Children exploring nature, mushroom foraging, and outdoor activities at ForestKind.

ForestKind

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Forming
  • Social
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2025

What we do

Welcome to our intentional community nestled in the serene embrace of the woods in southern Missouri, adjacent to Mark Twain National Forest, where we invite you to embark on a journey of natural living and holistic family life. Here, we thrive on the principles of simplicity, sustainability, and connection, seeking respite from the fast-paced modern world by embracing a lifestyle centered around primitive way of life, organic foods, unschooling, and the wisdom of natural medicine. There is a big focus on empowering and supporting women and mothers while celebrating with a lot of art, music and creative expression. In our village, the idea is that we find the perfect balance between every family enjoying the comfort of their private homes while coming together to cultivate a vibrant shared space filled with daily artistic endeavors, bountiful gardens, and heartfelt potlucks. Join us in nurturing a supportive environment where children can flourish freely, where women are nourished with love and support and creativity thrives, as we build a unique sanctuary grounded in community, connection, and the beauty of nature.

Our Mission

ForestKind will be mostly made up of privately owned parcels of land but the shared areas and values would hopefully align somewhat so we can thrive rather than create friction between one another.
The SHARED COMMUNITY SPACE is to include a variety of structures such as a shared outdoor kitchen for 3 seasons, a shared common building that will contain shower/bath and compost toilets. There will be an outdoor dining area with picnic tables, a community garden, a kids learning space and playground, a bonfire area and a sauna and hot tub.
We are hoping to strictly keep all computers/laptops/ipads/phones out of the shared community area instead focusing on face to face time with one another. We also want a community that values natural whole foods as well as natural medicine so the focus is to not bring those items to the shared community space. If you need to be on your laptop or eat a bag of doritos, go for it, but do it in your private space.
Because children struggle to understand different parenting styles and it causes a lot of conflict, we are wanting to find parents who want to raise their kids with continuum concept in mind. Natural living on all levels with the belief that devices and cellphones are not made for children. So again, we can’t forbid you to use screens with kids in your own private space, but we hope to find parents who are living the alternative life by not letting their kids run around the community spaces with devices. We wish to find parents who want to unschool their kids and hope to form homeschool groups here. It would be wonderful if all kids at Forestkind mainly ate organic whole foods as it’s so challenging for kids to navigate that world. Parents who do not vaccinate and focus on natural medicine, natural birth, eastern philosophies when it comes to healing are preferred.
We hope to create a ritual to have meditation and yoga at the community every morning in the shared space. Meditation instead of medication. Sustainability and growing food and caring for the planet around us is important, minimizing purchasing new items and plastic as much as possible and rather living on the land with the little things we already have, or rather sharing, reusing, repurposing or even going without.
We also believe that creative expression is a must for everyone so we will prioritize time spent together in shared spaces that includes dance, playing music, performing of any kind, painting, ceremonies, drum circles…

  • Purpose
  • Social
  • Activities
  • Experiences
  • Others

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2025
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2025
  • Started living together

Gallery

  • 3 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
5

Basic expectations or agreements for members

MORE DETAILS OF FORESTKIND… AND HOW YOU CAN JOIN US

ForestKind is a parcel of 13 acres which includes the large shared community space surrounded by smaller subdivided privately owned parcels. The land is raw, undeveloped and ready for us to sow our seeds of hope and visions in it. We have only now purchased the land and this spring is the time to seek out friends who may want to join us on this land.
The land neighboring ForestKind is available for sale on all sides for those who wish to have a large parcel and the Mark Twain forest land is also nearby. There is no utilities such as electricity or septic although there is a spring fed creek. This land is the perfect space for those who are wanting to get away from the matrix and remember how we should be living, for those who are willing and yearning to live simply and close to nature.

Imagine just living in a tent or trailer or mobile home instead of an oversized house with insane mortgage payments. Spending most of your time outside instead of being stuck at a cubicle at work. Your children running wild and barefoot freely in the woods instead of being locked into schools or yards or apartments. Eating dinners together with a group of friends taking turns cooking instead of struggling to cook all the meals alone. Washing your laundry together with other women at the creek by hand while you chat instead of always doing all chores alone and in a rush. Joining a drum circle or music time at bonfire any evening of the week instead of scrolling zombied out on your phone late at night. Calling out to your neighbors when you need support or having a hard time instead of feeling like you have to do it all alone. Having gatherings with your women friends to process, share or connect under the moonlight rather than feel you have nobody to talk to or ask advice from. Work in a large garden that is shared by the whole community together with friends instead of never even touching soil nor experiencing the joy of fresh garden produce.

​STEPS TO COME VISIT US :)

STEP ONE: Fill out our visitor form. You will find it here

STEP TWO: Arrange a short visit

STEP THREE: If the visit goes well for both of us, we can arrange a longer visit where you can rent/lease

a small space to put your trailer/tent on and then after a longer visit we can move onto you buying a parcel.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

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

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).

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
  • 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: Yes
Regular fees: Yes

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

Garden(s), Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Outdoor Kitchen, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Waterfront access, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 2-5 times per week

Community activities and engagement

  • Transition Town (post-petroleum and off-grid communities.)
  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • Festivals, Conferences, Events

Substance use culture

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

Gender composition

  • Majority cis (over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Multi-generational (all ages well represented)

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

  • Over 66%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • 33 - 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Land area size
    13 acres

Guest Book

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Location

  • Missouri, United States

Needs and Offers

Offer
Need
  • Forming Communities
6 months ago

Pacific Northwest Cohousing Village Seeking Members

FIND YOUR HOME IN COMMUNITY AT ROOTED NORTHWEST A new kind of village is forming in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Rooted Northwest is building a future cohousing neighborhood of values-aligned households living with purpose. Together, they’re connecting to the land, to each other, and to a shared mission of supporting a more resilient future. Whether you’re raising a family, working remotely, entering retirement, or dreaming of a more intentional life, Rooted Northwest offers a chance to live differently. Here, you don’t just buy a home, you become part of a village built on connection, sustainability, and stewardship. One where neighbors collaborate, kids roam free, and everyday life is shaped by shared values like mutual support, environmental care, and community-driven living. 🏠 Homeownership at Rooted Northwest includes: • Beautiful, energy-efficient, privately-owned homes nestled on shared land • A walkable village designed for connection • Shared amenities and thriving farms in your backyard • Opportunities to co-create community life 🍃 Rooted in Community. Grounded in Regeneration. Rooted Northwest isn’t just a place to live, it’s a commitment to restoring connection between people, land, and food. By living here, you directly support a growing network of regenerative farmers stewarding land for future generations. 🔑 Now Selling: Reserve Your Home Rooted Northwest is now reserving a limited number of homes, with construction beginning soon. Prices start in the high $800,000s. We welcome households ready to help form this community. 😊 Join an information session to learn how to reserve your future home. JOIN AN INFO SESSION https://rootednw.org

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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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