Seed of Life Essene Temple

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Forming
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2012

What we do

The Seed of Life is an Essene Temple Retreat Center is in the heart of Central Texas Hill Country.
The Essene Way is Judeo-Christian (ala the documentary, Christpiracy) and peace-nature-oriented based on ancient scriptures including Canonical Gospel ‘red letter’ teachings of Yashua Hamashiach (Yeshua Ha Mashiakh – commonly known as Christ Jesus, the Nazarene). Our goal is to provide a sanctuary focused on Healthy Living, Sobriety and Recovery, Music, Dance, Praise, Animal Stewardship, Gardening, Zero-Point and Alternative Energy and Self Sufficiency.
* We follow Terrain Theory, which is a preventative approach to the well-being of our “Living Water” body temple. We are best served following G*D’S plan for us in Genesis 1:29.
* We are building a lifestyle-based intentional eco-community in alignment with Essene practices: strictly vegetarian and vegan, plant-based and holistic.
* Our unrestricted land allows us to bring innovative modern architecture and permaculture practices into reality and serve as a Holistic Business Incubator.

Our Mission

The Mission of the Seed of Life, is to supply a sacred safe space where we can bring together and heal, grow and create strong individuals with healthy bodies, healthy minds and healthy spirits. To facilitate this mission, The Seed of Life provides a facility, tools and a forum to learn and share beneficial information about:
* Detoxing fallacious beliefs, addictions and cultural mythology.
* Recovering and nurturing a pure body and mind.
* Reigniting Spiritual Connection beyond ‘denomination’ or dogma.
* Understanding a non-propaganda-driven view of financial and geo-political systems.
* Achieving success for one’s life goals.
* Building wealth for individual and community.
* Encouraging self-sustainability through agriculture and connection with the earth.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Spiritual Retreat Centers
  • Sustainability practices
  • Permaculture design
  • Activities
  • Farming
  • Education
  • Experiences
  • Networking

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2012
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2012
  • Started living together
  • 2 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
2

How to join

#1. Have rigorous honesty.
#2. Once your “Expression of Interest” form is filled out, it is shared with our Advisory Board. Then come out for a short term visit and volunteer and see if the Seed is the right fit for you?

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Our official contact page with a link to an “Expression of Interest” form is here:
https://essene.church/contact/
Please send a message through this IC website. AND our Contact Page. PLEASE SHARE AS MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CURRENT SITUATION and what you expect from the Seed Experience in your notes. Thank you!

Primary decision-making authority

  • Single Leader or Founding Couple

One person or partnership has ultimate authority.

Decision-making process

  • Leadership Decides

A single person, couple, or small group makes most major decisions.

Governance structure

  • Founder/Leader-led

Primary authority rests with the community’s founder(s) or designated leader(s).

Conflict resolution approach

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Labor: Yes (15 hrs/week)
We are seeking members who might conduct aligned businesses on church property. These would be run independently by the member. Pending approval, we would offer the land or resources for free for your business and we ask in return a tithe of gross profits back to support the church.

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Outdoor Kitchen, Large Scale Kitchen, Stage or Auditorium, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Waterfront access

Frequency of communal meals

  • About once a week

Dietary type

  • Vegetarian Only

Dietary restriction

  • These restrictions are throughout the community

Community activities and engagement

  • School, Educational Institute or Experience
  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • Organization, Resource, or Network
  • WWOOF'ing, Guest Farming
  • Festivals, Conferences, Events

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies
  • Religions
  • Baha'i Faith
  • Christian
  • Jewish
  • Sufi
  • Wiccan, Paganism, or Earth Religions
  • Unitarian Universalist

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a Community Land Trust or some other kind of nonprofit

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Community type

  • Ecovillage

    Integrated communities designed around ecological principles with sustainable living practices.

  • Spiritual Retreat Centers

    Residential communities focused on providing space for meditation, spiritual practice, and personal growth retreats.

Sustainability approach

  • Permaculture design

Land practices in our community

  • The community practices permaculture

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar
  • Biomass (from wood or other organic materials)

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Over 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Greenhouse / aquaponics
  • Land area size
    5 acres

Guest Book

Written reviews are available for plus members. Click here to upgrade.

Location

  • Texas, United States

Seed of Life Essene Temple

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

Need
Need
  • Forming Communities
3 weeks ago

A call for pioneers, trade-builders, and the four Elemental Elders to construct our first cooperative village prototype.

Intake Open: Flagship WE Network Village in Clubb, MO Call for pioneers, trade-builders, and 4 Elemental Elders to construct our first cooperative village prototype. WE Network is opening ground zero in Clubb, Missouri—our living model to build trade shops and train leadership teams for nationwide village rollout. We are building a self-sustaining, salvaged homestead ecosystem operating as a parallel society alongside existing systems. Bring your own living setup (tents, micro-campers, trucks, schoolies, tiny homes) to secure your lot within the co-op village. The 3×3 Exchange: Mental, Physical, & Spiritual Maintain your lot via our 3×3 exchange (3 hours/day, 3 days/week = 9 hours total): Mental: Classroom teaching, strategy, skill-sharing, and village instruction. Physical: Hands-on labor building active land and shop projects. Spiritual: Participation in our weekly Friday Fellowship Fire Circle. Trade Shops & Lot Placement Every member contributes directly to our local micro-economy: Trade Holders: Set up your specific service shop for the co-op. Transitioning Members: Assigned a trade lot to focus on constructing the physical shop structure. Weekend Operations: Retail open Saturdays and Sundays. Mid-week is reserved for building and life. Priority Intake: The Four Elemental Elders We are recruiting four foundational Elders: Earth Elder: Land, soil, livestock, permaculture, and natural materials. Air Elder: Building structures and Eco Junk waste-to-material upcycling. Fire Elder: Spiritual health, Natural Law, body healing, and Fire Circles. Water Elder: Resource flow, food storage, bookkeeping, and services. How to Apply 👉 Visit fffc.wtf to submit your intake request today.
Offer
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
1 week ago

Co-housing Unit For Sale in Portland Oregon

Light-filled 976 sq ft, 3-bedroom, 1-bath end unit in Columbia Ecovillage, Portland’sestablished cohousing community in the Cully neighborhood. With windows onthree sides, this ground-floor home gets natural light all day, even onPortland’s grey ones. The open living and dining area has warm hardwood floors and flows into akitchen with solid wood cabinets and granite counters. The dining roomwindows look straight into a native vine maple — a wall of green from springthrough fall. There’s good storagein the unit, plus an extra storage space in the community storage building.A ductless mini-split provides efficient heating and air conditioning, andthe plumbing was fully replaced in 2026. The primary bedroom has a full-width closet behind a sliding barn door; thesecond bedroom’s closet sits behind a pair of French doors. The thirdbedroom has no closet, which makes it a flexible room — guest room, office,or playroom. Step out the sliding glass door onto your own covered patio, which opens onto the community grounds: organic gardens, personal garden plots,greenhouses, a grape arbor, a bamboo grove, native plantings throughout, andtrees everywhere — including a truly massive old black walnut. The orchard alone is a reason to live here — to name a few:apples, pears, plums, figs, mulberries, chestnuts, walnuts, grapes,blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries, in several varieties each. A75,000-gallon rainwater catchment system keeps it all watered through thesummer. Kids have a playhouse, sandbox, small soccer field, a favorite climbingtree, and a parking loop where bikes can circle but cars can’t; adults havea workshop, garden shed, fire pit, quiet space and big community porches. The common hall is the heart of the village: a commercial kitchen anyresident can use, a kids’ play area, pool table and ping pong, and asoapstone stove that burns every winter evening. Residents can reserve it forevents for almost nothing. The historic farmhouse has guest rooms owners canbook for visiting family (about 30 nights a year). Shared laundry rooms(three washers and dryers) come with indoor drying racks and outdoorclotheslines, and there’s a craft room and a trade room where things you nolonger need find a new home next door. Potlucks, communitymeals, work parties, and acres of safe space for kids to roam makethis a rare chance to own a home and a neighborhood at the same time. Built in 1973 and fully remodeled in 2008–09 for energy efficiency and healthy indoor air — metal roof, HardiePlank siding, and standard community-built finishes throughout. Nothing to update, nothing deferred. The $522 monthly HOA coverswater, sewer, and garbage, plus the roof, siding, exterior paint, and allstructural maintenance — and it’s what pays for the grounds, the common hall,and everything else described above. And it’s close in: Cully’s cafés andparks are a short walk or bike ride away, the rest of Portland’s food,music, and neighborhoods are minutes beyond that, and the commute downtownor to the airport is easy by car, bus, or bike – 3.7-acre grounds with organic gardens, personal plots, greenhouses, native plantings, and mature trees (huge black walnut)- Orchard: apples, pears, plums, figs, mulberries, chestnuts, walnuts, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries- 75,000-gallon rainwater catchment feeds the gardens year-round- Workshop, garden shed, fire pit, quiet space, community porches  

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