Bellvale Bruderhof Community

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Spiritual
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2001

What we do

Bellvale, located in Chester, New York, was founded in 2001 and is home to about 175 people. We are situated right along the Appalachian Trail.
Bellvale Bruderhof is a living, working intentional community, not a retreat center or spiritual getaway. During your visit you’ll be hosted by one of our families and participate in our daily life, from joining the workforce to taking part in meals and worship.
We are convinced that a life in church community is the greatest service we can offer humanity and the best way we can proclaim Christ. To be part of the Bruderhof movement is not a lifestyle choice. It is an answer to Jesus’ insistent call to humankind as expressed in the Gospels, especially the Sermon on the Mount. While we follow the communal traditions of the early church, we believe our way of life is a compelling answer to the problems of contemporary society, with its emphasis on wealth and self and its resulting isolation, conflict, and inequality.
Through community, we have experienced Christ’s transforming love. He makes the impossible possible: for ordinary and flawed men and women to live together in forgiveness and mutual trust, as brothers and sisters. It is his Spirit that calls Bruderhof members to a life of love where work, worship, mission, education, and family life are brought together into a single whole.

Our Mission

Love your neighbor. Share everything. We believe that another way of life is possible.

  • Purpose
  • Spiritual
  • Community type
  • Commune
  • Spiritual Retreat Centers

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2001
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2001
  • Started living together
  • 175 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
175

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

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

Decision-making process

  • Full Consensus

Everyone must agree before moving forward.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Economic model

  • Complete Income-Sharing

All member income goes into common pool for community use.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a labor obligation

Additional economic information

Labor: Yes

Frequency of communal meals

  • Approximately 1 meal per day

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Religions
  • Christian

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Community type

  • Commune

    Communal living with shared resources, property, and often income or work responsibilities

  • Spiritual Retreat Centers

    Residential communities focused on providing space for meditation, spiritual practice, and personal growth retreats.

Guest Book

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Location

  • New York, United States

Bellvale Bruderhof Community

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • 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
  • Promoted
  • Events
1 day 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
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