birth new generations, but they continue to nurture their children, families, and peoples throughout their lives. Many — if not most — rural women nurture their fellow humans, and also the ecowebs in which they live, by preserving and implementing their people’s Ādi-Knowtep (ancient Indigenous Knowtep) in multiple aspects: food harvesting/ cultivation/ preparation, water management, livestock rearing, plant-based healthcare, energy generation, knowledge transmission, interpersonal mediation, and ecological conservation, to name a few. Yet rarely are (rural) women recognized or rewarded for their invaluable contributions.

Not only are (rural) women not recognized or compensated for their irreplaceable contributions to their peoples and their ecowebs, but they are instead subjected to many types of suffering.

It is precisely because rural women endure so many interconnected challenges that they are highly motivated to actively improve their circumstances. Thus, the implementation of each FiveBecomings project begins with the formation of a Women’s Council, comprising a small number of women elected democratically by the adult women of every household in the Community. This Women’s Council serves multiple purposes, including leading the sectoral activities on the FiveBecomings Commons.

Figure 4. Original art by Kakoli Mitra: ‘Self-Discovery and Joy on the FiveBecomings Commons,’ digital (2025).

Self-Discovery and Joy^[8]

The FiveBecomings Commons offers quiet, ecologically abundant spaces for peaceful introspection and inspired creativity, both vital for realizing full potential (Figure 4).

While the activities in the first four sectors (earth, water, fire, air) of a FiveBecomings Commons are predominantly related to livelihoods and the regenerative transformation and utilization of ecological resources to meet basic needs (i.e., externally focused activities), the Ākāś sector focuses on activities related to inner transformation and expression, namely creativity (art, music, performance) and personal evolution.

For beleaguered and marginalized members of communities, i.e., women and oppressed persons, inner transformation and expression, notably related to realizing the ecoself, is crucial to restoring a sense of self-worth, self-confidence, and creativity.

[1] K. Mitra, Reversing the Enclosure of the Commons through FiveBecomings, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh042025-042 (13 Apr., 2025).

[2] K. Mitra, Restoring the Interconnected Wellbeing of Humans and Ecologies Through FiveBecomings, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh082025-010 (26 Aug., 2025).

[3] K. Mitra, Ecosymbiotic Livelihoods and Living Livelihoods: New Concepts in Self-Reliance, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh082025-013 (28 Aug., 2025).

[4] K. Mitra, Individual Ecoself and Community Ecoself: Importance in FiveBecomings, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh092025-011 (10 Sep., 2025).

[5] K. Mitra & S. Mukherjee, FiveBecomings Projects for Community Self-Reliance: Design and Implementation, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh082025-001 (18 Aug., 2025).

[6] S. Mukherjee & K. Mitra, Ecosymbiotic Self-Reliance: Fulfilling Basic Needs from Ecowebs, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh092025-010 (11 Sep., 2025).

[7] K. Mitra, LivingConfluence: Community Wellbeing-Rooted Economics, Law, Governance, and Education (ELGE), Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh012025-002 (10 Jan., 2025).

[8] K. Mitra, Realizing the Ecoself through Personal Evolution (Ākāś): Importance in FiveBecomings, Ecosymbionts all Regenerate Together (EaRTh): DOI-EaRTh052025-003 (11 May, 2025).