Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 1993

What we do

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage invites you to live, play, and work with us to help build a better world!
We founded Dancing Rabbit (DR) Ecovillage to discover how to live rich, vibrant lives while leaving an ecological footprint the planet can sustain. If you yearn to live a more fulfilling and sustainable life, we might be what you’re looking for.
By making sustainability the primary focus of our long-term vision and daily lives we’re creating a healthy alternative to modern mainstream US culture.
In 1997 the DR Land Trust purchased 280 acres in the rolling hills of northeastern Missouri. Since then we’ve been building a village from the ground up, creating homes, gardens, kitchens, and community infrastructure, not to mention the less-tangible necessities for a sustainable culture. We use consensus in our Village Council governance, value clear communication and peaceable co-existence with our neighbors, and continue to create our own songs, stories and traditions.
Members are responsible for meeting their own economic needs and do so in a wide variety of ways, primarily on-site (including telecommuting). Our vision is to grow to the size of small town (500 – 1000 people), with businesses, residences, and agricultural areas radiating out from the central village green.
We build natural and green homes, use sun and wind for power, and run our cooperatively-owned vehicles on renewable electricity when we have surplus energy. Diets are individually chosen, but many prioritize local, organic, and in-season foods.
We strive to be good stewards of our land, reserving many acres for wildlife habitat. We are reintroducing native prairie plants to help revitalize our region’s biodiversity and have planted over 10,000 trees to restore our land, stabilize the riparian zone, and provide sustainable wood for our community.
We are made up of individuals, families, and subcommunities, cooperating with each other to varying degrees and sharing as much of our lives as we choose. We encourage the development of cohousing and cooperatives.
To allow for economic diversity and simple living, we keep lease rates low, have no buy-in fee, and membership dues are income-based.
Outreach and education are integral to our mission, and the primary focus of the ecovillage’s own education and research nonprofit arm, the Center for Sustainable and Cooperative Culture. We’re also home to the Fellowship for Intentional Community (publishers of this Directory and Communities magazine).
Interested in Dancing Rabbit? Contact us to arrange a visit, get on our e-mailing list, or apply for a work exchange stint or workshop. We actively seek new members to live, play and work with us, modeling change for the better.

Our Mission

To create a society, the size of a small town or village, made up of individuals and communities of various sizes and social structures, which allows and encourages its members to live sustainably.*
To encourage this sustainable society to grow to have the size and recognition necessary to have an influence on the global community by example, education, and research.
*Sustainably: In such a manner that, within the defined area, no resources are consumed faster than their natural replenishment, and the enclosed system can continue indefinitely without degradation of its internal resource base or the standard of living of the people and the rest of the ecosystem within it, and without contributing to the non-sustainability of ecosystems outside.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Sustainability practices
  • Renewable energy systems
  • Natural / low-impact building
  • Activities
  • Education
  • Experiences
  • Services Business
  • Others

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1993
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1995
  • Started living together

Video

  • 39 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
65

How to join

After a successful visit, one can begin the process of becoming a resident. After 6 months of residency, one can apply to become a member. For details see: https://www.dancingrabbit.org/ecovillage-life/residency-membership/.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Please check out the visitor page on our website (www.dancingrabbit.org/visit), which describes a number of ways to visit Dancing Rabbit, including several three-day to two-week visitor periods at set times between April and October. If the visitor program is the best match for you, request a visitor questionnaire and our visitor team will help you plan and schedule a visit. It generally helps to contact us at least two months in advance, as spots in these programs fill up quickly.

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

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.

Conflict resolution approach

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage makes most decisions by committee or an elected Village Council. These groups operate by consensus, with clear power levels assigned to them for the areas they have responsibility for, and all community members can have input into decisions.

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
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
Membership dues are 2% of income and everyone on farm pays a basic fee around $75/month which covers common house access, water, governance, trash services, etc. Other common expenses include rent/lease payments, kitchen coop fees, vehicle use costs, as well as fees for various co-ops (some of which can be opted out of). Members are strongly encouraged to be on at least one committee or community-level task, and most are on more than one.

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

Common House, Garden(s), Vehicle Share, Library, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Outdoor Kitchen, Large Scale Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas

Frequency of communal meals

  • 2-5 times per week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Community activities and engagement

  • Transition Town (post-petroleum and off-grid communities.)
  • School, Educational Institute or Experience
  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • Ethical Business, Investment Group, or Alternative Currency
  • Festivals, Conferences, Events

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Family-focused (many children and parents)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a Community Land Trust or some other kind of nonprofit

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Community type

  • Ecovillage

    Integrated communities designed around ecological principles with sustainable living practices.

Community type

  • Partially built or remodeled with recycled or environmentally friendly materials, and/or using natural building methods

Sustainability approach

  • Renewable energy systems
  • Natural / low-impact building

Community type

  • Partially built or remodeled with recycled or environmentally friendly materials, and/or using natural building methods

Some or all of the buildings are...

  • Partially built or remodeled with recycled or environmentally friendly materials, and/or using natural building methods

Self-produced energy

  • 33 - 66%

Energy sources used

  • Wind
  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • 33 - 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Shared kitchen or food co-op
  • Land area size
    280 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • Missouri, United States

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
7 days ago

Beautiful 3+ Bed, 2.5 Bath Townhome in Established West Emerald CoHousing, Seattle

A rare home is available at West Emerald Cohousing, an established all-ages intentional community in West Seattle. For those considering a move to the Pacific Northwest—or hoping to join a mature community rather than one still in the forming stages—West Emerald offers decades of community life, beautiful gardens, shared resources and a peaceful setting within the city in a convenient location since 1999. This unit has a unique floor plan that is ideal for co-buying, co-living, or for one household. The home itself offers a flexible 3+ bedroom, 2.5 bath layout: Garden-level room with a separate exterior entrance and half bath—ideal for a home office, studio, guest space or client-facing business Main-level bedroom and full bath, laundry, making one-level living possible Open great room with large windows overlooking gardens filled with birdsong Well-designed kitchen with generous storage and pantry Two additional light-filled spacious bedrooms and a full bath upstairs Thoughtfully maintained and updated Located at the end of a common pathway for added privacy and garden views, Just feet from parking, which is out of view West Emerald community amenities include: Common House with gathering and activity spaces Community meals and events Mature gardens and shared outdoor spaces Workshop/maker spaces and bike barn Exercise room EV charging opportunity Excellent Metro access to Downtown Seattle just minutes away Nestled into a dell, it’s Seattle’s best-kept secret South Seattle College and lifelong learning, NW Wine Academy, the Seattle Chinese Garden are nearby, with easy access to Alki Beach, Lincoln Park, magnet schools, ferries, and the shops and restaurants of the West Seattle Junction. 6000 17th Ave SW, Seattle, WA Is a wonderful opportunity to have your own comfortable, private home while becoming part of a vibrant and well-established Seattle all-ages cohousing community. For more information contact the friendly Realtor at 206-579-9066, or at ki**********@**********te.com who will be happy to meet you there or do a facetime tour.
  • Promoted
Offer
  • Communities with Openings
3 months ago

Do you feel called to help co-create a small, newly forming eco-spiritual community?

Old structures are crumbling. New ways of living are calling. We are answering that call. Wild Grace is an eco-spiritual community located in the Sierra foothills 30 minutes from Grass Valley, California. We recently completed new homes for those who feel called to our vision. Currently there are four of us living on this sacred 80 acres of land although we are a hub for an expanded neighborhood community. Many join us weekly for potlucks, expressive dance, Qi Gong, monthly musical gatherings, and seasonal celebrations in our temple, as well as tending to our orchard. We are excited to welcome others to join us on the land who are dedicating their lives to spiritual growth and ready to live in a more focused and intimate heart-centered lifestyle. Might that be you or someone you know? The fundamentals are simple. Spirit. We listen personally and collectively together most mornings, usually starting with a musical offering, a prayer, or a short reading, followed by about 40 minutes of what we call “sacred silence.” Heart Circles. About once a week we gather to share and listen. We are informed by authentic and compassionate communication practices. Nature. The land itself—an 80-acre oasis of field and forest perched above the wild and scenic South Yuba River—calls for our stewardship in the gardens, orchard, greenhouses, and general care. In turn, nature feeds us abundantly, both literally and spiritually. Interbeing. We join with others to share inspiration and connection as we host monthly gatherings of song, story and prayer that draws from the larger community in addition to other events we share with our closer neighbors. As we attend to these fundamentals, Grace flows to and through us—often in “Wild” or unexpected ways. Grace catalyzes through us, but is not something we possess. Because we all are connected, we feel that Grace actively transforms n
Offer
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
2 weeks ago

Co-housing Unit For Sale in Portland Oregon

Light-filled 976 sq ft, 3-bedroom, 1-bath end unit in Columbia Ecovillage, Portland’sestablished cohousing community in the Cully neighborhood. With windows onthree sides, this ground-floor home gets natural light all day, even onPortland’s grey ones. The open living and dining area has warm hardwood floors and flows into akitchen with solid wood cabinets and granite counters. The dining roomwindows look straight into a native vine maple — a wall of green from springthrough fall. There’s good storagein the unit, plus an extra storage space in the community storage building.A ductless mini-split provides efficient heating and air conditioning, andthe plumbing was fully replaced in 2026. The primary bedroom has a full-width closet behind a sliding barn door; thesecond bedroom’s closet sits behind a pair of French doors. The thirdbedroom has no closet, which makes it a flexible room — guest room, office,or playroom. Step out the sliding glass door onto your own covered patio, which opens onto the community grounds: organic gardens, personal garden plots,greenhouses, a grape arbor, a bamboo grove, native plantings throughout, andtrees everywhere — including a truly massive old black walnut. The orchard alone is a reason to live here — to name a few:apples, pears, plums, figs, mulberries, chestnuts, walnuts, grapes,blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries, in several varieties each. A75,000-gallon rainwater catchment system keeps it all watered through thesummer. Kids have a playhouse, sandbox, small soccer field, a favorite climbingtree, and a parking loop where bikes can circle but cars can’t; adults havea workshop, garden shed, fire pit, quiet space and big community porches. The common hall is the heart of the village: a commercial kitchen anyresident can use, a kids’ play area, pool table and ping pong, and asoapstone stove that burns every winter evening. Residents can reserve it forevents for almost nothing. The historic farmhouse has guest rooms owners canbook for visiting family (about 30 nights a year). Shared laundry rooms(three washers and dryers) come with indoor drying racks and outdoorclotheslines, and there’s a craft room and a trade room where things you nolonger need find a new home next door. Potlucks, communitymeals, work parties, and acres of safe space for kids to roam makethis a rare chance to own a home and a neighborhood at the same time. Built in 1973 and fully remodeled in 2008–09 for energy efficiency and healthy indoor air — metal roof, HardiePlank siding, and standard community-built finishes throughout. Nothing to update, nothing deferred. The $522 monthly HOA coverswater, sewer, and garbage, plus the roof, siding, exterior paint, and allstructural maintenance — and it’s what pays for the grounds, the common hall,and everything else described above. And it’s close in: Cully’s cafés andparks are a short walk or bike ride away, the rest of Portland’s food,music, and neighborhoods are minutes beyond that, and the commute downtownor to the airport is easy by car, bus, or bike – 3.7-acre grounds with organic gardens, personal plots, greenhouses, native plantings, and mature trees (huge black walnut)- Orchard: apples, pears, plums, figs, mulberries, chestnuts, walnuts, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries- 75,000-gallon rainwater catchment feeds the gardens year-round- Workshop, garden shed, fire pit, quiet space, community porches  
Offer
Offer
  • Professional Services
5 days ago

Community Planning, Facilitation & Coaching for Intentional Communities

Through Radicle Collective, I support intentional communities and the people within them as they navigate the practical and relational work of building life together. My work can include visioning and community planning, facilitated conversations and retreats, decision-making and governance design, conflict transformation, establishing group agreements, culture-building, and individual or group coaching. I work with communities at many stages – whether it’s a few people exploring whether to live together, a fledgling community developing its foundations, or an established community in transition or conflict. I draw from training in psychology, coaching, urban and regional planning, facilitation, Nonviolent Communication, permaculture, and related practices to approach community as a living system – one shaped by individual needs, relationships, shared structures, place, and the connections between them. Rather than bringing a single model for how community should work, I help groups understand what is happening across those different layers, surface what matters, work honestly with difference, and create structures and practices that support connection, agency, belonging, and the values that brought them together in the first place. I’m based in Berlin and available to work online or in person, depending on location and scope. I offer sliding-scale pricing and am open to creative forms of exchange where appropriate. If your community is forming, stuck, changing, or simply wants some skilled outside support for an important conversation, I’d be glad to explore what might be useful. You can learn more about my work and get in touch at radiclecollective.com.

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