Those memories really helped later in life, so if you find one and like the people there, maybe just try it? It's fun. And if more young guys tried, i guarantee the incel culture would disappear.
What I scoff at is when communes and villages are marketed as being the greatest place to live in. Particularly when it comes from upper-class urbanites who are oblivious of the challenges of this kind of lifestyle.
But maybe I'm wrong in prejudging this particular case. That's just the impression I got from the website and the exotic sounding name. It's very similar to the show "The Curse" which satirizes these people.
I'm not as critical. It seems like a 'scam' at worse ('reality embellishments' rather than a true scam), a nice place at best, and a fun experience in most cases. I do not think those challenges are particularly hard (especially because California weather is very soft, and winter is always the harsher time in communes in my experience). I'd say 'let them try'.
But I get your point, nowadays peddling this kind of imagery feels scammy.
They do. They're called villages. What usually happens, though, is that they either grow to become cities, or people voluntarily migrate towards cities. The main reason is convenience. Few people want to do hard labor to sustain themselves or their community.
The author has a rosy vision of these places from childhood memories, but seems to be unaware of the work required to keep them running. Life won't just be yoga classes and board game nights.
But maybe I'm just bitter from seeing hippie communes discovered by city dwellers and marketed as ideal places to live, so good luck to them.