Scenic view of a lush green landscape with trees and a rainbow.

Phoenix Forest Gardens

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2013

What we do

Our community is based on a gorgeous 18 acre property on Salt Spring Island, BC.
Rolling fields, multiple established orchards, berry patches and gardens are interspersed with private corners for residences and groves of trees.
There are currently 8-10 adults and a teenager living on our part of the land (The other land partner has multiple tenants on her side and is not part of this project per se).
We also accommodate work traders throughout the growing season and have a large dome as a communal structure for workshops, events, ceremonies etc.
There is no religious affiliation of the project.

Our Mission

Vision Statement :
Creating paradise together on our little piece of Earth
Who we are:
A small group of individuals stewarding a beautiful piece of land on Salt Spring Island, BC
Goals:
Regenerating the land
growing a food forest garden with a wide diversity of edible, medicine, and other helpful perennial plants for the long term and future generations
Annual gardens to feed our community and beyond
Striving towards a localized food system and food security
Beautiful, healthy micro-Housing with some shared facilities
Creating a beautiful, uplifting place that others want to visit and be inspired by (agri-tourism, teachings…)
Values:
Caring for our planet
Sustainability
Collaboration and friendship
Clear communication
Respecting each other
Listening
Taking responsibility for ourselves and what we use
Abundance mindset (no scarcity/poverty mentality)
Can-do attitude
Fairness and equality
Play and fun

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Activities
  • Farming

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2013
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2013
  • Started living together
  • 8 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
19

How to join

If you are interested, please read our Operating Agreement and Vision Statement.
The next step is to send an introductory letter to fr****@************si.com – letting us know who you are, what you can bring to the table and why you think you would be a good fit.
Then there will be a meeting with at least one farm member, which will be followed by a meeting with all current members if the first meeting is positive.
All members must contribute monthly fees to cover the operating costs of the farm, infrastructure, and agricultural lease.
Beyond that all members must take on certain areas of responsibility as well as be involved in the farm, garden, managing work traders, be available for weekly meetings and work parties, and reliably use Slack as our communication Channel as well as organizational documents.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Please send a brief introduction and we will share more of our operating documents.
you can also fill out the membership questionnaire on our website.
If it resonates with you, please send a more detailed letter of intent outlining what you can bring to the community as well.
then we can schedule a visit or online meeting and go from there.
You are also welcome to join our Friday farm days, help out and get to know some members and the land.

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

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

The land is leased by the community from the owner, who is also a community member.
while the owner has the right to veto a decision that is against their vision, and certain lease conditions and agreements need to be fulfilled and cannot be changed, day to day operating decisions are made by the community with a more horizontal governance structure.

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: $700
Labor: Yes (8 hrs/week)
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
Operating costs contributions may change based on number of members and needs, and be re-evaluated at year end.
They may also change if the community purchases the land.
Labor requirements change seasonally with the farming season and based on projects on the land, and are not fixed hours.

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

Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Large Scale Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Fire pit, Gym or sports area, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • About once a week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Community activities and engagement

  • WWOOF'ing, Guest Farming

Substance use culture

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

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group 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.

Community type

  • Ecovillage

    Integrated communities designed around ecological principles with sustainable living practices.

Self-produced energy

  • Over 66%

Energy sources used

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • 33 - 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Food forest
  • Greenhouse / aquaponics
  • Land area size
    9 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • BC, Canada

Needs and Offers

Offer
  • Communities with Openings
1 month ago

Rooms in Beautiful Location in downtown East Austin

Mountain Laurel House has upcoming room openings on August 1 and September 1 to share our house in central East Austin close to downtown. Rent is $925 per month with $75 to cover your share of the utilities and maintenance. You provide your own food. We enjoy sharing a meal at the dining table at least once a month for fun, to check in on our lives, and talk about housekeeping together. To apply, email do*************@***il.com with subject line Room at Mountain Laurel House. Request the brief application questions and we’ll provide more info and answer your questions. Mountain Laurel House is in a great location! It’s on a green cul de sac, with a wooded lot to the southwest and a green open space to the west. It’s close to the East 11th & Rosewood dining and entertainment district and right across from the Carver Library and a bus stop. We’re in walking distance to downtown Austin, the State Capitol, Huston-Tillotson University and a short bike or bus ride to the University of Texas; and, south or east of here, Lady Bird Lake and Boggy Creek hike and bike trails, park lands, swimming pools, pickleball and basketball courts. I kayak on Town Lake aka Lady Bird Lake or swim just across downtown at Deep Eddy or Barton Springs fresh-water, spring-fed swimming pools. We enjoy sharing a meal at the dining table at least once a month for fun, to check in on our lives, and plan housekeeping together. HEB is a short 5 minute drive east on 7th St. and Whole Foods is about a ten minute walk from here on 5th St. Amenities in the house include a dishwasher, utility room with a clothes washer-dryer and an optional clothesline, high-speed internet, a big dining room table for meals or activities, and a large screen TV for movie nights. The yard has beautiful native wildlife habitat gardens, veggie and herb pots, a large Cedar Elm, two Live Oaks, a fruit-bearing Fig, a Champenelle grape vine, and a Chili pequin. The cul de sac is a large park-like
  • Promoted
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.
Need
  • Communities with Openings
3 years ago

Twin Oaks, an established, income-sharing, village-scale community is seeking new members

Twin Oaks is looking for new members! Founded in 1967, Twin Oaks is an egalitarian, income-sharing community made currently 70 adults and 15 kids, living on 500 forested acres in central Virginia. Twin Oaks has strong social justice values including feminism, racial justice, and queer culture. We host a Queer Gathering and Women’s Gathering each summer, and we have a number of working groups around racial justice issues in general and in an intentional community context. Please visit our website twinoaks.org for more information and directions on how to apply for a Visitor Period. A Visitor Period is the first step towards becoming a member. We can offer: your choice of full-time work in our income-sharing community businesses (heirloom seeds, hammocks, and others) and/or domestic work areas from organic gardening to milking cows and cheese-making to office work to technical jobs and more! an individual room in shared housing; each member has their own personal bedroom and shares a kitchen, living room and bathroom with others in their house. Each residence has its own culture and range of ages. all meals are provided in our communal dining hall and/or in smaller kitchens for individual eating. We generally accommodate all special diets. (gluten-free, vegan, no garlic, etc.) income-sharing includes health-care and monthly stipend for extra We are looking for: people with various life skills and/or a willingness to learn people who share our values of social justice, sustainability and living closely with a diversity of people people with a generally responsible and pro-active approach to community living experience or interest in non-hierarchical, shared decision-making BIPOC, women and non-binary people especially encouraged The first step towards becoming a member is to participate in one of

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