Aerial view of lush green forest and open fields in a rural landscape.

Shambhala Collective and Permaculture Educational Center

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Forming
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2022

What we do

Our 40-acre farm lies in the quiet back country of northeast Tennessee at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain range, locally known as the Great Smokey Mountains, near the borders of North Carolina and Virginia. We welcome visitors who want to get their hands dirty learning the permaculture way of growing, living, and perpetuating life! To book a visit, please email us, if you’d like to stay longer (weekend, week, month, or season on Shambhala), please visit our WWOOF host page to learn more. This is not a rest stop, this is an experience to teach you food sovereignty, self sufficiency and a kinship with nature.
We feel the traditional farming model is expiring. Farmers are isolated, underpaid, and lack the freedoms to travel and enjoy life outside the farm. A cooperative farming model like ours helps us stay connected to our families and hold on to our dreams of traveling while still having a sanctuary like Shambhala to come home to and sustain us for the long term. Together we can care for what’s needed to sustain us more simply, efficiently, and cooperatively.
We currently have 3 member families on site, and we’re seeking 6 more to reach our 9 total to share this land with us, build tiny homes or small cabins, and sustain our future together through gardens, food forests, living off grid, making the most of our surroundings, using our natural resources wisely, and educating others to do the same.
To learn more about our Guidelines, Values, and Vision, you can download our document here.

Our Mission

It is our intention: To encourage, foster, and educate on community-style living and permaculture sustainable practices for long-term success and self-reliance. We intend and expect to leave the land and space better than how we found it.
Our primary focuses are on community, sustainability, land stewarding, and self sufficiency.
Our primary goals are to be self sufficient in energy, water, and food, to be a zero-waste and universally-designed community, with a strong focus on reducing and eliminating waste through best practices, composting, reusing and recycling.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Ecovillage
  • Commune
  • Sustainability practices
  • Waste reduction / composting
  • Regenerative agriculture or permaculture
  • Permaculture design
  • Activities
  • Farming
  • Education
  • Experiences
  • Networking
  • Others

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2022
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2023
  • Started living together

Gallery

  • 5 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
6

How to join

To become a member of Shambhala, members must go through our application process, and that document can be provided.
Members are approved by consensus with an equal-share buy-in for land. Members home structures are the financial responsibility of each member/family, but can be community-built. Membership and land stewardship are separate categories.
Members have equal voting rights on community decisions and share responsibility for all projects and farming practices.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

We welcome visitors, please book tours by contacting us directly. We also welcome WWOOFers, to get a deeper, richer experience, and stay the night if you care to do so. All overnight visitors must be registered with WWOOF, and can view our profile here:
https://wwoofusa.org/en/host/39242

Primary decision-making authority

  • Single Leader or Founding Couple

One person or partnership has ultimate authority.

Decision-making process

  • Modified Consensus

Generally seek agreement, but have backup methods when consensus isn’t reached.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Economic model

  • Partial Income-Sharing

Members contribute a percentage of income to community funds.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a one-time fee, investment, or share purchase to join the community separate from accessing housing
  • Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
  • There is a labor obligation

Additional economic information

Join fee: $38000
Regular fees: $0
Labor: Yes

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

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Outdoor Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Fire pit, Recreational vehicles, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • About once a week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced
  • Hunting / Fishing
  • Livestock / Animal Husbandry

Dietary type

  • Kosher Only

Dietary restriction

  • People can cook and eat what they want in their own residence

Community activities and engagement

  • Transition Town (post-petroleum and off-grid communities.)
  • School, Educational Institute or Experience
  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • Organization, Resource, or Network
  • WWOOF'ing, Guest Farming

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies
  • Religions
  • Christian
  • Buddhist
  • Wiccan, Paganism, or Earth Religions

Gender composition

  • Majority cis (over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Multi-generational (all ages well represented)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a Land Trust, Home Owners Association, or corporation

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Community type

  • Cohousing

    Private homes with shared common facilities, designed for neighborly
    interaction while maintaining independence.

  • Ecovillage

    Integrated communities designed around ecological principles with sustainable living practices.

  • Commune

    Communal living with shared resources, property, and often income or work responsibilities

Sustainability approach

  • Waste reduction / composting
  • 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

Self-produced food

  • 33 - 66%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • 33 - 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Food forest
  • Greenhouse / aquaponics

Waste management practices

  • Composting
  • Recycling program
  • Land area size
    40 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • Tennessee, United States

Shambhala Collective and Permaculture Educational Center

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
3 weeks ago

Unit C-2, Woodard Lane Cohousing — Olympia, WA

Join Olympia’s first and longest-running cohousing community, in a quiet West Side neighborhood 1.6 miles from downtown, backing onto a forested ravine along Schneider Creek. Unit C-2 offers 1,904 SF. Two stories, 4 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, and a bonus loft room on the main level. It can be lived in as one spacious family home — or split into two independent living spaces, each with its own kitchen, entrance, and effective soundproofing. Great for multigenerational households, live/work arrangements, or an owner-occupied half with a rented or shared half. Upper level: bedroom, full bath, bonus room with built-in loft bed, and an open kitchen-dining-living area with a deck facing the forest. Lower level: 3 bedrooms, full bath with dual sinks, second full kitchen, laundry room, and a second patio. Features: 2 full kitchens, radiant floor heat, stained concrete floors (bamboo upstairs), double-pane windows, bolted keyed entries at both levels, dedicated laundry, concrete patios facing the ravine, shared parking with 18 EV charging stations.   Ownership includes a Common House with a guest room, full kitchen, gathering space, and kids’ play area; a shared vegetable garden; a wood shop and bike storage; and wooded grounds with a stream path and central Green. Monthly dues are $799, covering all utilities except internet. Established in 2010, Woodard Lane is home to ~40 residents across 18 homes, with shared meals, work parties, and genuine neighborliness. Learn more about Woodard Lane Cohousing  We’re looking for a buyer who wants to participate fully in community life. $630,000. Contact Kate Greene: yo******@***il.com or text: 360-789-7587.
Offer
  • Forming Communities
4 weeks ago

Cohousing ABQ: Life is better together. We're moving in during 2026. Last homes available!

We’ve broken ground on a multigenerational cohousing community along the Rio Grande River in Albuquerque, NM! Our community features 25 beautiful, energy-efficient homes clustered around a shared open space, with a fully equipped common house and a range of community amenities. A few last homes are still available — please refer to our website for up-to-date availability. These homes will be move-in ready in the summer/fall of 2026. Or you might be interested in our Wait Pool for unit sizes no longer available. Click here to watch a video of our cohousing community: https://cohousingabq.org/video Our land is on a quiet road with lots of families and kids. The neighborhood’s agricultural roots give it a rural feel, but the center of town is just a 3-minute drive away. Our community plans include play areas for kids, a shared farming area, a year-round greenhouse, an orchard, a workshop and electric vehicle charging. We are diverse in age, background and identity, representing a mix of families with children, couples and singles. We range in age from 2 to 82, and there are 13 kids in our community so far. We have created a fun, caring culture among our group, regularly getting together for meals, camping trips and play dates by the river, in addition to collaborating on our community plans and supporting one another through life’s ups and downs. In Albuquerque, there’s lots to keep us busy, from museums and galleries to nationally recognized wineries and breweries. With 310 sunny days per year, you can often find us outside—hiking, biking or skiing, or exploring the mountains, parks and historic sites all around the region. The Rio Grande that flows through the city center is a playground for kayakers, and miles of walking and cycling trails wind through its wooded banks. Reach out to us or join an upcoming Meet & Greet to learn more about becoming a part of our community! Email: neig
Offer
  • Events
2 weeks ago

Restoring Choice - free online practice group, from Australia

Restoring Choice – free sessions and a practice group Many of us are less practised at three things than we realise: making clear requests, saying no when it isn’t a full yes, and hearing no without something getting damaged. These aren’t personality traits. They’re capacities that were trained out of many of us by ordinary structures – families where some needs were allowed and others weren’t, workplaces that reward overstretch. They can be trained back. Why this might interest people here Most communities teach communication after people arrive, once conflict has already surfaced. This works the other way round – building capacity first, and finding out what a group can do when most people already have it. What’s running Free 60-minute introduction, online. Same session each time; come to whichever suits. Register for intro session below: https://events.humanitix.com/reclaim-your-power-with-restoring-choice Four-week practice group, Tuesdays from 15 September, 6:30-8:00pm. One session a week, and at least one short written entry a day about a real situation in your own life. The writing is the actual work; the sessions support it. Sign up by Sunday 13 September. Register for practice group below: https://events.humanitix.com/restoring-choice-practice-group Everything is free. Times are Australian Eastern 6:30pm here is the early hours in most of the Americas. Worth checking before you register. Who it’s for No prior experience needed. It isn’t therapy, and I’m not a therapist. Many people find that looking honestly at how well they ask, decline, or hear a no is less flattering than expected. That’s common, and it isn’t a verdict on anyone. Run by Glenn Russo – 13 years practising this material, seven years co-facilitating an NVC practice group in Castlemaine. If you’re already living in community and would rather share what you’ve learned than join anything, I’d like to hear from you too.

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