Campfire burning on open land with a small shed and sparse trees.

Collective Spaces

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Forming
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2021

What we do

Collective Spaces is a member-owned working farm and forming intentional community on 204 acres in Halifax County, Virginia.

The farm includes peaches and plums; figs, pawpaws, mulberries, irises and peonies; three pine stands; 84 acres of older-growth hardwood and mixed forest; about 4.5 miles of trails; campsites; and two wood-framed geodesic domes. A community-accessible food forest is agreed and planned, not yet established; it needs funding, time, energy, and hands in the soil.

We think of the land as a canvas with the edges painted in. Acreage, water, roads, neighbors, current projects, and shared values give it shape; the center is unfinished. New people can add to it through farming, governance, care, art, learning, infrastructure, business, or another relationship they help shape.

Our owner group is committed but dispersed and short on time. We seek five new owner-members, then five more, especially people who can help sustain the farm financially and build an active relationship with the land. Dues are sliding-scale, grounded in financial accessibility and class solidarity. Around $200 is our reference; some contribute more or less.

There are no firm hourly requirements for farm or related work, although a great deal needs to get done. Members contribute voluntarily according to capacity, initiative, interest, and relationship. Work Collective Spaces defines with deadlines and performance expectations should be paid.

Big shared decisions are made through sociocracy while members retain independence within agreed locations, resources, impacts, and boundaries.

There is no finished housing on the farm. Self-contained or primitive presence may be possible only after location, sanitation, safety, duration, and shared impacts are discussed together.

The best first step is to email in**@******************rm.com and join one of our online meetings, held most Mondays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern. A meeting or visit is a beginning, not membership or housing approval.

Our Vision

Collective Spaces, a diverse and inclusive group, stewards the land, breaks class barriers, supports each other, improves ourselves, and positively impacts our communities. We are creating a vibrant space to grow, learn, live, play, and thrive together.

Our Mission

Creating vibrant spaces to grow, learn, live, play, and thrive together.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Land-Based Communities
  • Sustainability practices
  • Sustainability education and community engagement
  • Natural / low-impact building
  • Activities
  • Property management
  • Education
  • Experiences
  • Networking
  • Services Business
  • Ecosystem
  • Temperate Forest

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2021
  • Started planning

Gallery

  • 10 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
11

How to join

Email in**@******************rm.com and join an online meeting, held most Mondays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern. If interest continues, we may plan another meeting or farm visit before discussing the incoming-member path and 90-day review.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Stay in relationship: communicate, join meetings and visits when you can, contribute sustainable sliding-scale dues, and help care for the land or community according to capacity. There are no firm hourly work requirements.

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Decision-making process

  • Consent-Based (Sociocracy)

Decisions proceed unless someone has a reasoned objection.

Governance structure

  • Sociocratic/Circle-Based

Organized in circles or domains with distributed authority.

Economic model

  • Sliding Scale Contributions

Financial contributions based on individual ability to pay, with varying amounts according to income levels.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • 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

Members keep separate incomes and personal finances. Owner dues are sliding scale, grounded in financial accessibility and class solidarity. Around $200 per month is our reference point; some members pay more and some less. Money does not purchase extra governance power.

Incoming-member dues are held in escrow until the membership review at or before 90 days.

There is no labor obligation or fixed hourly requirement. The land still needs mowing, farming, repair, administration, and care, and members contribute voluntarily. Work Collective Spaces assigns with deadlines and performance expectations should be paid.

A member may develop a farm, workshop, event, or business after discussion of location, resources, impacts, legal structure, and shared boundaries. Membership does not promise employment, income, housing, business approval, or land use.

Collective Spaces is still developing a community-ownership framework for substantial businesses on the land. It is not yet a settled public term.

Vehicle accessibility

  • It would be difficult / impossible to live in this community without a car

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

Shared resources include the land as a whole within agreed use and safety boundaries, a fire pit, existing buildings and outbuildings, the community outdoor kitchen, tools, and a tractor. Availability and responsibility are worked out together. These are working-farm resources, not finished housing or general guest accommodations. The farm has no well or septic, and power is very limited.

Frequency of communal meals

  • Rarely

Community activities and engagement

  • Members and visitors may participate in farming and orchard care, silviculture and land stewardship, infrastructure projects, sociocratic governance, educational workshops, arts and gatherings, outdoor recreation, and member-led farm or business projects. Specific events and work days are announced as capacity allows.

Educational and retreat offerings

Collective Spaces hosts monthly work-play weekends: educational, hands-on gatherings where people learn together, complete real farm and infrastructure work, share time on the land, and build community. Annual events include Figure, Fruit and Field – a gathering around the farm, creative practice, fruit, fields, and community – along with a plum-picking weekend, holiday tree-cutting weekend, and Spooky Stories. We also welcome educational workshops throughout the year and are actively seeking members and non-members to facilitate farm-focused and community-focused workshops.

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies

Level of LGBTQIA+ inclusion

  • Very inclusive - significant LGBTQIA+ representation

Gender composition

  • Majority cis (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

Ecosystem

  • Temperate Forest

Moderate climate with distinct seasonal changes
Includes deciduous and mixed forest types
Examples: Eastern North American Forests, European Broadleaf Forests

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Sustainability approach

  • Sustainability education and community engagement
  • Natural / low-impact building

Water conservation practices

  • Composting toilets
  • Land area size
    204 acres

Guest Book

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Location

  • Virginia, United States

Needs and Offers

Offer
Offer
  • Marketplace
6 years ago

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves Books for Sale

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves, Charles Durrett and Kathryn McCamant introduce Cohousing with stories and pictures of both Danish and American communities. Beautiful photographs and line drawings illustrate the warmly written account of how these communities came to be. Specific information on legal and financial aspects of working with developers, group process, and design issues make this book informative as well as inspiring. This is the book which brought Cohousing to North America. This book is the much prized second edition which has become a rarer and somewhat of a collectors item. Its community case studies were not included in the more recent publication. It preceded Creating Cohousing which is widely available. I acquired 25 cases from a local distributor who closed down. If you would like three or more copies for yourself, to share with your friends or to market your group, please let me know. I would love for them to be made useful and find great homes. Books are paperback (hard copy was not an option at the time from the publisher) all brand new, in Oakland (CA) so could be picked in Oakland or mailed to you. I would very much like to recuperate what I paid which is $10 per book. So, If you would like three or more shipped, I will add the postage, packing and handling fees. I have sold several cases (18 books per case) for $150 per case ($8 per book). I have a little wiggle room on the pricing. Please let me know if you are interested. Use the Send Message button on this page.
Offer
  • Housing For Rent + Shared
19 hours ago

Turn-key commune opportunity on 30 acres in beautiful rural Minnesota (~$500-550k)

Hi everyone! Our founding group of queer women is transitioning ownership of our rural Minnesota homestead, and we’re looking for new stewards to keep it running as an intentional community! Let me give you a tiny window into what to expect: Picture yourself stepping out of the overwhelming corporate chaos of the city, into an idyllic little slice of a slower life – there’s a certain look of relief we tend to see on our visitors’ faces. When you enter, the path is surrounded by vibrant flowers in every color that come back every year. To your left is a stone path to the organic gardens, growing easily without much effort. Straight ahead are the barns and pathways to the fields – you might pass by the occasional honeybee or butterfly. To the right is a large farmhouse, behind which there is a mossy forested area where you’ll find a conversation circle fashioned out of old logs and stones, and a small sitting platform up in the trees.    The Highlights: 30 Acres: Forest, pond, creek, permaculture gardens (HĂĽgelkultur), native plants, perennial flowers and future fruit trees, and ~1 acre dry-farmed. 9-Bedroom Farmhouse: ~4,000 sq ft across 3 levels. Solid heating, great bones, in good shape, quiet layout. Outbuildings: Garage, woodshop barn, event barn, quonset storage, a silo, plus honeybees & resident farm cat! Location: Quiet and peaceful. Remote with off-the-grid features like a well and pending solar installation, yet under 10 mins to hospital/town. Zero flood/fire risk, and a wonderfully welcoming, queer-friendly local network.   Ideal for an established group of 2+ people ready to take on a relatively large farmhouse and property. We are open to an outright purchase or a gradual transition/shared-ownership arrangements with existing members. -> Full details, photos, and contact info here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ONZk-TUYQg3Xzh5Q7yl14PPeuwl5NYXu9ZDTgFGT4sY/edit?usp=sharing   Feel free to message me or share with anyone looking for land!  
Offer
  • Forming Communities
1 month ago

Create Home in Greece, Together

There are two ways into Greece’s first community-led cohousing network: a new-build mountain-foothills village in the Peloponnese, or an adaptive-reuse project where you help choose the property itself. Both are shaped by the vision and values of the people who will live there. PATH ONE: TAYGETE COHOUSING VILLAGE — NEW-BUILD, PELOPONNESE A mountain agrihood at the foot of the majestic Taygetos Mountains, inspired by the UNESCO village of Monemvasia — pristine national forest and hiking, olive groves, a vineyard, farm, surounded by mountain villages and close to extraordinary beaches. Common House with a full coworking suite, incredible kitchen for indoor/outdoor dining, workout room and lounge with fireplace. Includes a pool, gardens, soccer field, and village plateia. Adjacent to a luxury wellness resort with spa and farm-to-table restaurants now building. 2.5 hours from Athens International Airport, 20 min. drive to a vibrant town with nightly filled tavernas and a new hospital, 25 min. drive to beaches and charming fishing villages. Project Advantage: This project does not require the group to take out a collective construction loan — a rare, significant risk reduction most forming cohousing projects can’t offer. This project also provides the opportunity for a Golden Visa permanent residency in Greece, with the advantages of European healthcare, university access, Schengen business and travel. Stage of Development: Site Selection Completed. Feasibility studies completed. Development Partner Selection Completed. Collaborative Site and Village Design Process Completed. Finance Plan Completed. Architectural and Environmental Studies are completed and in the modification process. A current building permit exists and is in the modification process. Once the permit modification process is complete, member investment opportunities will open. Utility infrastructure excavation is underway, and only 12 investe

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