Balenbouche Estate, St Lucia

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • English
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 1984

What we do

Our family has lived and worked on this land for over 35 years. During this time, we transitioned from a large scale historic plantation to an ecotourism site, retreat center, and organic farm. We are seeking responsible, motivated, and experienced individuals to spend a few months or more helping us become more sustainable and self-sufficient. Our goal is to convert to solar energy, grow more of our own food, and deepen our practice of the 6 R’s. Right now, we are looking primarily for individuals with maintenance, building, and handyman skills. We have no particular affiliation or ideology, we just feel that now is the time for communities to improve their quality of life while using fewer resources, and we want to lead by example. We are hoping that tourism will continue to be a part of our business, but we are open to having more permanent residents as well. Our property is absolutely beautiful, and even includes a small river and two beaches! It’s the perfect place for retirees, artists, writers, world schooling families, and those who can work remotely. We do not require a long term commitment. An initial period of 3-6 months would be ideal, with the possibility to extend. The island has a lot to offer, and public transportation is inexpensive. We have a large network of contacts on island and you will quickly feel at home in St. Lucia.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Languages
  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Community type
  • Land-Based Communities
  • Spiritual Retreat Centers
  • Activities
  • Experiences

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1984
  • Started living together

Video

  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
5

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Location

  • Saint Lucia

Balenbouche Estate, St Lucia

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
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3 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
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  • Communities with Openings
4 weeks ago

Heart-centered, nature-loving unschooling family seeking a community to land with for winter 2027

We’re a German-American family who left conventional life about four years ago to live in line with our values: freedom, connection, nature, and spirituality. We started out as worldschoolers, moving every month or two. That taught us a lot, including that too much movement leaves a family rootless. Since then we’ve been looking for the balance between adventure and belonging. We found a taste of it on a multigenerational farm community in Austria, and we’re now living alongside a small community in Norway. For January to March 2027, we’d love to spend a season inside a community that feels like home. What we’re hoping for A community with teenagers and a culture that welcomes self-directed learning, where unschooling is understood and not just tolerated Nature at your doorstep (forest, land, animals, or garden) Some shared meals, perhaps shared rhythms, and real relationships, not just a place to park A spiritual or reflective thread, whatever form it takes for you An opportunity to get to know your community by giving back (although we can’t do a ‘full’ volunteering program as we have the past three years – ie: Workaway- because we have meetings online that take up too much of our time to volunteer full time)  What we bring Resilience and emotional wellbeing. I’m an online resilience coach with a BA in Developmental Psychology, certified in HeartMath®, and an experienced yoga and meditation teacher. I can offer community sessions in nervous system regulation, stress resilience, and meditation, and support for parents and teens. Experience raising three children in a nomadic, family-centered lifestyle, including years of travel across Europe. Open, adaptable, and grounded. We’ve lived in many settings and adapt quickly. We show up as contributors, not consumers. Unschooling and homeschooling know-how. We’re glad to share what we’ve learned, especially for families navigating legal and practical questions in Europe. Many other shareable skills: carpentry, sourdough bread baking, food fermenting, music making, dad-joke-telling, drone pilots, cookie bakers, food preservation and much much more.   We’re looking for a mutual fit, not just a bed for the winter. If our story resonates and you have space or know someone who does, we’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your community: your values, your daily rhythm, and what you’re hoping for from the people who join you.
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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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