Tropical garden with palm trees and ocean view at Litibu EcoVillage.

Litibu EcoVillage

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Ecological
  • Town/Small City

Founding year

  • 1988

What we do

READ “ADDITIONAL COMMENTS” BELOW BEFORE REQUESTING A VISIT.
In 1990 eighteen social pioneers initiated a community on Playa Litibu in Nayarit, Mexico, two kilometers from the village of Higuera Blanca. In the first thirty years, we built eight eco-friendly casas that had solar energy, natural black/gray water systems from cisterns, and internet. In the common areas we created stone pathways, composting stations, a peace garden, food forest, and a community gathering place with cob benches, fire pit and oven under swaying palms by the ocean.
Mission: We choose a context which is larger than the square meters of land. In our daily living we choose to conserve the Earth’s limited resources, respect diversity and be healers for the larger global society. We have joined in a Trust relationship to reflect our belief that community is an essential element of a healthy life and to exercise our sense of relationship with one another.
Our Vision: is to be a replicable living model of multi-generation and multi-cultural regenerative living in a permaculture environment that becomes increasingly self-sufficient and self-reliant. The framework of the Litibu EcoVillage vision is made up of the following.
Worldview: We think globally and act locally as a community based in Mexico. We stand before the urgency of demonstrating radical actions of caring for the earth in our lifestyle. We are responding to the call to live in relation to the needs of the next seven generations in everything we do, recognizing that “Climate change has already been solved. We already have the facts and solutions. All we have to do is wake up and change,” as stated by a 16 year-old climate activist.
Social Sustainability: We actively work to build trust, collaboration and openness to make sure people feel seen, heard and empowered. We provide a sense of belonging through community relationships, common projects and shared goals. We strive to be a learning community to continue an evolutionary journey of growth and change and learning of facilitation, communication and peacebuilding skills.
Ecological Sustainability: We live lightly on the Earth through sustainable practices in our common and private spaces. We engage actively in partnering with the natural gifts of sun, water and food that surround us by demonstrating a low-impact lifestyle that cares for these resources. The community thrives when eating, celebrating, working and other forms of creative expression are done together. We aim to integrate humans with nature in ways that increase biodiversity, regenerate ecosystems, and give people a chance to experience their interdependence with systems and cycles of life daily. We live a high quality of life in the midst of moving towards 100% renewable energies, ensuring our water catchment supplies our year-round needs, organic agriculture supports the growth of our food/soil, and ‘waste’ is treated as a valuable resource.
Economic Sustainability: We live out of a sense of abundance through our resource sharing. We recycle, repair, reuse and practice patterns of cooperative living. Litibu EcoVillage aims to build economic practices and systems that ensure equitable ownership of land and resources. We support social entrepreneurship that creates sustainable solutions as alternatives to the mainstream economy as we reconstruct the concepts of wealth, work and progress.
Whole System Design: Our approach to design and sustainability is paired with a strong focus on collaboration and participation. We seek to honor traditional wisdom; welcome positive innovation and learn from nature. When any of our values become threadbare, we look for ways of reweaving our practices. We work with the wider community, including the Litibu Community Association, the village of Higuera Blanca and other neighbors to ensure safe, future-oriented choices in this area of Mexico. We are connecting to the experiences of other intentional communities.
The Future: We see ourselves as a demonstration of sustainable living in tune with nature, permaculture and ecological values. Permaculture shows the difference between a “footprint” and a “handprint.” Your footprint is the negative impact you have on the planet; it factors in choices like how much fossil fuel you use, how much waste you create, and how many resources you consume to support your lifestyle. A handprint is a positive legacy you leave behind. We are intentional in membership transition to protect the community’s ongoing purpose. We see the need within the current Litibu area to make more housing available for community regeneration for those younger and older that do not have the resources to participate in our social regenerative living experiment.

Our Mission

The Litibu EcoVillage is an intentional community united by concerns for social justice and ecological stewardship. It uses local participatory processes to integrate ecological, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of sustainability in order to regenerate social and natural environments. We are a living laboratory, pioneering innovative solutions towards living low-impact, high-quality lifestyles.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Ecovillage
  • Sustainability practices
  • Renewable energy systems
  • Waste reduction / composting
  • Regenerative agriculture or permaculture
  • Permaculture design
  • Activities
  • Experiences

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1988
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1990
  • Started living together
  • 18 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
19

How to join

Following a period of “sojourn” residency, people may apply for membership. This implies purchasing into the LLC (limited liability company) that is the collective beneficiary of a “fideicomisso” land trust. Some limited opportunities are available for residential “sojourners” to participate in our community life. READ “ADDITIONAL COMMENTS” FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

READ “ADDITIONAL COMMENTS” BELOW BEFORE REQUESTING A VISIT.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

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

Decision-making process

  • Modified Consensus

Generally seek agreement, but have backup methods when consensus isn’t reached.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a one-time fee, investment, or share purchase to join the community separate from accessing housing
  • 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

Join fee: Yes
Regular fees: Yes
Labor: Encouraged or suggested (2 hrs/week)

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

Garden(s), Vehicle Share, Fire pit, Waterfront access, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 1-3 times per month

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Dietary restriction

  • People can cook and eat what they want in their own residence

Community activities and engagement

  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Multi-generational (all ages well represented)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a Land Trust, Home Owners Association, or corporation

Setting

  • Town/Small City

Smaller municipalities with local services but rural character.

Community type

  • Cohousing

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

  • Ecovillage

    Integrated communities designed around ecological principles with sustainable living practices.

Sustainability approach

  • Renewable energy systems
  • Waste reduction / composting
  • Regenerative agriculture or permaculture
  • Permaculture design

Land practices in our community

  • The community practices permaculture

Self-produced energy

  • Over 66%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • 33 - 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Food forest

Waste management practices

  • Composting
  • Reuse or repair systems

Guest Book

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Location

  • Nayarit, Mexico

Needs and Offers

Offer
  • Communities with Openings
7 months ago

Worktrade Opportunities on Big Island Hawaii

We are continuing our work-trade program at Bridge Hawaii for the right people on this beautiful 86-acre land located along the Hāmākua Coast. Ideally, we want to host those individuals who can help with the garden and who can support with build projects for up to a 3 month stay. This work-trade would include lodging, food staples, community kitchen, running hot water showers, off-grid electricity, and laundry. There is access to high speed wi-fi. We often have a car that can be reserved. We also have full bar signal strength with Verizon cellphone service. We have about 2 acres of permaculture garden that needs to be cared for including; weeding, planting, picking up mulch, some tree trimming, ect. We are currently in a building stage on the land. We have a few current grant projects we are working on and some build projects that are underway. We are an intentional community with about 8 permanent residents. There are rescue dairy cows, mini cows, mini donkeys, horses, a donkey, cats, dogs, and active bee hives. We are a drug and alcohol “free” space. A glass of wine or beer with dinner is fine, but absolutely no day drinking or parties. We have a meditation temple and many waterfall pools that are wonderful for swimming. Close to some of the nicest beaches on island. We have snorkeling gear and a kayak. Since this is an animal sanctuary, we limit the consumption of meat on the land. Fish, eggs, honey, and dairy are fine. Let me know if you’re interested by sending an email or text for our application. Maomi (801) 623-0738 ma***@*****************ii.com

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