Person standing by a pond in a lush green forest setting.

The Wisdom Retreat Center

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Forming
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2015

What we do

We are a 200-acre developing earth sanctuary and retreat center in the mountains of northern California, close to the majestic Yuba River. We have had many people live with us for varying periods of time helping to build structures and maintain the land, and we are always open to visitors and potential new community members who resonate with our vision.
We would like to mention as we are a eco-preserve community in development and construction that we require both visitors and members to participate in the various works projects. The hours we request from participants varies anywhere from 10 to 25 hours per week depending on whether we are supplying them with places to live like one of our cabins or a place in our lodge. We also have meetings two to three times a week to discuss the progress and the psycho spiritual relationships developing between us as a group and with the land. We asked participation from people and when they do not show up for work and when they do not show up for our meetings which happened two to three times a week typically we give them a grace period and then we meet as a group and decide whether to let them stay longer or ask them to leave. We’ve had a number of people come up after providing extraordinary resumes which one either honest or transparent. We ask people to be conscious participants in our endeavor here and make a sincere and honest effort to help with the development and construction of this Center. If people do not participate and just want to place to live or to Camp that does not suffice with the group membership and vision and thus they will be asked to leave. After discussion as individually I’m with the group written assignments and agreements will take place in the company of group members. If we receive request from visitors we asked that they temporarily rent one of our five cabins to see if they like it here and that we can engage in discussion etc.
Every aspect of what we want to create is intended to support the personal growth of everyone participating, and the growth of humanity as a whole. Toward this goal, we are seeking people who are willing to participate in community building and living, and who are committed to a path of personal growth. Living in community will inevitably bring up things within us to the surface that need to be addressed for us to be able to live with others in a good way. Our members commit to doing any transformational work that is necessary to be able to live well in community, and the community commits to supporting members in this as best it can.
Another vision of our community is hosting workshops and retreats, teaching a variety of practical, emotional, spiritual, and nature-based skills to help people learn to live in harmony with the earth, and ground and deepen their own spiritual and healing practices. We endeavor to provide a philosophical and practical framework for students to fully express the New Story in their personal visions and lives, and to be the best humans we can be to meet the unique challenges of our time.

Our Mission

Our vision is to create a space for groups and individuals to immerse themselves in the restorative powers of the forest and return to their lives in greater harmony with the rhythms of nature. We are building a place to live, heal, and learn, so we can all step into our full potential of who we came here on earth to be, and discover how to live in a new way on this earth that truly serves the web of life.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Spiritual Retreat Centers
  • Activities
  • Education
  • Experiences
  • Networking
  • Others

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2015
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2015
  • Started living together
  • 2 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
8

How to join

The membership process for our eco-preserve community is dependent on a number of mundane and spiritual components. We would like to get to know people and see if they fit in and see if they’re willing to live in a rural wilderness setting in the higher mountains of Northern California. We’d have visitors come and propose all sorts of projects that could be accomplished but really did they supply insight or funding. But they were great and making suggestions but really showed up for work. We want people willing to participate feed on the ground hands on the tools hands in the garden etc. We are not yet set up for people who have handicaps and who are not capable of helping with the work schedules. If people do not have the ability to help we ask them to contribute money so we could let them stay in a cabin or a room in the lodge. But we can’t just let people stay anywhere they want without any contribution. It’s a very beautiful environment here and quite spectacular but we do ask people to contribute if they’re not going to work and pay for rent another incidentals. Membership entails to see how we all get along with the community. How they feel living in a rule environment,
Right now the best way would be to join our facebook group, the Wisdom Retreat Center, and also referred to as the wisdom sanctuary.
All Facebook link is;
https://www.facebook.com/groups/315433455195597/?ref=share&mibextid=KtfwRi
With this Facebook link we keep in touch with interested members from around the world with news and events most actively through Facebook.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

To visit the community, contact Adam by clicking the button to send a message, or by emailing directly at ge**********@*ol.com. Right now we are in the building phase, and are in the process of building the main structure. There is a large developed camp ground (with water, outhouses, and outdoor shower but no electric) available for RV’s, trailers, or tents, and we have 5 cabins of various sizes (fully plumbed and furnished with electric and propane) available for rent or work trade. Please be advised that we are located a couple miles down a well-maintained but hilly dirt road, and we do get snow occasionally in the winter.
And people would like to visit we recommend and appreciate if they would rent one of our cabins and we have five which they can choose from. These cabinets are named as follows, a Shambala cabin, Trinity cabin, Serenity cabin, Radiance cabin, and Geronimo cabin. Links for rentals can be viewed on either airbnb, vrbo, hip camp, or glamping. Thank you for your support as when a visitor rents a cabin a supply funds so we can continue to build more for the community members.

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

We believe in the principles of cooperative leadership, and decision-making being shared equally by everyone in the community.
This mainly refers to members as we have many visitors and we do not allow visitors who may have been there a day or a week to make important decisions that will govern the entire community of people who oversee this 200 acres.

Economic model

  • Partial Income-Sharing

Members contribute a percentage of income to community funds.

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

Additional economic information

Regular fees: Yes
Labor: Yes

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

Library, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Fire pit, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 2-5 times per week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Community activities and engagement

  • Transition Town (post-petroleum and off-grid communities.)
  • School, Educational Institute or Experience
  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • Organization, Resource, or Network
  • Festivals, Conferences, Events

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies

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

  • 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.

Self-produced energy

  • Over 66%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Over 66%
  • Land area size
    200 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • California, United States

The Wisdom Retreat Center

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
Offer
  • Promoted
  • Events
2 weeks ago

Healing Love Healing Money: Trust As The Foundation For A New Culture

Money, love and power are among the hardest things any community works with, and many of us carry the same fears into both: not having enough, losing what we have, and the sense that if someone else gets money or love, we won’t. Healing Love, Healing Money: Trust as the Foundation for a New Culture is taught by two intentional communities. Karen McAllister and Duncan Cryle are from Clear Sky Meditation and Retreat Center, a Buddhist-lineage community in the BC Rockies. Monika Alleweldt and Benjamin von Mendelssohn from Tamera Healing Biotope, a community of about 160 people in southern Portugal that has spent decades studying love, trust and relationship. Clear Sky has spent years working on its relationship with money, and our two communities found surprising parallels in the fears beneath both. Over four sessions we explore the roots of fear around money and belonging, love, possession and power, trust as infrastructure (community as a container for healing), and ethical livelihood. We use short meditations, body-based practices, reflection and small-group conversation. You do not need to be in a romantic relationship or live in community. When: October 27, Nov 3, 10, 17. All four sessions: 12–2pm Vancouver, 1–3pm Alberta, 7–9pm UK and Portugal, 8–10pm Central Europe. Note: US and some Canadian provinces change clocks on November 1, so the US west coast is 12–2pm on October 27, then 11am–1pm for the remaining sessions, and Eastern is 3–5pm on October 27, then 2–4pm for the rest. Cost: sliding scale Details and registration: https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/healing-love-healing-money-online/  
October 27, 2026 13:00 – November 17, 2026 15:00
  • Promoted
Need
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
4 days ago

Breathe the Magic

Set in Sea Elephant, Tasmania, within a remarkable conservation landscape, this contemporary home offers genuine privacy with the assurance that the surrounding native environment is protected for the future.  With its cool King Island climate and abundant rain and water supply, your lifetyle is secure in a climate future that is becoming unsettling. Experience the unique community lifestyle that only King Island can offer.  Sleep with the peace of knowing you live in a place where everyone looks out for everyone else, and someone will always have your back. 1675 Reekara Road offers slightly more than 51 hectares of protected King Island wilderness, of which approximately 48.84 hectares are protected under a conservation covenant encompassing King Island scrub, blue gum forest, remarkable wildlife. The property is surrounded by the Lavinia State Reserve and Council Hill Conservation Area. A 2 hectare residential entitlement provides ample space for planting vegetables, fruit trees,  keeping chickens, or creating other sustainable living infrastructure.  Already included are: – A well-maintained house built in 2023 with upstairs en-suite bedroom and deck with gorgeous views, including forest/ocean outlook. – A spacious downstairs bathroom provides options for guest accommodation – Just include a sleeper couch or 2 in the ample living area. – A large pristine kitchen, including pantry and laundry. – Small wood shed – Large shed or double garage built in 2024 – Enclosed garden – 40,000 litre water storage tank – large dam An existing approved DA means you have the option of further development.  Buy the property furnighed, unfurnished, or with a 2015 Jeep Wrangler thrown in.

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