Lush green hills with scattered trees under cloudy sky.

Heart Land

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Social
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 1979

What we do

Heartland is a land cooperative of 10 leaseholds on 800 acres in northern California. We have been here for over 40 years. Our purpose is to create and maintain a place for us to live in harmony with each other and the land, most of which is to be left wild.
We are located in Mendocino County, CA, three miles west of Hwy 101, two hours north of San Francisco, and about 25 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. Our elevation ranges mostly between 1000 to 1700 feet and we are in zone 8B – 9B. There are panoramic views of the Ukiah Valley to the east, and more hills to the west. The vegetation includes native and introduced grasses, oak and madrone trees, and some patches of fir forest and chaparral. Many animal species share this land. There are a number of seasonal creeks and we have developed several ponds and perennial springs.
We are off-grid and committed to minimizing our fossil fuel consumption, using renewable energy – mostly sun, but also wind and micro-hydro. Some of us are engaged in permaculture design.
Legally, we are Heartland, Inc., a California S-corporation with ten shares- one share per leasehold. Each of the ten shares/leaseholds is represented on the Board of Directors (BOD), which meets at least twice per year. Other community meetings and activities occur more frequently. Most of the work necessary to develop and maintain both the land and the corporation is done by us. We have paid off the land in full, developed the roads, water systems, and built the homes on the land. We prefer to make decisions by consensus, resorting to democratic voting when the former is unachievable.
Each leasehold is comprised of 10 acres for development by the shareholder/lessee and their household within the guidelines we have collectively established. Some of us have lived here for over 30 years and some do not yet live on the land. These leaseholds are scattered across the 800 acres, leaving 700 acres of land which is to be left wild, though used for hiking and horseback riding.
We currently have no shares/leaseholds for sale. Sorry, but we have no work-trade or overnight accommodations.

Our Mission

We are a homestead wildlands preserve.

  • Purpose
  • Social
  • Sustainability practices
  • Water conservation and management
  • Activities
  • Property management

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1979
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1981
  • Started living together
  • 11 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
20

How to join

Prospective shareholders must meet the community, participate in work parties and meetings, have a financial review, submit a lease plan, and be approved by the community, after at least three meetings. This process typically takes at least nine months. Financing is negotiated with the seller.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Please contact Rain Tenaqiya through email to fill out a questionnaire and arrange a visit: ra**********@***oo.com.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

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

Decision-making process

  • Majority Vote

More than 50% agreement needed.

Governance structure

  • Representative/Democratic

Members elect leaders who make decisions within defined roles.

Conflict resolution approach

Heartland has community meetings and committees to discuss and organize collective work projects. Decisions are made by a board of directors comprised of a representative from each leasehold elected annually who in turn elect officers and committee chairs who organize and carry out the business of the corporation and extended community. When consensus is too difficult, we vote, requiring a supermajority for certain issues.

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: Yes
Regular fees: $120
Labor: Yes
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
Labor consists of road work, fire protection, and other agreed upon projects. Work is shared among leaseholds and we are flexible at finding ways for all to participate. Shareholders must purchase a share. Often a selling member will carry the loan. Quarterly assessments pay for taxes, road work, insurance, legal fees, etc. There is also a yearly road maintenance assessment based on use of the road based on $140/yr for one trip a day.

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

Swimming pond or pool, Tractor & Farm Equipment

Frequency of communal meals

  • Rarely

Community activities and engagement

  • Neighborhood, Community Housing, or Homeowner's Association

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies
  • Religions
  • Christian

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

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Sustainability approach

  • Water conservation and management

Land practices in our community

  • The community is working to remove invasive plants and grow only indigenous plants

Self-produced energy

  • Over 66%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Over 66%

Source of water

  • Rainwater capture and storage for use (barrels, cisterns, etc.)
  • Land area size
    800 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • California, United States

Heart Land

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
  • Events
3 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
Need
Need
  • Communities with Openings
4 weeks ago

Heart-centered, nature-loving unschooling family seeking a community to land with for winter 2027

We’re a German-American family who left conventional life about four years ago to live in line with our values: freedom, connection, nature, and spirituality. We started out as worldschoolers, moving every month or two. That taught us a lot, including that too much movement leaves a family rootless. Since then we’ve been looking for the balance between adventure and belonging. We found a taste of it on a multigenerational farm community in Austria, and we’re now living alongside a small community in Norway. For January to March 2027, we’d love to spend a season inside a community that feels like home. What we’re hoping for A community with teenagers and a culture that welcomes self-directed learning, where unschooling is understood and not just tolerated Nature at your doorstep (forest, land, animals, or garden) Some shared meals, perhaps shared rhythms, and real relationships, not just a place to park A spiritual or reflective thread, whatever form it takes for you An opportunity to get to know your community by giving back (although we can’t do a ‘full’ volunteering program as we have the past three years – ie: Workaway- because we have meetings online that take up too much of our time to volunteer full time)  What we bring Resilience and emotional wellbeing. I’m an online resilience coach with a BA in Developmental Psychology, certified in HeartMath®, and an experienced yoga and meditation teacher. I can offer community sessions in nervous system regulation, stress resilience, and meditation, and support for parents and teens. Experience raising three children in a nomadic, family-centered lifestyle, including years of travel across Europe. Open, adaptable, and grounded. We’ve lived in many settings and adapt quickly. We show up as contributors, not consumers. Unschooling and homeschooling know-how. We’re glad to share what we’ve learned, especially for families navigating legal and practical questions in Europe. Many other shareable skills: carpentry, sourdough bread baking, food fermenting, music making, dad-joke-telling, drone pilots, cookie bakers, food preservation and much much more.   We’re looking for a mutual fit, not just a bed for the winter. If our story resonates and you have space or know someone who does, we’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your community: your values, your daily rhythm, and what you’re hoping for from the people who join you.
Need
  • Forming Communities
2 weeks ago

Forest Community Starting

Description: Willits, CA, Pacific Northwest rainforest system. Forest Haven is seeking forest lovers who value solitude. We have several areas in the main compound and a few tucked away in private. Space is designed for your RV / Tiny Home / +++. We will add power and water for each new Steward’s space. Land: 40 acres(17 hectares), 3ac for humans. Year-round creek at base of parcel. Heavy trees, 40 meter-ish high. Conifer mix. With a large south-facing common garden.   New forest stewards have agreed to prioritize tree health. This means each person here will have a say in whether we cut any single tree. We never cut for wood or sale.  Stewards agree to walk the forest daily as our one required 20-minute group activity.    Limit the number of dwellings to 3-5 Total. There are 8 common buildings, with 3 having flush toilets and one with a hot shower, washer and dryer. We are 100% off-grid.  We have a natural spring and solar. The full-size common kitchen is large enough to process the garden harvest and more. Remote workers and retirees’ welcome. Full online and cell service available.    Forest Haven is currently a private forest reserve.   If 2 households sign on, it will become a 501(c)(3). Each person’s “donation/rent” will be tax-deductible. This is a private forest reserve going public as a nonprofit.    Please inquire if you want to help in a small way using basic permaculture methods to improve our forest’s health, message me to learn more.

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