Community members engaging in a group activity at The Commons on the Alameda.

The Commons on the Alameda

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Home-sharing
  • Suburban

Founding year

  • 1990

What we do

The Commons on the Alameda is a pueblo-style cohousing community on 4.5 acres at the edge of the city of Santa Fe. Construction began in 1991 and the last homes were completed in 1997. Our common house is adjacent to our main plaza. Our 28 homes cluster around four beautifully landscaped smaller courtyards that we call “placitas”.
We eat communal organic meals on Mondays and Thursdays using local and organic produce as much as possible. Residents participate in the cooking and cleaning up for one meal per month; the remainder of their eight hour per month service commitment involves various endeavors including landscape maintenance, newsletter production, and childcare. Committee chairs (kitchen, guest room, grounds, etc) orchestrate much of the nitty-gritty. We have two community meetings per month–one to discuss and make consensus-based decisions regarding business items and the other to share on a more personal level. Every fall we host our community celebration for the greater community with tree planting, cider making, entertainment, green chili stew, and dancing. We have an orchard area with a chicken coop, fire circle, and a basketball hoop.
Several residents have home businesses. Many homeowners have rental rooms or efficiency units available. The community has three rooms available for guests of residents. We have about eighty residents, with approximately 25% of residents being children. The community remains focused on youngsters with cooperative childcare that provides childcare for meeting times and other community events. There are also play areas throughout the property.

Our Mission

Enjoying and building multigenerational sustainable community together.
The vision of the Commons on the Alameda is to enrich our lives through a shared intention to cultivate positive interactions within a mutigenerational co-housing community; to encourage social and ecological responsibility; to draw upon our talents, resources and ideas; to strengthen our connections; to share in meals, service and celebration; to build and sustain our community and to design the buildings and grounds to reflect our commitment to work together harmoniously as neighbors, balancing needs for privacy with those for relationship.

  • Purpose
  • Home-sharing
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Activities
  • Property management

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1990
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1992
  • Started living together

Video

  • 70 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
76

How to join

Check website for homes for sale or rent. We invite interested folks to come and meet us, get a sense for the community and the commitment. Sales are between the homeowner and the buyer directly.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Please contact th********************@***il.com to arrange visits. We have guest rooms available, a modest donation is requested.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

A few people (not elected by the broader community) make the major decisions.

Decision-making process

  • Full Consensus

Everyone must agree before moving forward.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Conflict resolution approach

Association president elected annually
Board of Directors

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: Yes (2 hrs/week)
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
8 hours per month for homeowners, 6 hours per month for renters
Monthly homeowners assessments
Meals on an “as eaten” basis

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

Common House, Garden(s), Library, Large Scale Kitchen, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Gym or sports area

Frequency of communal meals

  • 2-5 times per week

Community activities and engagement

  • Neighborhood, Community Housing, or Homeowner's Association

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies

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

  • Suburban

Residential areas outside city centers but within metropolitan regions.

Community type

  • Cohousing

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

Self-produced energy

  • 33 - 66%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Up to 33%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Land area size
    4.5 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • New Mexico, United States

The Commons on the Alameda

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
  • Events
3 weeks ago

Healing Love Healing Money: Trust As The Foundation For A New Culture

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/  
October 27, 2026 13:00 – November 17, 2026 15:00
  • Promoted
Need
  • Promoted
Offer
Need
  • Forming Communities
2 weeks ago

Forest Community Starting

Description: Willits, CA, Pacific Northwest rainforest system. Forest Haven is seeking forest lovers who value solitude. We have several areas in the main compound and a few tucked away in private. Space is designed for your RV / Tiny Home / +++. We will add power and water for each new Steward’s space. Land: 40 acres(17 hectares), 3ac for humans. Year-round creek at base of parcel. Heavy trees, 40 meter-ish high. Conifer mix. With a large south-facing common garden.   New forest stewards have agreed to prioritize tree health. This means each person here will have a say in whether we cut any single tree. We never cut for wood or sale.  Stewards agree to walk the forest daily as our one required 20-minute group activity.    Limit the number of dwellings to 3-5 Total. There are 8 common buildings, with 3 having flush toilets and one with a hot shower, washer and dryer. We are 100% off-grid.  We have a natural spring and solar. The full-size common kitchen is large enough to process the garden harvest and more. Remote workers and retirees’ welcome. Full online and cell service available.    Forest Haven is currently a private forest reserve.   If 2 households sign on, it will become a 501(c)(3). Each person’s “donation/rent” will be tax-deductible. This is a private forest reserve going public as a nonprofit.    Please inquire if you want to help in a small way using basic permaculture methods to improve our forest’s health, message me to learn more.
  • Events
6 hours ago

Womens Tiny Mud House Workshop

I’m Na, a regenerative designer, earthen builder and educator with the Global Ecovillage Network. I’m passionate about helping people step into action, however big or small. A women’s build I joined back in 2015 was a much needed transformational experience that set me on this path. Offering this workshop is a way of coming full circle and passing that same spark on. Sat 16 to Fri 22 January 2027 This is a hands-on workshop where you’ll learn earthen building techniques and build a tiny house from the earth up, with your own hands. Why tiny? A tiny house requires careful, creative design and asks – what space do we actually need to live? It uses far less material and takes less time to build, so it’s practical and economical. This also allows us to experience all stages of a house build, from design and brick-making to building and finishing. You’ll get your hands into every part of the build. We’ll work with mud brick (adobe), cob and bamboo, then earth plasters and finishes. This workshop is open to women of all ages and abilities are welcome. Come if you’re new and curious, if you want more practice on specific parts of a build, or simply to play in the mud with wonderful people. It’s genuinely good fun. We’ll be in my little forest, a small house on the edge of a village and national park, 20 km south of Chiang Mai, Thailand. You can stay on site in simple earthen dorms or tents, and we’ll share home-cooked Thai food in the cool, bright days of Thai winter. Read more and register here 
January 16, 2027 00:00 – January 22, 2027 23:59
Need
  • Communities with Openings
1 week ago

Seeking Partner/Co-Founder for a Cooperative Community in Western NC

Co-Founder / Project Partner Needed: Coweeta Heritage Center The Coweeta Heritage Center / Talking Rock Farm in Otto, North Carolina, is seeking a dedicated co-founder and long-term project partner to help manage, expand, and transition our community land project. As the primary founder is balancing physical limitations (including a bad back) and a demanding workload, we are looking for a capable partner to share the operational reins and help shape the next phase of this intentional community. What We Are Looking For Organizational & Administrative Skills: Ability to streamline systems, manage outreach, and organize community data. Social Media & Digital Presence: Skills to revitalize our online reach, update public directory listings (such as ic.org), and manage applicant communications. Practical & Technical Capabilities: Hands-on familiarity with or strong interest in sustainable forestry, organic agriculture, and alternative energy infrastructure. Strong Communication: A commitment to Non-Violent Communication (NVC), transparency, and collaborative governance. What We Offer On-Site Housing: Dedicated housing is provided on-site in Otto to facilitate close coordination, daily collaboration, and deep integration into the land. Established Foundation: Step into an active project with existing infrastructure, clear community onboarding frameworks, an established legal LLC structure, and an estate succession blueprint. Strategic Input: Full partnership in vetting future interns, managing the phased onboarding pipeline, and executing land-clearing and sustainable infrastructure projects.

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