Barn raising is the best-known Amish custom. And the most incomprehensible to modern people.
How It's Possible
Foundation and materials prepared in advance (1-2 weeks). Logs or timber cut, numbered. Rafters pre-assembled. On barn raising day, 80-150 men arrive from surrounding communities. Each knows his job — everyone has worked construction since childhood.
Schedule
6:00 — gather, coffee. 6:30 — work. Four crews on four walls. Raise walls with ropes, set rafters, roof. 12:00 — lunch (women cook for 150: meat, potatoes, pies, lemonade). 1:00 — continue. 5:00 — barn stands. Walls, roof, doors. Interior finishing — later, by the owner.
No Payment
Nobody receives money. The owner feeds and waters. When his turn comes to help — he'll come. Not charity — a mutual aid system. Everyone helps everyone. In a lifetime, each man participates in 20-50 barn raisings.
Why It Works
Everyone can do what everyone else can. No specialization of 'I only do roofs' — everyone can do everything. No boss — an elder carpenter coordinates. No blueprints — the design is the same for 200 years, everyone knows it by heart.
Analogy
Open source before the internet. Crowdfunding before GoFundMe. Communism that works — because the community is small and everyone is visible.