Saint Michael's Sustainable Community

We are currently accepting full-time residential volunteers. Join us for 6 months (or more) at our Tibetan Buddhist center. Volunteers receive their own private room as well as all meals covered. Volunteers also have full access to classes, workshops, events, and ceremonies. This is a labor-intensive work study program–volunteers work 6 days a week on a variety of tasks such as cooking, cleaning, house maintenance, gardening, It & Tech, event planning, administrative duties, and more. 

A rare home is available at West Emerald Cohousing, an established all-ages intentional community in West Seattle. For those considering a move to the Pacific Northwest—or hoping to join a mature community rather than one still in the forming stages—West Emerald offers decades of community life, beautiful gardens, shared resources and a peaceful setting within the city in a convenient location since 1999. This unit has a unique floor plan that is ideal for co-buying, co-living, or for one household. The home itself offers a flexible 3+ bedroom, 2.5 bath layout: Garden-level room with a separate exterior entrance and half bath—ideal for a home office, studio, guest space or client-facing business Main-level bedroom and full bath, laundry, making one-level living possible Open great room with large windows overlooking gardens filled with birdsong Well-designed kitchen with generous storage and pantry Two additional light-filled spacious bedrooms and a full bath upstairs Thoughtfully maintained and updated Located at the end of a common pathway for added privacy and garden views, Just feet from parking, which is out of view West Emerald community amenities include: Common House with gathering and activity spaces Community meals and events Mature gardens and shared outdoor spaces Workshop/maker spaces and bike barn Exercise room EV charging opportunity Excellent Metro access to Downtown Seattle just minutes away Nestled into a dell, it’s Seattle’s best-kept secret South Seattle College and lifelong learning, NW Wine Academy, the Seattle Chinese Garden are nearby, with easy access to Alki Beach, Lincoln Park, magnet schools, ferries, and the shops and restaurants of the West Seattle Junction. 6000 17th Ave SW, Seattle, WA Is a wonderful opportunity to have your own comfortable, private home while becoming part of a vibrant and well-established Seattle all-ages cohousing community. For more information contact the friendly Realtor at 206-579-9066, or at ki**********@**********te.com who will be happy to meet you there or do a facetime tour.

The Wise Acres Community is a cohousing neighborhood in Indianola, Washington. We currently have two openings: a 5-bedroom house and a 1-bedroom cottage.  In Wise Acres, we gather for dinners, parties, and other events in our common house and tend a community garden together. We look out for each other, make decisions by consensus, and share the work of stewarding the land. One house available for rent has 4 bedrooms, plus a study that can be used as a bedroom. The kitchen and great room face east and south, with high windows that invite lots of natural light. The single-story home has a wood-burning stove in the living room and a whole-house A/C heat pump. Unfurnished. For photos and a floor plan of this house, click here. The other home available for rent is a 1 bedroom 650 sq ft cottage with skylight and a forest balcony. The tranquil, three-story house is suitable for those with good physical mobility.   Wise Acres is walking distance from the beach in a small, friendly town that is 6 miles from the ferry to Seattle. Here’s a link to the Wise Acres community website.  We are seeking to rent to a household that wants to participate fully in community life. For more information, call or text 360 860 0644.

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/  

La Querencia is an established, multigenerational cohousing community of 28 private homes in northeast Fresno, California. Homes of different sizes are available for sale or rent, at prices well below those of many other cohousing communities—especially in California. We each have our own homes and lives while also sharing meals, gardens, celebrations, a common house, a pool, and the work of caring for the community together. See current homes, prices, photos, and details: https://www.laqcoho.org/available-homes We offer monthly virtual information sessions and in-person tours for people who would like to get to know the community. Tour information is available through our website: laqcoho.com.

Old structures are crumbling. New ways of living are calling. We are answering that call. Wild Grace is an eco-spiritual community located in the Sierra foothills 30 minutes from Grass Valley, California. We recently completed new homes for those who feel called to our vision. Currently there are four of us living on this sacred 80 acres of land although we are a hub for an expanded neighborhood community. Many join us weekly for potlucks, expressive dance, Qi Gong, monthly musical gatherings, and seasonal celebrations in our temple, as well as tending to our orchard. We are excited to welcome others to join us on the land who are dedicating their lives to spiritual growth and ready to live in a more focused and intimate heart-centered lifestyle. Might that be you or someone you know? The fundamentals are simple. Spirit. We listen personally and collectively together most mornings, usually starting with a musical offering, a prayer, or a short reading, followed by about 40 minutes of what we call “sacred silence.” Heart Circles. About once a week we gather to share and listen. We are informed by authentic and compassionate communication practices. Nature. The land itself—an 80-acre oasis of field and forest perched above the wild and scenic South Yuba River—calls for our stewardship in the gardens, orchard, greenhouses, and general care. In turn, nature feeds us abundantly, both literally and spiritually. Interbeing. We join with others to share inspiration and connection as we host monthly gatherings of song, story and prayer that draws from the larger community in addition to other events we share with our closer neighbors. As we attend to these fundamentals, Grace flows to and through us—often in “Wild” or unexpected ways. Grace catalyzes through us, but is not something we possess. Because we all are connected, we feel that Grace actively transforms n

🌿 Can animals look after their own well-being? Science says yes! Zoopharmacognosy is the fascinating behavior in which animals self-medicate by selecting, inhaling, or topically applying plants, soils, and insects with natural well-being properties. Applied zoopharmacognosy brings these principles into practical use, providing animals with sensory choices for general well-being and environmental enrichment. 🧠 Driven by Consciousness & Evolution The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness (2012): Signed by global neuroscientists, this milestone established that non-human animals possess the neurological framework for consciousness, intentional behaviors, and emotional states. Describing an animal experiencing fear, joy, or grief is a biologically accurate observation, not a human projection. Prominent advocates like Jane Goodall and animal lovers have always known this from personal experience! Innate Sensory Guidance: Only the animal knows the required plant and amount. This behavior is entirely guided by highly specialized senses of taste and smell, which is an evolutionary survival mechanism of animals. 👀 Incredible Behaviors Observed in Nature: 🐦 Birds (Starlings): Male starlings incorporate yarrow, wild carrot, and agrimony into their nests to ward off pests; chicks in nests lacking these plants suffer from significantly higher mite burdens (Clark & Mason 1988). 🦜 Birds (Parrots): Amazon parrots intentionally consume clay to neutralize toxic alkaloids ingested from wild plants (Gilardi 1999). 🐛 Insects: Parasitized caterpillars ingest specific plants rich in pyrrolizidine alkaloids to support their health (Singer & Bernays 2010; Smilanich et al. 2011). 🐒 Primates: Chimpanzees suffering from intestinal bugs intentionally select and consume bitter, anti-parasitic plants (Huffman & Seifu 1989). 🐑 Livestock: Lambs actively select plants high in tannins when dealing with internal challenges (Villalba & Provenza 2005). 🐘 Elephants: Excavate salt deposits to neutralize dietary toxins (Redmond 1992), and select botanical oils to support their natural defense mechanisms (Ingraham 2007). 🤝 How I Practice The IMIM approach honors the animal as an intelligent being capable of directing its own well-being by honoring its instinct and non-verbal language. I provide safe educational consultations to help you connect with your animal on a deeper level. (Contact me at ge*********@*****il.com to learn how to offer this sensory enrichment for the well-being of your animal!) ℹ️ Further Learning: Learn more about IMIM methodology, case studies and research at carolineingraham.com. ⚠️ Veterinary Disclaimer: Applied zoopharmacognosy is an educational and supportive tool for well-being. It does not offer veterinary advice, diagnose, or prescribe, and should never replace professional veterinary care.

Seeking to a form an intentional farming community for families with neurodiverse children/adults. I would not only like to aim to provide support for the families on the land, but also provide arts and mutual aid initiatives within the greater community. We are located in Vermont, and looking to hopefully stay in the Northeast/MidAtlantic area. I envision an ecovillage that incorporates aspects of permaculture and optimizes sustainability. In addition to farming, we would offer additional opportunities for neurodivergent individuals to learn, build skills, socialize and receive support during the day. K-12 students would be offered an alternative schooling option – think “free school”, “Sudbury method”, or “Waldorf method”. Adult members would visit “stations” throughout the day (i.e. farm, arts, weaving, music, nature walks, etc.). The ultimate goal of this community would be to provide support for school-aged children and their families and then eventually provide care-giver assisted housing for family members ready to transition to more independent housing. I have experience with Camphill and other similar lifesharing communities for neurodiverse individuals and would love to collaborate with other families looking for support in navigating care for neurodiverse loved ones.