Aerial view of Hearthstone Village Cooperative with houses, pond, and lush greenery.

Hearthstone Village Cooperative

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Home-sharing
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2015

What we do

We started working as a group of families in 2015 to create a viable financial and governance structure that best aligns with our values and vision. We purchased our 42 acre property in January 2019 and and have developed an area for 8 houses. We have a garden for community use, and each family has started their own garden. Our plans are to create between 10 to 16 family dwelling sites which are primarily built of natural materials (local wood, cob, slip, straw, earth bags etc) and are human-scaled in size (500-1200 sq. ft). Four slip-chip and 2 super-adobe houses have been built so far. We have legal, sustainable technology for our waste, water and energy systems including composting toilets and a grey water treatment system. We envision creating food forests and raising livestock within a permaculture approach. We intend to have a greenhouse, a processing kitchen, and practice small animal husbandry.

Our Mission

A multigenerational community living, learning and working in close connection to each other, the land, and all beings in a village way of life. We share our material, social and spiritual riches and collectively celebrate and honour life’s mysterious journey.
We are creating a residential village by collectively developing a property that provides sustainable housing, community facilities, agricultural potential and a beautiful setting for a diverse group of families.

  • Purpose
  • Home-sharing
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Sustainability practices
  • Waste reduction / composting
  • Permaculture design
  • Activities
  • Experiences

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2015
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2019
  • Started living together
  • 16 Total members
  • Not open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
24

How to join

Attend meetings, be interviewed, and live onsite for an exploratory period.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Get in touch via email. Please note: we are in a ‘nourishment phase’ right now where we are more focused on fostering deeper cohesion as a community so we currently have less opportunity for visitors to come to the community.

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Decision-making process

  • Consent-Based (Sociocracy)

Decisions proceed unless someone has a reasoned objection.

Governance structure

  • Sociocratic/Circle-Based

Organized in circles or domains with distributed authority.

Conflict resolution approach

As an incorporated equity cooperative we are required to have a board of directors. In sociocracy these directors are the leads of our circles. A circle is sociocracy’s term for a committee.

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: $10000.00
Regular fees: $800
Labor: Encouraged or suggested (0 hrs/week)
To join the cooperative, members buy a returnable class A membership share of $500 CAD and a non-refundable joining fee of $10,000 CAD per adult. A class C share, which entitles one to a lot to build upon. The cost of a class C share is $132,281 CAD for 2025. New members must also have enough other resources to build their homes with. We have done some estimates around how much it will cost to build the types of homes we envision and found natural built homes are cheaper than standard construction especially if you are able to do some of the work yourself. The cost can range from $10,000 to $350,000.

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

Common House, Garden(s), Vehicle Share, Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Large Scale Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Stage or Auditorium, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Waterfront access, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • About once a week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced
  • Livestock / Animal Husbandry

Dietary type

  • Vegetarian Only

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
  • Festivals, Conferences, Events

Substance use culture

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

Gender composition

  • Majority cis (over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Family-focused (many children and parents)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

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

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.

Sustainability approach

  • Waste reduction / composting
  • Permaculture design

Land practices in our community

  • The community practices permaculture

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

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
  • Land area size
    42 acres

Guest Book

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Location

  • British Columbia, Canada

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

Information

Communities

A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

Organizations

An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).

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