We live in the northwest corner of the United States; one of the eight communities in the Evergreen Land Trust. We live in separate households on an 80-acre cooperative, subsistence farm in rural Whatcom County, about forty minutes by bus or car from Bellingham, Washington.
Our community is focused on ecologically-based farming and forestry, homesteading skills, habitat restoration, and hosting educational events. The farm is a mixture of forests, gardens, fields, and wetlands along the South Fork Nooksack River. We raise chickens, sheep, cows, and ducks. We have some houses on the electrical grid and some off grid.
We operate by consensus and have monthly business meetings. We also gather regularly for work parties, weekly potlucks, and various projects. The land is held in trust, so we share the basic costs of stewardship (land taxes, insurance, tractor repairs, etc.) by each adult member paying monthly dues, which creates our annual budget. Each adult member also contributes work hours on the farm, sharing in the responsibility of stewardship and upholding the purposes of the trust. Members are engaged in many different passions and professions off of the Farm as well, but all share in the commitment to caring for the land, and learning how to live sustainably and cooperatively.
To maintain wildlife sanctuaries within the boundaries of an on-going, organic farm; to serve as a meeting place for outside groups studying organic farming practices; and promote cooperative community that provides political, spiritual, economic, educational and social development to its members.
The residency process begins with a three month trial period, then a minimum of nine more months of residency before membership may be applied for at the 18 month mark. Membership decisions are made by consensus of the current members and membership confers the responsibility of land and community stewardship to accepted residents.
Email us well in advance at ri*******@****************st.org.
The whole membership decides collectively.
Everyone must agree before moving forward.
Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.
Residents participate in the consensus process, but only members have the ability to block a decision.
Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.
Regular fees: Yes
Labor: Yes (8 hrs/week)
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
Everyone pays dues and a housing fee; additional payments for housing equity are made by members and vary by house.
Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Outdoor Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Stage or Auditorium, Fire pit, Waterfront access, Internet
Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.
Integrated communities designed around ecological principles with sustainable living practices.
Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace
A residential project: people live here as their primary home.
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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