Children playing and swimming in a natural outdoor pond surrounded by trees.

Chambalabamba

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2011

What we do

Welcome to Ecoaldea Chambalabamba, evolving community. You can spend time participating in the volunteer program that includes organic garden management-permaculture, agroforestry implementation, bioconstruction of natural buildings, art workshops, making crafts, creative projects, alternative schooling, carpentry, vegetarian cuisine, etc. You can also experience the dynamic organization of the living cell, in which we are creating a caring and sustainable culture. Living near each other, cooperate and share resources so that we can live more lightly and joyfully on earth.
We are always under construction and development of homes, gardens, artistic, and educational projects, which daily physical effort is conducted and intellectual and spiritual work, where you’ll find a balance for a fuller life.
We will wait for you!!!
Bienvenido a Ecoaldea Chambalabamba, comunidad en evolución. Puedes pasar tiempo participando en el programa de voluntariado que incluye manejo de huertos orgánicos-permacultura, implementación de agroforestería, bioconstrucción de edificios naturales, talleres de arte, elaboración de artesanías, proyectos creativos, escolaridad alternativa, carpintería, cocina vegetariana, etc. También puedes experimentar la organización dinámica de la célula viva, en la que estamos creando una cultura solidaria y sostenible. Vivir cerca unos de otros, cooperar y compartir recursos para que podamos vivir más ligeros y alegres en la tierra.
Actualmente estamos en construcción y desarrollo de viviendas, jardines y proyectos educativos, en los que diariamente se realiza un esfuerzo físico y un trabajo intelectual y espiritual, donde encontrarás un equilibrio para una vida más plena.
¡¡¡Te esperamos!!!

Our Mission

Our focus is to create an environment where human beings can THRIVE. Food forests, arts & entertainment, happiness and rainbows. we are exploring, living in freedom and love.
Nuestro objetivo es crear un ambiente en donde los seres humanos puedan prosperar. Bosques de alimentos, artes y entretenimiento, la felicidad y el arco iris. exploramos viviendo en libertad y amor.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Sustainability practices
  • Permaculture design
  • Natural / low-impact building
  • Activities
  • Farming
  • Education
  • Experiences

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2011
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2012
  • Started living together

Video

  • 7 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
18

How to join

volunteer initially for one month or more, then after more months, if it feels right on both sides, one can become a member. we are mostly a latino community of artists, so its good to speak spanish and have artistic or other kinds of skills. it takes some months as a volunteer until its a big yes from all the community and a big yes from the new residents. one needs to write to us through chambalabamba.org under volunteers.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Please email for a visit through our website: chambalabamba.org under volunteers.! For better integration and learning, we suggest a stay with us for a period of one month as long as there is harmony between the two sides. After a month of volunteering, if you intend to remain, a meeting will decide on the matter to be, We are also open to the possibility of new residents — families with children, couples and singles. And we have 4 beautiful rental houses and 3 rooms in the treehouse.

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Decision-making process

  • Full Consensus

Everyone must agree before moving forward.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Conflict resolution approach

we are a living example of anarchism. that is, consensus decision making process, all are equal, no rules, only agreements, self organizing.

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: $20
Labor: Yes (20 hrs/week)
we are looking for ways for the community to make money, like retreats, workshops, festivals, concerts, making things in our wood and metal shop, products from our gardens. if anyone reading this can help bring people here for a 10 day retreat, please contact us. and also, people currently must spend about $20 per week for us to buy food at the market.

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

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), 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

  • 2-5 times per week

Dietary type

  • Vegetarian Only

Dietary restriction

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

Community activities and engagement

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

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies
  • Substance use is prohibited in the community

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Multi-generational (all ages well represented)

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.

Community type

  • Partially built or remodeled with recycled or environmentally friendly materials, and/or using natural building methods

Sustainability approach

  • Permaculture design
  • Natural / low-impact building

Land practices in our community

  • The community practices permaculture

Community type

  • Partially built or remodeled with recycled or environmentally friendly materials, and/or using natural building methods

Some or all of the buildings are...

  • Partially built or remodeled with recycled or environmentally friendly materials, and/or using natural building methods

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Self-produced food

  • 33 - 66%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Up to 33%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Food forest
  • Greenhouse / aquaponics
  • Land area size
    15 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • Loja, Ecuador

Chambalabamba

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

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  • Events
1 week 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
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  • Promoted
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  • Communities with Openings
4 months ago

Do you feel called to help co-create a small, newly forming eco-spiritual community?

Old structures are crumbling. New ways of living are calling. We are answering that call. Wild Grace is an eco-spiritual community located in the Sierra foothills 30 minutes from Grass Valley, California. We recently completed new homes for those who feel called to our vision. Currently there are four of us living on this sacred 80 acres of land although we are a hub for an expanded neighborhood community. Many join us weekly for potlucks, expressive dance, Qi Gong, monthly musical gatherings, and seasonal celebrations in our temple, as well as tending to our orchard. We are excited to welcome others to join us on the land who are dedicating their lives to spiritual growth and ready to live in a more focused and intimate heart-centered lifestyle. Might that be you or someone you know? The fundamentals are simple. Spirit. We listen personally and collectively together most mornings, usually starting with a musical offering, a prayer, or a short reading, followed by about 40 minutes of what we call “sacred silence.” Heart Circles. About once a week we gather to share and listen. We are informed by authentic and compassionate communication practices. Nature. The land itself—an 80-acre oasis of field and forest perched above the wild and scenic South Yuba River—calls for our stewardship in the gardens, orchard, greenhouses, and general care. In turn, nature feeds us abundantly, both literally and spiritually. Interbeing. We join with others to share inspiration and connection as we host monthly gatherings of song, story and prayer that draws from the larger community in addition to other events we share with our closer neighbors. As we attend to these fundamentals, Grace flows to and through us—often in “Wild” or unexpected ways. Grace catalyzes through us, but is not something we possess. Because we all are connected, we feel that Grace actively transforms n
Offer
  • Communities with Openings
4 weeks ago

Build Your Future in Rural Portugal — Business Partnerships & Sustainable Living

Mellow Cogumelo is seeking 2–4 motivated individuals or couples interested in helping develop two food businesses and a small, cooperative rural community on 30 hectares of off-grid land in southwest Portugal.We’re looking for long-term partners, not short-term volunteers or visitors interested only in learning mushroom cultivation. This is an opportunity to help shape a project with substantial facilities and equipment already in place. TWO BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Artisan Neapolitan PizzaOur mobile pizza operation includes an equipped professional kitchen, pizza trailer, and wood-fired oven. We’re particularly interested in someone with pizza-making experience who would enjoy developing and eventually managing this business.Specialty Gourmet MushroomsOur mushroom facility includes a dedicated laboratory, production equipment, and controlled growing environments. Mushroom cultivation or farming experience is welcome, but initiative, practical skills, attention to detail, and a willingness to learn are just as valuable. MORE THAN A BUSINESS Our wider vision is a small rural community built on independence, cooperation, mutual respect, and care for the land.Future projects include vegetable gardens, orchards, regenerative agriculture, and further improvements to our off-grid infrastructure.This is rural living, with its rewards and challenges. The property is reached by approximately 2 km of dirt road. We generate our own electricity and manage our water systems.We maintain a non-smoking, drug-free environment. Reliable transportation, or a realistic plan for it, is important. HOW IT COULD WORK We hope to meet people who want to create lasting livelihoods by gradually taking greater responsibility for developing and operating the businesses.We envision operating partnerships with increasing profit participation, based on mutually agreed responsibilities, milestones, and business performance.These are developing commercial opportunities; immediate income cannot be guaranteed. Financial and working arrangements would be discussed individually and established through appropriate agreements.On-site accommodation may be possible as part of an agreed arrangement. WHO WE HOPE TO MEET Practical, dependable, independent-minded people who like hands-on work and want to contribute to something for the long term.Experience in food service, cultivation, agriculture, construction, mechanics, or business development is welcome. Shared values and commitment are most important.If this speaks to you, please tell us about your background, skills, and what you’re hoping to build over the next few years.Learn more on our Join Our Team page at mellowcogumelo.com.
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