To Begin…

In the past handful of years I have been called to prioritize tending to the health of my relationship with myself and all I come into contact with.  This calling is what brings me, over and over, to intentional community.

When it first started knocking on my door, my daughter was just beginning high school and the time was not ripe for physically exploring intentional communities until she graduated a year ago.  Since then, I have participated in a seasonal permaculture internship at an ecovillage in Oregon and traveled the U.S. with my girlfriend in her retrofitted camper van to get a sense for different bioregions and established communities in the U.S.   Now I am writing to you, my friend, in hopes of finding a well-aligned community where I can grow roots, mutually beneficial relationships, and myself as I live life to the fullest. 

A Bit About Me and My Offerings

I see myself as a creative problem-solver, initiator, and someone who naturally holds the whole and integrates the parts.  Collaboration, resourcefulness, curiosity, openness, and compassion are all very important to me.  And so is a balanced lifestyle.

I also see myself as a culinary artist and am interested in growing wholesome food, preparing it with love for the nourishment of all, and preserving it for the future.  Additionally, I would love to offer reiki to those with aches and pains, training in sociocracy to those interested in learning about this governance model based on consent decision-making and circular hierarchy (or hierarchy of levels of specificity), and care of elders or youngers where there is mutuality around needs.  And lastly, I’d love to further my experience in: seed saving, bee keeping, animal husbandry, natural building, and all that goes into the tending of intimate, authentic, and loving relationships in a residential community setting.  

You can learn more about me and my journey by reviewing my communitarian resume.

My Ideal Community Setting

I have been living in Bellingham, Washington for years and am looking for a sunnier and warmer climate.  I am most interested in experiencing living in Latin America, Southeast Asia, or in the Pacific Islands.  That said, I am open to the possibility of migrating seasonally if I settle in a seasonally cloudy and cool climate, and I am open to residing in other parts of the world, including the U.S., if I feel called there.

I am most interested in living in a community where the land is held in common- for example, with a community land trust.  Though, I sense this is not so common (yet) and am open to living on land that is owned by a few as long as the culture there serves the collective.  

In terms of culture, I am looking for a community that values and practices: 

• • Collaboration, cooperation, compassion, and grace.

• • Authenticity, vulnerability, and moving at the speed of trust.

• • Humility, curiosity, and receptivity for ongoing growth and evolution.

• • Creative and ecologically-minded thinking/doing.

• • Understanding and integrating all the parts- especially the nuanced, quiet, hidden, and divergent ones.

• • Balanced lifeways that tend to all the parts: physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual.

• • Self-responsibility and self-accountability.

• • Self-sufficiency, simplicity, and resourcefulness.

• • Play and reverence.

Lastly, it is also important that I am able to connect daily with nature-scapes and very preferable to have access to wild-waters where I can bathe/swim.

Reciprocity and Contribution Toward the Collective

This has been the hardest part for me to wrap my head and heart around and articulate because it is the most transactional.  Ideally, reciprocity would be more relational- evolving organically over time from the relationship(s) and surfacing needs.  But that presupposes a relationship, and we are just getting started creating one, so speaking in terms of a trade makes sense for now. 

The basic thing I am hoping to receive from this trade is shelter and a growthful community living experience.  In exchange for that I would offer my time, energy, and skills.  Shelter and time are the easiest things to measure in this equation, so I will focus on what I’m looking for in these areas. 

To me, shelter includes: an outdoor area to camp (weather permitting) + an indoor area to store my belongings and/or a private and quiet room; access to a functional but basic kitchen and bathroom (or way of meeting the need to store/prepare food, eliminate, bathe, and access drinking water); access to a peaceful space where I can do my daily movement and meditation practice; and occasional access to a washing machine.  In exchange for shelter, I would contribute 10-15 quality hours of my time each week toward the collective.  I would also be more than happy to commit a few hours per week to relationship tending and, if the community engages in community meals or cleaning parties, I would be more than happy to consider committing to these types of community gatherings that both build relationships and support me in meeting my basic daily/weekly needs.  Lastly, if my dietary needs are provided for, I would of course contribute to that, though I would prefer to do that with money rather than time since I would like to preserve time in my weekly routine for self-care and personal aspirations. 

In Closing…

I would like to be transparent that my long-term goal is to live in a community where the land is held in common by people who would like to live self-sufficiently and in harmony with nature and each other and uplift others to do the same.  I am currently creating a community seed with a couple other well-aligned friends that could one day sprout into such a community.  Therefore, unless you are such a community that I (and perhaps we) could join forces with, this would be a temporary home/training ground/play ground until our community seed sprouts.

Thank you for reading my call.   If you find resonance in my message and think there is potential for working/living together, call back so we can explore the possibility.

Shanti,

Amali