Emerald Grove Intentional Community logo with green background and tree symbol.

Emerald Grove Intentional Community

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Disbanded
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2012

What we do

Christian values became the new central focus at Emerald Grove IC in 2024 and are required for the forming of future community. God is in charge of how this community will develop, not according to religion but rather the core foundational guidelines for living set forth by Jesus:
Purity in body, mind, and soul (clean living: biblical diet/ no drugs/ no 420/ no overindulgence in alcohol) as we honor the indwelling Holy Spirit through our bodily temples, devotion to time spent daily reading Scripture and Bible study, attending a church weekly and participating in fellowship with other local Christians, and living prayerfully by dedicating our lives to growing a personal relationship with the triune aspects of the Most High.
Founded in Eugene, Oregon in 2012 by a group of about 9 original members. The founder, Margot Rawlinson, hosted regular meetings for 3 years, writing bylaws, learning group process and community building. Did free healing outreach work in the community as a group. Had major turnover after the first year.
In 2019 Margot’s family acquired a piece of land in Springfield, Oregon. Here the focus became caring for her elderly mother who fell ill with Alzheimer’s. Once she moved to a memory care community to be around peers in 2020, the focus shifted back to building the tiny house eco-village with an emphasis on providing healing and supporting women’s empowerment.
Emerald Grove changed again when the pandemic hit, and over the next few years. Community is always in flux and we strive to keep up with the needs of the people while remaining on the front lines of demonstrating positive change towards a sustainable and peaceful world. The type of village Emerald Grove could be one day depends solely on its future members staying the narrow course and becoming their best versions to serve Jesus.
**Currently no plans are being made to reinstate community on this property.**

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide opportunities for individuals to thrive in a sustainable community setting through a shared focus on serving Jesus, optimal health, creativity, earth stewardship, increased self-awareness and peaceful living.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Spiritual Retreat Centers
  • Activities
  • Education
  • Experiences

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2012
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2017
  • Started living together

Gallery

  • 1 Total member
  • Not open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
1

How to join

When admitting new members: To join Emerald Grove Intentional Community, one would spend a week or two visiting first. This gives our group a chance to see how the dynamics feel and hands-on experience working on projects together. After the visit, we arrange a trial period of 30 days. If the applicant is able to follow the community guidelines, participate in work and projects as well as social events and the existing membership votes in favor of them staying, they will be approved for a 90-day interim membership. After 3 months permanent membership can be acquired by meeting certain criteria. Both the applicant and Emerald Grove have the right to cancel the agreement at any time. Once approved for residency, a 30-day notice is required for termination of rent.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Please contact Margot Rawlinson at 541-819-0566 to receive an application form to fill out. All visitors are asked for professional and personal references as well as subjected to a background check for safety. Visits are scheduled once all the necessary steps have been completed.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Single Leader or Founding Couple

One person or partnership has ultimate authority.

Decision-making process

  • Leadership Decides

A single person, couple, or small group makes most major decisions.

Governance structure

  • Founder/Leader-led

Primary authority rests with the community’s founder(s) or designated leader(s).

Conflict resolution approach

Once we add more members, we will be forming committees for different purposes and reporting back to the founder/property owner for final approvals. The founder holds the right to veto any proposed ideas, although will act in line with moving towards the shared vision the group holds, as outlined in the bylaws.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a one-time fee, investment, or share purchase to join the community separate from accessing housing
  • 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

Join fee: $100
Regular fees: $675
Labor: Yes (7 hrs/week)
We have a system for handling debt and financial education if you need help with this.

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

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Fire pit, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • About once a week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Dietary type

  • Kosher Only

Dietary restriction

  • People can cook and eat what they want in their own residence

Community activities and engagement

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

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies
  • Substance use is prohibited in the community
  • Religions
  • Christian

Gender composition

  • Majority cis (over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a single individual, couple, or Family Trust

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Self-produced energy

  • 33 - 66%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • 33 - 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Greenhouse / aquaponics
  • Land area size
    3.2 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • Oregon, United States

Emerald Grove Intentional Community

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Events
3 weeks ago

Restoring Choice - free online practice group, from Australia

Restoring Choice – free sessions and a practice group Many of us are less practised at three things than we realise: making clear requests, saying no when it isn’t a full yes, and hearing no without something getting damaged. These aren’t personality traits. They’re capacities that were trained out of many of us by ordinary structures – families where some needs were allowed and others weren’t, workplaces that reward overstretch. They can be trained back. Why this might interest people here Most communities teach communication after people arrive, once conflict has already surfaced. This works the other way round – building capacity first, and finding out what a group can do when most people already have it. What’s running Free 60-minute introduction, online. Same session each time; come to whichever suits. Register for intro session below: https://events.humanitix.com/reclaim-your-power-with-restoring-choice Four-week practice group, Tuesdays from 15 September, 6:30-8:00pm. One session a week, and at least one short written entry a day about a real situation in your own life. The writing is the actual work; the sessions support it. Sign up by Sunday 13 September. Register for practice group below: https://events.humanitix.com/restoring-choice-practice-group Everything is free. Times are Australian Eastern 6:30pm here is the early hours in most of the Americas. Worth checking before you register. Who it’s for No prior experience needed. It isn’t therapy, and I’m not a therapist. Many people find that looking honestly at how well they ask, decline, or hear a no is less flattering than expected. That’s common, and it isn’t a verdict on anyone. Run by Glenn Russo – 13 years practising this material, seven years co-facilitating an NVC practice group in Castlemaine. If you’re already living in community and would rather share what you’ve learned than join anything, I’d like to hear from you too.
Need
  • Forming Communities
3 weeks ago

Looking for: people building relational capacity, with a view to community

What’s here now: An intention, a framework developed over five years, and a programme running in central Victoria to find people to build with. No land, no group, no timeline. The question this is organised around: What makes a community of people living together sustainable over decades – where people enjoy being there, conflict is low, and the conflict that does arise gets handled in ways people value. The distinctive premise is capacity before formation. Most communities form first and build relational skill afterwards, usually under pressure. This one proposes doing it the other way round: people build the capacities first, and the group forms from people who have them. That includes a working idea about collective capacity – that a group has a ratio, and below some threshold it can’t metabolise its own conflict and starts consuming itself. Roughly: in a group of twenty, perhaps three or four with high capacity, most in the middle, and very few without. Untested, and something this project exists to find out. Governance: Sociocracy, with the intention of testing it meaningfully at scale rather than adopting it nominally. What’s actually happening: A three-week residency at a property near Castlemaine, and a practice group running before it. The medium-term aim is twenty to forty people at a rented facility. The long-term aim is a support hub sharing the framework more widely. What I’m looking for: People who want to build this capacity seriously, and who might eventually want to build something together. Not necessarily people who want to live here – the current property probably isn’t the long-term site. Happy to hear from anyone this resonates with, including people already in community who’d rather share what they’ve learned than join anything.
Offer

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