Scenic view of community buildings with mountains in the background.

Dancing Rocks Community/Bean Tree Farm

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Social
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 1989

What we do

Dancing Rocks (DR) is a small residential community of 5 homes and work/study accommodations designed and developed over the last 35 years.

Located in the Tucson Mountain foothills, DR is also the home of Bean Tree Farm, a home business which creates value-added products from the edible and medicinal wild plants of the Sonoran Desert Food Forest, weaving food production, resource conservation, solar energy, water harvesting, green building, permaculture and creative arts in an evolving system and rich learning environment.

Bean Tree Farm collaborates with schools and organizations to provide hands-on educational experiences for students through presentations, workshops and other events. Current partners include Desert Harvesters, Arizona Homemade Artisans, Sonoran Permaculture Guild, Pima County Public Library and Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.

Info and applications are available on request for internships of six months or longer. Occasionally, longer term positions become available for dedicated individuals such as farm manager, site steward, educational project coordinator. Lodging is provided in exchange for work hours.

Currently, no homes are available for purchase.

Our Mission

Focus: aridland appropriate living, regenerative relationship with place, inspired by Sonoran Desert food and culture, personal responsibility and ethics.

  • Purpose
  • Social
  • Sustainability practices
  • Renewable energy systems
  • Water conservation and management
  • Regenerative agriculture or permaculture
  • Permaculture design
  • Activities
  • Education
  • Experiences
  • Networking

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1989
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1989
  • Started living together

Gallery

  • 5 Total members
  • Not open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
10

How to join

1 year trial period. or more.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Visitor opportunities by appointment, monthly at farm events by invitation. We can not accommodate drop-ins.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Single Leader or Founding Couple

One person or partnership has ultimate authority.

Decision-making process

  • Modified Consensus

Generally seek agreement, but have backup methods when consensus isn’t reached.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

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: Yes
Labor: Encouraged or suggested
common maintenance as needed, 1-4 hrs/mo.

current contribution is $50/month for common space maintenance

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

Garden(s), Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Fire pit

Frequency of communal meals

  • 1-3 times per month

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Community activities and engagement

  • School, Educational Institute or Experience
  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • Organization, Resource, or Network

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use is prohibited in the community

Gender composition

  • Majority non-binary/gender diverse (over 30%)

Age demographics

  • Multi-generational (all ages well represented)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a single individual, couple, or Family Trust

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Sustainability approach

  • Renewable energy systems
  • Water conservation and management
  • Regenerative agriculture or permaculture
  • Permaculture design

Land practices in our community

  • The community practices permaculture

Self-produced energy

  • Over 66%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • 33 - 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Food forest

Source of water

  • Rainwater capture and storage for use (barrels, cisterns, etc.)
  • Land area size
    20 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • Arizona, United States

Dancing Rocks Community/Bean Tree Farm

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
  • Events
22 hours ago

Coastal Regeneration Immersion: Permaculture Design Certification in Jalisco, Mexico

Tropical Dry Forest Permaculture Design & Regenerative Stewardship Certification (PDC)12-Day Intensive | 120 Hours | Costalegre, Jalisco, Mexico APPLY AT XOCHIRAIZ.COM Join us for an immersive Permaculture Design Certificate course set in the tropical dry forest bioregion of coastal Jalisco. This 120-hour intensive blends internationally recognized PDC curriculum with hands-on regenerative practice — combining ecological design, agroforestry, natural building, and community stewardship into one integrated learning experience. Lead Faculty Jorge Luis Gtz. Olarte (Arborescencia RedGenerativa) – Regenerative Design, Soil Biology & Agroforestry Ozzy Lusth (Survior & Xochiraíz) – Wilderness Resilience & Survival Skills Dave Collins (Capacha Coastal Conservation Center) – Bioarchitecture & Ecological Development What You’ll LearnThe course moves through six progressive phases: Permaculture & Ecological Literacy – ethics, principles, and reading the tropical dry forest landscape Water & Soil Systems – keyline design, water harvesting, living soils, and compost systems Horticulture – food garden design, propagation, and biological pest control Regenerative Food Systems – tropical agroforestry, food forest design, and guild planting Ecological Infrastructure – bamboo bioarchitecture, bioclimatic farm design, compost toilets, greywater, and rocket stoves Integrated Design Studio – team-based final design projects covering watershed strategy, agroforestry, food forest layout, infrastructure, and phased implementation Daily RhythmMornings begin with optional surf/yoga and journaling, followed by field practicums and hands-on workshops. Afternoons include design studio and construction lab work, with reflection circles, communal dinners, and evening talks, films, or campfire discussions rounding out the day. Final ProjectParticipants work in teams to produce a full regenerative design package — landscape analysis, water plan, agroforestry design, food forest plan, ecological infrastructure, and bioclimatic farm plan — presented to a faculty review panel on the final day, followed by a closing ceremony, certificate delivery, and community feast. CertificationGraduates receive the Tropical Dry Forest Permaculture Design & Regenerative Stewardship Certification (120 contact hours), hosted by Capacha Coastal Conservation Center and Tierralegre, A.C. Curriculum integrates international PDC standards with tropical ecology, agroforestry, ecological restoration, bamboo bioarchitecture, bioclimatic design, GIS/photogrammetry, and regenerative leadership. Highlights Hands-on bamboo construction (temazcal, bathhouses, sculpture) Tropical dry forest silviculture practicum Community mapping and design project for Ekoa Green Community Talent show and sea turtle release
January 10, 2027 00:00 – January 24, 2027 23:59
  • Promoted
  • Events
4 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
Offer
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
2 weeks 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.
Need
  • Forming Communities
3 weeks ago

Forest Community Starting

Description: Willits, CA, Pacific Northwest rainforest system. Forest Haven is seeking forest lovers who value solitude. We have several areas in the main compound and a few tucked away in private. Space is designed for your RV / Tiny Home / +++. We will add power and water for each new Steward’s space. Land: 40 acres(17 hectares), 3ac for humans. Year-round creek at base of parcel. Heavy trees, 40 meter-ish high. Conifer mix. With a large south-facing common garden.   New forest stewards have agreed to prioritize tree health. This means each person here will have a say in whether we cut any single tree. We never cut for wood or sale.  Stewards agree to walk the forest daily as our one required 20-minute group activity.    Limit the number of dwellings to 3-5 Total. There are 8 common buildings, with 3 having flush toilets and one with a hot shower, washer and dryer. We are 100% off-grid.  We have a natural spring and solar. The full-size common kitchen is large enough to process the garden harvest and more. Remote workers and retirees’ welcome. Full online and cell service available.    Forest Haven is currently a private forest reserve.   If 2 households sign on, it will become a 501(c)(3). Each person’s “donation/rent” will be tax-deductible. This is a private forest reserve going public as a nonprofit.    Please inquire if you want to help in a small way using basic permaculture methods to improve our forest’s health, message me to learn more.

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A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

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An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).

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