You're forgetting something. No wonder the author described "Our Place" as a desolated, ruined world - the hidden message is that civilization requires men to some degree to maintain and progress. Without men, and their role in society, civilization could never reach this level.
Just think 'bout it! Most inventors were men, which means, technology would progress MUCH MUCH slower with all women. Most jobs which keeps our society alive involves men: building, mining, engineering, fishing, programming, physical jobs, and so on. Sure, in our world, a woman can learn how to be a miner, a fisherman...er...woman, an engineer or a programmer, but even if they could somehow reach out to the other woman communities far beyond Dooling, it is higly unlikely they could rebuild the whole society with the insufficient resources they were stuck with. Machinery was out of gear, fuel has rotted away, raw materials were scarce, and they fell back to try to repair the equipment which was left behind. I believe the message of Our Place was "sure, you can have your very own world, but you'll never be able to attain the same civilization level as with men".
The lack of medical supplies and facilities was probably the biggest problem. A single cholerae epidemic could annihilate the entire population of Dooling - unless of course, Evie intervenes somehow...