Residential house with garden and flowering trees in a community setting.

Chrysalis Community

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Home-sharing
  • Suburban

Founding year

  • 2002

What we do

Chrysalis is committed to building a sustainable, violence-free culture through intimacy, compassion, radical honesty, freedom of choice in intimate relationships, ecological sensitivity, transparency, and the power of community. Social change and personal transformation are central to our vision.
Chrysalis has two houses side-by-side in a wooded setting about 10 minutes’ drive from Washington, DC. The houses can handle eight to ten permanent residents comfortably, with plenty of room for each person to have both personal space and an office or studio if they wish. Each person pays a share of the mortgage based on room size.
The common rooms can accommodate up to 50 people for events. The houses front on a large park, with miles of bike and hiking trails and unspoiled nature. At Chrysalis, each person is empowered to take initiative and create their own projects, healing the society while building a supportive web of intimate relationships that nurture inner transformation. We use many techniques, including sacred touch, non-violent communication, being in the moment, and more. Our goal is to love the world through loving oneself.
Chrysalis encourages members to follow their own vision in the context of a creative, supportive community; we find the ongoing cross-pollination of ideas, talents, and energy takes us to a higher and more productive level. Resident non-members and non-residents are also an important part of Chrysalis; we see our community as part of a much larger network.
We are especially looking for people who want to explore their own limits, both personally and productively, who like to be synergized by being around other creative and effective people, and who would enjoy living in an environment that is both challenging and supportive, that invites you to grow while affirming who and what you are.
We actively welcome people who are not members to live with us; we value the unique contribution each person has to make. We are less focused on long-term commitments, and more interested in the energy and ideas that our housemates have to offer in the present. We welcome those who would like to work and play and learn with us, whether it be “for a day or a decade.”

Our Mission

Integrating community with the larger world; creating change *in* people that leads to critical social change.

  • Purpose
  • Home-sharing
  • Community type
  • Coliving
  • Activities
  • Education
  • Experiences
  • Networking
  • Services Business

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2002
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2002
  • Started living together

Gallery

  • 4 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
10

How to join

The process is flexible, generally starting with email exchange, phone calls, and a week visit, then exploring whether we have a good match.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Please call or email in advance. We do not have a formal visitor program, and we can sometimes take visitors on relatively short notice.
We are drug, smoke, and alcohol-free; please do not bring any of these items with you.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

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

Decision-making process

  • No Established Process

Governance structure

  • Minimal/Anarchist

Little to no formal governance structure.

Conflict resolution approach

Leadership is a function, not an identity.
The core is not a closed group; it is mostly reflective of who is putting in significant effort.
Decision making is primarily “responsible anarchy”. Each person has substantial authority to make their own decisions, with due consideration to the rights and
needs of others.

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: $700
Labor: Yes (2 hrs/week)
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed

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

Common House, Garden(s), Gym or sports area, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 1-3 times per month

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

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
  • Ethical Business, Investment Group, or Alternative Currency
  • Organization, Resource, or Network
  • 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

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By several individuals through an LLC or a Tenancy In Common agreement

Setting

  • Suburban

Residential areas outside city centers but within metropolitan regions.

Community type

  • Coliving

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

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Up to 33%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Land area size
    0.4 acres

Guest Book

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Location

  • Virginia, United States

Promoted Needs and Offers

Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
3 months ago

House for Sale at Valley Oaks Village Chico, CA

Welcome to 1997 Wild Oak Lane in Chico, CA— a beautifully maintained 4 bedroom/3 bathroom 1,620 SqFt home nestled in an established Cohousing community. Step inside to discover a spacious open floor plan, which bamboo flooring, and generous natural lighting. The downstairs offers a bedroom, and bathroom off the main living room. The spacious dining room and kitchen has quartz countertop overlay and will lead you out to a bonus 11×12 fully enclosed porch. The upstairs provides laundry hookups, 2 additional bedrooms, including a large loft, and a bathroom with a jacuzzi tub.. The spacious main bedroom features an en suite bathroom and ample closet space. The back patio has low maintenance patio pavers, a new 6’x8′ shed along with a 220V Level 2 EV charger. See listing on Zillow.com COHOUSING DESCRIPTION – chicocohousing.org Valley Oaks Village was designed using the Cohousing model, built in 1996 with 28 homes on about 5 acres. We have numerous shared amenities, such as a large community building (“Common House”) with a kitchen, multipurpose dining room, lounge with wood stove, guest rooms, rec room, laundry, as well as a pool and sauna. Other shared amenities include a workshop/arts and crafts room, bike sheds, large grassy lawn, playground, pond, gardens and orchards. The neighborhood was designed to promote interactions between residents with picturesque pathways, benches and gathering areas. Valley Oaks Village is right next to Bidwell Park and Big Chico Creek with its running, hiking, horseback riding and park trails with a bike path to either downtown and Chico State University or upper Bidwell Park. Price- $470,000
Offer
Offer
  • Marketplace
6 years ago

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves Books for Sale

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves, Charles Durrett and Kathryn McCamant introduce Cohousing with stories and pictures of both Danish and American communities. Beautiful photographs and line drawings illustrate the warmly written account of how these communities came to be. Specific information on legal and financial aspects of working with developers, group process, and design issues make this book informative as well as inspiring. This is the book which brought Cohousing to North America. This book is the much prized second edition which has become a rarer and somewhat of a collectors item. Its community case studies were not included in the more recent publication. It preceded Creating Cohousing which is widely available. I acquired 25 cases from a local distributor who closed down. If you would like three or more copies for yourself, to share with your friends or to market your group, please let me know. I would love for them to be made useful and find great homes. Books are paperback (hard copy was not an option at the time from the publisher) all brand new, in Oakland (CA) so could be picked in Oakland or mailed to you. I would very much like to recuperate what I paid which is $10 per book. So, If you would like three or more shipped, I will add the postage, packing and handling fees. I have sold several cases (18 books per case) for $150 per case ($8 per book). I have a little wiggle room on the pricing. Please let me know if you are interested. Use the Send Message button on this page.
Need
  • Forming Communities
6 months ago

True North CoHousing Community Seeking Founders

True North is a small, women-centered intentional community where self-directed, purposeful women share space, resources, and genuine commitment to each other’s wellbeing. We are building something that is greater than the sum of its parts — a life that is richer, more secure, and more meaningful because we are living it together. Our Vision A community where no one falls through the cracks. Where aging is something we navigate together rather than alone. Where the people around you notice when you’re struggling, celebrate when you’re thriving, and show up — not because they have to, but because that’s simply who we are to each other. We are building this as a tiny house village — a model we chose deliberately. Many intentional communities require crazy buy-in sums, putting them out of reach for most women navigating life on a single income. We believe that financial accessibility isn’t a compromise — it’s a value. Your home will be yours: as simple or as appointed as fits your life and circumstances, sized right for the life you are living now and the one you are building toward. We live lightly on the land and invest heavily in the relationships that make life worth living. We’re currently forming our founding group — the women who will help shape what this community becomes, where it lands, and how it lives. Not ready to be a founder but feel this in your gut? We want to hear from you too. There’s a place for you here at whatever stage feels right. https://www.truenorthcommunity.info/ jhock2016@proton.me

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