Shannon Farm Community

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Social
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 1972

What we do

Nestled in the beautiful and fertile Rockfish Valley, 27 miles west of Charlottesville and a 20-minute drive from the point where the Blue Ridge Parkway becomes Skyline Drive, you will find our 520+ acres of forests, pastures, river-bottom hayfields, and 8 clusters of houses. Shannon Farm is currently home to about 70 adults, from their 20s to 70s, and a few children and teens. We are gardeners and artists, teachers and unschoolers, computer programmers and cabinet makers, nurses and massage therapists, activists and entrepreneurs. Diverse lifestyles coexist here.
We want new members who have energy for building long-term relationships with those who already live here, and time for the physical and organizational work necessary to keep our community viable and our internal culture vibrant.
Members pay monthly dues, based on individual income, to finance communal expenses, from road maintenance to childcare during meetings. Recent large projects include installation of a photovoltaic array at our community center, construction of a picnic shelter at our lake and a new tractor shop for our equipment. We also held a festive celebration of our 50th anniversary as an intentional community last year.
Shannon Farm is a private, non-speculative land and housing trust that owns the land and all of the buildings on it. There is no joining fee, but personal assets are needed for the rent or purchase of one of our houses. We welcome families with children and have agreements that keep housing affordable here.
Our various committees bring discussions and proposals to our monthly business meetings, where we use a consensus-based decision making process. People who wish to explore Shannon may start by visiting on an available Monthly Meeting (MM) day. Currently, we are hosting visitors approximately once per month. On that day, you will get a tour and then witness our consensus plenary meeting. Please contact our visitor coordinator for details.

Our Mission

Shannon Farm is a residential intentional community where people share land, encourage member-managed agriculture and businesses, and support cooperative and harmonious living situations here and in the larger world.

  • Purpose
  • Social
  • Community type
  • Intentional Neighborhoods
  • Activities
  • Property management
  • Farming

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1972
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1973
  • Started living together
  • 65 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
77

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Call or email Karen Blackburn, our Visitor Coordinator.
Start by visiting on an available Monthly Meeting (MM) day. Currently, we are hosting visitors once per month for a tour and then witness our consensus plenary meeting or MM.

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

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

  • 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: Yes
Labor: Encouraged or suggested
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
We share some tools, equipment, garden space, vehicles, and more – some communally and some in smaller collectives.

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

Common House, Garden(s), Vehicle Share, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Large Scale Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas

Frequency of communal meals

  • 1-3 times per month

Dietary restriction

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

Community activities and engagement

  • Neighborhood, Community Housing, or Homeowner's Association
  • WWOOF'ing, Guest Farming

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group 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

  • Intentional Neighborhoods

    Geographically close groups of independently-owned homes whose residents actively cultivate community relationships and shared values.

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Land area size
    537 acres

Guest Book

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

Our Members

Smiling man with glasses and beard, casual attire, indoor setting.

Location

  • Virginia, United States

Shannon Farm Community

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
Need
  • Promoted
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
3 weeks 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.
  • Promoted
Offer
  • Communities with Openings
4 months ago

Do you feel called to help co-create a small, newly forming eco-spiritual community?

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
Need
Need
  • Communities with Openings
3 weeks 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 
Offer

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