Scenic view of a community surrounded by colorful fall foliage and mountains.

The Shire

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2012

What we do

We became stewards of the land we call the Shire in 2018. Our land is 80 acres of fields and forests with a swimming pond and a brook with waterfalls. We live at the base of Mt. Mansfield, Vermont’s tallest mountain, which is so beautiful to see every day. Mt. Mansfield state forest, the states largest forest at 44,444 acres, is less than a mile down the road with many miles of hiking trails including the long trail that runs the length of Vermont
Residents live in 2 buildings with large private rooms and shared bathrooms. There is a large dining hall, commercial kitchen and meeting space that the community shares. We also have an art studio, extensive library, workshop, guest bedrooms, communal office spaces with high speed internet and private offices available to rent.
The Shire is also an educational center and is open for programming beyond just the community that lives here. The main business that uses the space is ReTribe which runs summer camps and forest school programs in the woods and hosts retreats for teens and adults. Other health and educationally focused retreats rent the space a few times a year. The fusion of business and community can be challenging but also provides a purpose and economic opportunities for residents

Our Mission

Our community is mission focused and works to have a positive impact in the world. It is home to ReTribe Our Vision is Compassionate Human Culture. ReTribe’s mission is to reawaken individuals to their connection with themselves, each other, and the earth through nature-based play, community building, healthy living, and, magic and mystery.
The Roots of ReTribe (Core Elements/Values) are Play, Health, Nature, Magic & Mystery, and Community.
PLAY: Play creates a fun, freeing, trust building, and energetic environment that provides a doorway into the deeper transformational work.
HEALTH: Our goal of creating a healthy culture in the world, starts with individual health – healthy body, healthy mind, healthy communities, healthy relationships, leading to a healthy planet.
NATURE: Spending time in, and learning about nature, helps us to recognize our interconnection to all beings and the world. Being outdoors creates physical health, brain development, emotional health by bringing us into present awareness, inspiration for healthy and sustainable systems for earth health, and connects us with our spiritual source.
MAGIC AND MYSTERY: Connecting with spirit through a variety of modalities brings people joy and spontaneity, a greater sense of meaning and direction, and inspires people to serve their friends, families, and their communities. Spiritual connection is an antidote to personal and societal ills by bringing magic and mystery back into people’s lives.
COMMUNITY: Through organizing events and providing a safe space for all ages, ReTribe helps meet people’s needs for belonging, connection, and community.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Coliving
  • Ecovillage
  • Activities
  • Education
  • Experiences

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2012
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2018
  • Started living together
  • 14 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
16

How to join

We have a form you fill out about yourself, and other community members read it. We then interview on zoom or have a visit, and we all say if we feel comfortable inviting you to join us.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Email us. You can go on our website if you like to contact us.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

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

Decision-making process

  • Consent-Based (Sociocracy)

Decisions proceed unless someone has a reasoned objection.

Governance structure

  • Sociocratic/Circle-Based

Organized in circles or domains with distributed authority.

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: $650
Labor: Yes (3 hrs/week)
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed

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

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Outdoor Kitchen, Large Scale Kitchen, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Gym or sports area, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 2-5 times per week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Dietary type

  • Vegetarian 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
  • Festivals, Conferences, Events

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies

Age demographics

  • Multi-generational (all ages well represented)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By several individuals through an LLC or a Tenancy In Common agreement

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Community type

  • Coliving

    Shared living spaces with private bedrooms/bathrooms and communal
    kitchens, dining, and social areas.

  • Ecovillage

    Integrated communities designed around ecological principles with sustainable living practices.

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Energy sources used

  • Hydro
  • Biomass (from wood or other organic materials)

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • 33 - 66%

Food systems

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

Guest Book

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

Location

  • Vermont, United States

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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