Community gathering at a large, open-air event under a thatched roof.

Saint Michael's Sustainable Community

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Ecological
  • Town/Small City

Founding year

  • 2008

What we do

We are a functional sustainable community with a large surplus of beyond organic food and pristine water. We cultivate a polyculture of over 500 different types of plants, plus raise regenerative cattle, sheep, chickems, fish, and shrimp. We built the community years before the aqueduct was brought to our area. We have springs, rainwater collection, clean streams that start in our community, and many water storage cisterns (one is the first floor of our Modern Tree House, but you would never know unless you were told). On any given day we could provide food to feed over 50,000 people. Our design is to use as little labor as possible. Currently, the work crew is the owner and a local family of 3.
Intentional design integration touches every part of our community. Homes are built beyond LEED standards. All homes have either a rainwater collection roof or a livingroof or a hybrid of both. The landscaping is edible, for utility, and full of medicinal plants. We grow the medicines for ourselves and our animals. Our Permaculture Country Club is unlike any other Country Club in the most important ways possible. Our course takes people though a food forest. It uses no purchased water or toxic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides. The course has examples of regenerative agriculture, sustainability, and permaculture at every hole. It hosts the National Disc Golf Championship of Costa Rica every July. We are a community that produces more than we consume.

Our Mission

Our fist mission statement was to build a community that could truly be a solution and model for living sustainability and in harmony with nature. Now our mission is to continue as a model community and bring true sustainability to the rest of the world.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Sustainability practices
  • Water conservation and management
  • Regenerative agriculture or permaculture
  • Permaculture design
  • Activities
  • Property management
  • Education
  • Experiences
  • Networking
  • Services Business

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2008
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2009
  • Started living together

Video

  • 22 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
56

How to join

We believe starting a community with great members is the best key for future success and harmony. We get to know the people that want to live here.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

please call or email to make an appointment in advance.

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

Only income from activities, crops, hardwoods of the Eco Village are shared.

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 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: $0
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed

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

Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Outdoor Kitchen, Large Scale Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Stage or Auditorium, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Waterfront access, Gym or sports area, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 1-3 times per month

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
  • Neighborhood, Community Housing, or Homeowner's Association
  • Ethical Business, Investment Group, or Alternative Currency
  • Organization, Resource, or Network
  • Festivals, Conferences, Events

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies
  • Religions
  • Christian
  • Buddhist
  • Native
  • Wiccan, Paganism, or Earth Religions

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Family-focused (many children and parents)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a single individual, couple, or Family Trust

Setting

  • Town/Small City

Smaller municipalities with local services but rural character.

Community type

  • Ecovillage

    Integrated communities designed around ecological principles with sustainable living practices.

Sustainability approach

  • Water conservation and management
  • Regenerative agriculture or permaculture
  • Permaculture design

Land practices in our community

  • The community practices permaculture

Self-produced energy

  • Over 66%

Energy sources used

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

Self-produced food

  • Over 66%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Over 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Food forest
  • Greenhouse / aquaponics

Source of water

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

Guest Book

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

Location

  • Puntarenus, Costa Rica

Saint Michael's Sustainable Community

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
4 days ago

Beautiful 3+ Bed, 2.5 Bath Townhome in Established West Emerald CoHousing, Seattle

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.
Offer
Need
  • Communities with Openings
5 days ago

Looking for Founding Members to Join us

We are looking for someone who lives in Oregon or would like to live in Oregon who wants to help us clean up our new far, property and start building some off grid housing, compost toilets, fireplaces for cooking and building the farm out. We have about 10 acres and several barns, power on site for small wall tents for campers, solar panels we can setup and sooo soo much more to do.  Ideally this person would be around our age, late 20’s -early 30’s, family friendly as we have a daughter and family out sometimes. We are not looking for “anarchist” who see the glass half full and wants to ‘burn down the system’ as we farm and sell to the public, we rely on the system to pay our bills… that is really the only caveat. No hard drugs and no hard political opinions as we prefer to focus on our back-to-the-land culture, not the problem we cannot control outside the farm.  You tired of the noise and want some solitude? To get your hands dirty and build a farm from the ground up with a bunch of like minded people. All I want to do is feed people and have fun while we do it. I don’t want to try and fix the world, just rebuild the one directly around us into an oasis that we can enjoy each and everyday while keeping our moral compass pointing north. Some things to know – We do smoke pot. We like electronic and bass music sometimes and organize festivals and renegades, we still like to have fun, but when on farm, you would never know. We are super easy to be around and just want some friends who can enjoy this farm opportunity and make the most of it with us.  Kids are OK! Pets on a per person basis. Rent is negotiable ($100-300/month) with work trade being mandatory at 4 hours per week. Anything beyond that goes towards rent. Please reach out if interested or have any questions.    Kindest Regards, DJ & Reagan 
Need
Offer
  • Professional Services
2 days ago

Community Planning, Facilitation & Coaching for Intentional Communities

Through Radicle Collective, I support intentional communities and the people within them as they navigate the practical and relational work of building life together. My work can include visioning and community planning, facilitated conversations and retreats, decision-making and governance design, conflict transformation, establishing group agreements, culture-building, and individual or group coaching. I work with communities at many stages – whether it’s a few people exploring whether to live together, a fledgling community developing its foundations, or an established community in transition or conflict. I draw from training in psychology, coaching, urban and regional planning, facilitation, Nonviolent Communication, permaculture, and related practices to approach community as a living system – one shaped by individual needs, relationships, shared structures, place, and the connections between them. Rather than bringing a single model for how community should work, I help groups understand what is happening across those different layers, surface what matters, work honestly with difference, and create structures and practices that support connection, agency, belonging, and the values that brought them together in the first place. I’m based in Berlin and available to work online or in person, depending on location and scope. I offer sliding-scale pricing and am open to creative forms of exchange where appropriate. If your community is forming, stuck, changing, or simply wants some skilled outside support for an important conversation, I’d be glad to explore what might be useful. You can learn more about my work and get in touch at radiclecollective.com.
Offer
Need

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A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

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