Innisfree Village logo with a stylized tree and community name.

Innisfree Village

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Social
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 1971

What we do

A Life-Sharing Community

Set in the rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Crozet, Virginia, Innisfree Village was founded in 1971 as a creative alternative for adults with intellectual disabilities. More than a program or service, Innisfree is a life-sharing community where adults with disabilities, known as coworkers, and residential volunteers live and work side by side on our 550-acre farm.

A Community Built on Contribution

Life at Innisfree is rooted in the belief that everyone has something meaningful to contribute. Our days are shaped by shared work, shared meals, and shared responsibility, creating a therapeutic environment grounded in empowerment, interdependence, and mutual respect. Today, around eighty people call Innisfree home. About forty are adults with intellectual disabilities, and the rest are residential volunteers and long-term staff who live and work alongside them. About ten additional coworkers join the rhythm of the village through our day program.

A Heart of Meaningful Service

Residential volunteers are a vital part of life-sharing at Innisfree. Volunteers live alongside coworkers in the village homes, fully participating in the daily rhythms of household and community life. They provide personal care, guidance, and emotional support, while also sharing meals, celebrations, and quiet moments together. This immersive life-sharing approach allows volunteers to experience the depth of community life—the joys, challenges, and meaningful connections that come from living, working, and growing alongside others. With a two-to-one ratio of coworkers to volunteer caregivers, life at Innisfree feels personal, connected, and truly shared.

Meaningful Work, Shared Purpose

Each day, volunteers and coworkers participate together in our therapeutic workstations–the bakery, community kitchen, farm, herb and vegetable gardens, weavery, woodshop, and art studio. These shared tasks give shape and meaning to the day. Coworkers build skills, confidence, and creative expression, while volunteers offer guidance and often discover new practical and creative abilities of their own.

The Rhythm of Community

Community life extends beyond the workday, too. Shared meals, house meetings, celebrations, and seasonal gatherings weave the village together. Many daily decisions are made by consensus, reflecting our commitment to shared responsibility, while broader organizational decisions rest with our leadership and board. Innisfree is a registered nonprofit, guided by an executive director and assistant directors, and dedicated to supporting a life rooted in respect, empowerment, and creativity for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Join Us

If this way of life resonates with you, we invite you to reach out and learn more about becoming a residential volunteer at Innisfree Village.

Our Mission

Innisfree Village, a voluntary community with adults with intellectual disabilities, is dedicated to providing a lifesharing home and work environment in an atmosphere of beauty, warmth, and respectfulness. All community members are valued, and all are encouraged to explore and contribute to a meaningful and challenging life.

  • Purpose
  • Social
  • Activities
  • Experiences

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1971
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1971
  • Started living together
  • 80 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
80

How to join

Innisfree residents (coworkers) with intellectual disabilities are considered permanent community members, each with an initial 6 month trial period and tuition paid monthly by their families and/or guardians. There is an extensive application and admission process.
Residential Volunteers are community members who come to serve for at least one year. Each volunteer must complete an online application with 3 references, participate in a phone or video interview, and be approved through the volunteer application process. It is strongly recommended that applicants visit Innisfree, but they are not required to remain eligible. If a volunteer application is approved, they will be notified and officially invited to the community. Upon invitation, it is the volunteer’s option to accept. After acceptance, an incoming volunteer makes preparations for their arrival. A one-month trial period for training and orientation is required for each volunteer.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Visitors can call ahead to arrange a tour, preferably Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday from 10-3 p.m.
For volunteers: There is an application process with a three-day visit that is strongly recommended. If circumstances do not permit a visit, this does not exclude an applicant from being eligible for community membership.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

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

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

The Executive Director serves as a leader to the community and a liaison with the Board of Directors.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • 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

Labor: Yes
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
Volunteers receive a monthly stipend for personal expenses. In their first year of service, volunteers are eligible for student loan deferrals. Volunteers do not pay a membership fee.
Coworkers (residents) must be able to provide monthly tuition and a lump sum to a capital-building fund.

Vehicle accessibility

  • There are one or more community vehicles

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

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Vehicle Share, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Large Scale Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Stage or Auditorium, Fire pit, Gym or sports area, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 2-5 times per week

Dietary type

  • Kosher 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

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

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.

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Greenhouse / aquaponics
  • Land area size
    553 acres

Guest Book

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Location

  • Virginia, United States

Innisfree Village

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

Need
Offer
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
2 days ago

Co-housing Unit For Sale in Portland Oregon

Light-filled 976 sq ft, 3-bedroom, 1-bath end unit in Columbia Ecovillage, Portland’sestablished cohousing community in the Cully neighborhood. With windows onthree sides, this ground-floor home gets natural light all day, even onPortland’s grey ones. The open living and dining area has warm hardwood floors and flows into akitchen with solid wood cabinets and granite counters. The dining roomwindows look straight into a native vine maple — a wall of green from springthrough fall. There’s good storagein the unit, plus an extra storage space in the community storage building.A ductless mini-split provides efficient heating and air conditioning, andthe plumbing was fully replaced in 2026. The primary bedroom has a full-width closet behind a sliding barn door; thesecond bedroom’s closet sits behind a pair of French doors. The thirdbedroom has no closet, which makes it a flexible room — guest room, office,or playroom. Step out the sliding glass door onto your own covered patio, which opens onto the community grounds: organic gardens, personal garden plots,greenhouses, a grape arbor, a bamboo grove, native plantings throughout, andtrees everywhere — including a truly massive old black walnut. The orchard alone is a reason to live here — to name a few:apples, pears, plums, figs, mulberries, chestnuts, walnuts, grapes,blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries, in several varieties each. A75,000-gallon rainwater catchment system keeps it all watered through thesummer. Kids have a playhouse, sandbox, small soccer field, a favorite climbingtree, and a parking loop where bikes can circle but cars can’t; adults havea workshop, garden shed, fire pit, quiet space and big community porches. The common hall is the heart of the village: a commercial kitchen anyresident can use, a kids’ play area, pool table and ping pong, and asoapstone stove that burns every winter evening. Residents can reserve it forevents for almost nothing. The historic farmhouse has guest rooms owners canbook for visiting family (about 30 nights a year). Shared laundry rooms(three washers and dryers) come with indoor drying racks and outdoorclotheslines, and there’s a craft room and a trade room where things you nolonger need find a new home next door. Potlucks, communitymeals, work parties, and acres of safe space for kids to roam makethis a rare chance to own a home and a neighborhood at the same time. Built in 1973 and fully remodeled in 2008–09 for energy efficiency and healthy indoor air — metal roof, HardiePlank siding, and standard community-built finishes throughout. Nothing to update, nothing deferred. The $522 monthly HOA coverswater, sewer, and garbage, plus the roof, siding, exterior paint, and allstructural maintenance — and it’s what pays for the grounds, the common hall,and everything else described above. And it’s close in: Cully’s cafés andparks are a short walk or bike ride away, the rest of Portland’s food,music, and neighborhoods are minutes beyond that, and the commute downtownor to the airport is easy by car, bus, or bike – 3.7-acre grounds with organic gardens, personal plots, greenhouses, native plantings, and mature trees (huge black walnut)- Orchard: apples, pears, plums, figs, mulberries, chestnuts, walnuts, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries- 75,000-gallon rainwater catchment feeds the gardens year-round- Workshop, garden shed, fire pit, quiet space, community porches  
  • Events
2 weeks ago

Harvest Moon Fellowship Fire Circle

Harvest Moon Fellowship Fire Circle WE Network Flagship Village – Clubb, MO Join us under the rising Harvest Moon for our monthly Fellowship Fire Circle as we align with Natural Law, celebrate our monthly birthdays, and hold space for community fellowship. When: Friday, September 25, 2026 (Gathering begins at dusk) Where: Flagship Village Grounds – Clubb, Missouri Who: Pioneers, trade-builders, families, and community supporters Astrological & Lunar Alignments The Harvest Moon in Aries: Sitting opposite the Sun in Virgo, this full moon illuminates Aries, bringing pioneer energy, bold action, initiative, and the drive to build. Virgo Birthdays: At this gathering, we celebrate all village members born under Virgo (harvesting skills, practical service, order, and detail). Natural Law & Elemental Alignment Earth & Water (Harvest & Storage): As the Autumnal Equinox turns the season, we honor the physical yields of our raw materials, soil stewardship, and long-term storage preparation. Fire & Air (Fellowship & Vision): We gather around the flames to heal the body, align with Natural Law, share upcoming trade shop plans, and build our parallel community ecosystem together. Seeking Foundational Elders We are actively recruiting our Four Elemental Elders (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) to help lead and anchor our flagship village. If you feel called to step into a leadership role for land stewardship, eco-upcycling, spiritual/body healing, or community systems, come connect with us at the fire. What to Bring: Camp chairs, blankets, and a spirit of fellowship. 👉 Details & Intake: Visit fffc.wtf
September 25, 2026 00:00 – September 27, 2026 23:59

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