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 (Housing, Land Stewardship, Finance, et al.) 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.
If you are interested in the global intentional communities movement and seek a rural, more sustainable lifestyle, Shannon Farm may be the right place for you. It can take some time to get to know us, but we invite you to make the effort. We look forward to meeting you!
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.
Call or email Karen Blackburn, our Visitor Coordinator.
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 or MM. Please contact our visitor coordinator for details.
The whole membership decides collectively.
Generally seek agreement, but have backup methods when consensus isn’t reached.
Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.
Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.
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.
Common House, Garden(s), Vehicle Share, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Large Scale Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas
Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.
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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