Aerial view of a sustainable community with eco-friendly buildings surrounded by lush greenery.

Las Aguas Risas - Laughing Waters Vegan Community

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Forming
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2018

What we do

Veganic Permaculture Fruit Forest Intentional Community and Forest Reserve in the High Amazon Rainforest of Ecuador.

Our goal is to protect and nurture Pachamama with minimal invasive impact. We are transforming degraded pastureland, restoring native forest and productive fruit forest.

The property is 100 hectares (approximately 250 acres), with many springs and streams and waterfalls, roughly 40% forest, 10% homestead and cultivated or ready to cultivate, and 50% pasture. We are a fully vegan environmentally-conscious eco-community. Members must be vegan, in accordance with the vegan society definition of veganism and understand what that means (not just plant-based, raw, fruitarian, flexitarian, or any other -tarian). Residents, volunteers, guests, and visitors, must understand and adhere to vegan principles at all times (on and off property) while staying at the community.

Priorities:
Pachamama, inclusivity (non-discrimination based on race, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity), species

Goals/Visions:
Peaceful, simple, minimalist, non-exploitative living, Preservation (forever), Conservation, respect, non-violence. Reforest with fruit trees and native species

7th Generation Principle:
The 7th Generation Principle is based on an ancient Iroquois philosophy that the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world 7 generations into the future. Las Aguas Risas adheres to this principle in all decision making.

Population Growth:
Non-wildlife population growth – human, companion animal and “livestock” – is out of control globally, with immense negative impacts on wildlife and Pachamama. Las Aguas Risas is committed to reducing and reversing non-wildlife population growth. To this end, within the community we strongly discourage breeding, both human and non-human.

Our Mission

Las Aguas Risas goal is to protect and nurture Pachamama with minimal invasive impact. Peaceful, simple, vegan, minimalist, non-exploitative living, preservation (forever), conservation, respect, non-violence. Reforest with fruit trees and native species.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Coliving
  • Ecovillage
  • Sustainability practices
  • Renewable energy systems
  • Waste reduction / composting
  • Permaculture design
  • Activities
  • Property management
  • Farming
  • Experiences
  • Networking

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2018
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2022
  • Started living together
  • 2 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
2

How to join

We expect to have a membership application/questionnaire available soon. In the meantime, interested prospective members can contact us directly.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

At this time we can be contacted by email or Facebook. We currently accept volunteers through WorkAway.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

A few people (not elected by the broader community) make the major decisions.

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

Currently only two founding members, Terry and Michael, are invested and share decisions. As the community expands we expect to transition to a form of sociocracy structure for community decisions. For the land, we expect to establish a non-profit foundation, or land trust, to hold and govern land issues.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
  • 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

Regular fees: Yes
Labor: Yes (20 hrs/week)
Members are expected to support themselves. Small enterprises, conforming to community standards, may be considered.

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, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • Approximately all meals

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced
  • Livestock / Animal Husbandry

Dietary type

  • Vegan Only

Dietary restriction

  • These restrictions are throughout the community

Community activities and engagement

  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • Neighborhood, Community Housing, or Homeowner's Association
  • Organization, Resource, or Network
  • WWOOF'ing, Guest Farming

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use is prohibited in the community

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a single individual, couple, or Family Trust

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Community type

  • Cohousing

    Private homes with shared common facilities, designed for neighborly
    interaction while maintaining independence.

  • Coliving

    Shared living spaces with private bedrooms/bathrooms and communal
    kitchens, dining, and social areas.

  • Ecovillage

    Integrated communities designed around ecological principles with sustainable living practices.

Sustainability approach

  • Renewable energy systems
  • Waste reduction / composting
  • Permaculture design

Land practices in our community

  • The community practices permaculture

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Energy sources used

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • 33 - 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Food forest
  • Greenhouse / aquaponics

Water conservation practices

  • Composting toilets

Waste management practices

  • Composting
  • Waste-to-energy or biochar
  • Land area size
    100 hectares

Guest Book

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

Location

  • Morona-Santiago, Ecuador

Las Aguas Risas - Laughing Waters Vegan Community

Needs and Offers

Offer
  • Communities with Openings
11 months ago

Oak Park Commons Cohousing – Plan to Move in Fall 2025

Illinois’ first cohousing community fosters intergenerational connection, diversity, and inclusiveness. We welcome all those who share our vision of creating a sustainable residential community in a vibrant urban suburb. Oak Park Commons Cohousing seeks new members. Join the dozen households that have already helped plan and design a five story, 24-unit building near the commercial heart of Oak Park, Illinois. The building includes a mix of one, two, and three, bedroom ADA accessible units. A package friendly first floor mailroom adjoins the lobby, elevator, and parking entrances. Noise mitigation and energy efficient air conditioning assure year-round comfort. The Carpenter & Madison streets corner location includes within a pedestrian friendly half mile radius: a middle school, bus stop, grocery co-op, drug store, bank, CTA train station, Unity Temple, Rush Hospital, Fox Park, Mills Park, and many restaurants. Madison has traffic calming and bike lanes. The Village commercial center, barely a mile away offers the Lake Theatre Cinema, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Formula Fitness Center, Public Library, Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, and specialty retail and service shops. Oak Park includes excellent K-12 schools. Lincoln public elementary school offers an optional Spanish bilingual program, Gwendolyn Brooks middle school’s wonderful performing arts opportunities and OPRF high school’s great college and career prep. Eight two and three bedroom units are still available for purchase starting at $406,640. Buyers pay a five percent earnest fee when signing a purchase agreement that goes toward down payment at closing. Units available for occupancy starting the last week of October 2025. Visit our website and talk with some of our members to learn more about who we are and how we envision building our community together. Website: https://oakparkcommons.com/ Contacts: Charles Hoch 708-721-8817; Sus
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
2 weeks ago

3000sf House+Apartment, Rosewind Cohousing, Port Townsend WA

We are a retired couple who are downsizing, still living within the community. We are selling our large, flexible, comfortably rustic house, perfect for a multigenerational household, a family with kids or for 2 separate households. It’s 3000 square feet on 3 levels. The house is on a slope, with 2 main entrances. At one time it housed a large blended family. The current setup is a 2250 square foot, 2 bath main house with a 700 square foot rental apartment, also called an auxiliary dwelling unit (ADU). There is a staircase between the main and lower floor, with a lockable door. If desired, the ADU kitchen can be removed. The main floor has a very large kitchen/dining area, large living room, two small bedrooms, a bathroom with 2 sinks and a shower, a laundry room and a large mudroom. The non-bearing wall between the 2 bedrooms can be removed to turn it back to a single primary bedroom. The top floor has two bedrooms, one of which is primary with a large bright sitting area, and a large open middle area between them (game room, TV room, kids sleeping area, etc.). There is a bathroom with a claw-foot tub, no shower. The lower floor is the ADU, a finished storage area and a stand-up “crawl space“ which is used as a second pantry and storage. Attached to the house there is also a 150 sq ft wood paneled office/hobby space with its own electric and propane lines. Features: – straw bale construction, which is energy-efficient, great sound insulation, and provides a warm, soft, feeling. -very large functional kitchen with a long granite countertop. The dining area fits 10 people. -natural construction, with solid maple floors in the middle and upper level, marmoleum floor in kitchen and oak floor in the lower level. The two small bedrooms have painted wood floors. The doors are all solid wood. -large, functional, low maintenance patio area. Room for a table for eight and an additional sitting area. Propane hook ups for grills and smokers. -min

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