Scenic view of a lush green yard with palm trees and cozy houses in Vista, CA.

EVO ~ The Emerald Village in Vista, CA

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Mature
  • English
  • Social
  • Rural

Founding date

  • 2011-05-01

What we do

The Emerald Village is an intentional community founded in 2011 by 10 members, and located on a 9-acre property in Vista, California.
We are a spiritually diverse community of entrepreneurs, artists, teachers, movers and shakers.

The Emerald Village is a multi-generational community whose focus is a practice of living from higher guidance to be of greatest service to ourselves, our families, our greater community and the planet.
We practice the following as part of our personal and spiritual cultivation:
Non-violent/ compassionate communication and radical responsibility
Mindful meditation
Movement, yoga, dance, drumming and flow arts
Regular men’s and women’s groups
Sharing community meals
Regular group  meetings
Land and Animal Care

We also host a non-profit 501c3 called The Emerald Village Oasis with a focus on Learning, Ecology, Arts and Divinity. 

https://www.emeraldvillageoasis.org/visit-request-form

 

 

Our Mission

To share a thriving home connected with our land and seasons where we support each other physically, emotionally and spiritually. Through play, learning, and growth we create a nourishing and inspiring community.

  • Purpose
  • Social
  • Ecological
  • Home-sharing
  • Social
  • Languages
  • English
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Tiny Houses
  • Commune
  • Sustainability practices
  • Permaculture design
  • Activities
  • Property management
  • Experiences

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2011
  • Started planning
  • May 1, 2011
  • Started living together
  • 4 Total members
  • Not open to new members
  • Open to visitors
  • Not open to volunteers
Total
17

How to join

No path to permanent membership/ownership currently, but opportunities to rent and participate as a community member by living in one of our available homes. 

 

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Visit us at www.emeraldvillageoasis.org/visit-request-form and request to join the next open community brunch (typically 2nd Sunday of the month).

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

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

Decision-making process

  • Consent-Based (Sociocracy)

Decisions proceed unless someone has a reasoned objection.

Governance structure

  • Sociocratic/Circle-Based

Organized in circles or domains with distributed authority.

Conflict resolution approach

We are currently using Sociocracy as our model of governance.

We also hold a monthly circle to address both proposal forming as well as a process oriented time for any concerns, grievances or relational work. 

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 (10-15 hrs/month)
Everyone contributes a minimum of 10 hours per month toward the operations of the community. Each member is expected to join one primary circle in land, maintenance or connection (human relations) as well as other project based contributions and cooking once per month. We eat community meals twice per week together. 

Vehicle accessibility

  • Most / all people own their own vehicles
  • There are car sharing opportunities in your community

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

Garden(s), Swimming pool, Hot tub, Large community Kitchen, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Gym or sports area, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 2-5 times per week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced
  • Livestock / Animal Husbandry

Dietary restriction

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

Nature of social activity

  • Social events are common

Community activities and engagement

  • Community Meals (twice per month)
  • We host outside events on our property focused on personal growth, music, culture, art and movement. 

Educational and retreat offerings

  • Whole property retreat (twice per year for 2.5 days) with meetings, play and land work (internal to residents only)
  • We offer Communities 101- how to be a good communitarian 

Local connectedness

  • We have strong relationships with our local community

Friendliness of people and local government

  • It’s a mix

Pet policy

  • Pets are allowed, with special approval or according to policy

Pets must be approved before they come in. A pet deposit is required. When we have husbandry animals, it is the owner’s responsiblity to replace or reimburse for any lost chickens or livestock if they harm them. Pick up after your own pet. 

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies
  • Substance use occurs in peripheral / discrete / only in personal or private spaces

Practiced relationship models

  • Monogamy
  • Polyamory / Open relationships / Ethical Non-Monogamy (ENM)

Member support features

  • Onsite or nearby medical facilities
  • Religions
  • Christian
  • Buddhist
  • Jewish
  • Native
  • Wiccan, Paganism, or Earth Religions

DEI and anti-oppression training

  • Yes, some individuals

Resma Menakim’s work

Internal and external practices

  • Creates spaces to hear marginalized voices
  • Develops a system for addressing microaggressions

Resma Menakim’s work

Level of LGBTQIA+ inclusion

  • Very inclusive - significant LGBTQIA+ representation

Gender composition

  • Very diverse mix across all categories

Age demographics

  • Multi-generational (all ages well represented)

Racial / ethnic demographics

  • Very diverse (many backgrounds represented)

Socioeconomic and wealth composition

  • Very diverse (mix of working class, middle class, and wealthy members)

Diversity representation

  • Neurodiverse (ex. autism, ADHD, sensory processing etc.)
  • Chronic illness
  • Mental health conditions
  • Learning disabilities (dyslexia, down's syndrome)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By several individuals through an LLC or a Tenancy In Common agreement

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.

  • Tiny Houses

    Communities of small-scale dwellings (typically under 500 sq ft) emphasizing minimalism and sustainability.

  • Commune

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

  • Land-Based Communities

    Communities centered around shared land stewardship, sustainable agriculture, or connection to specific natural environments.

  • Spiritual Retreat Centers

    Residential communities focused on providing space for meditation, spiritual practice, and personal growth retreats.

Sustainability approach

  • Permaculture design

Land practices in our community

  • The community practices permaculture

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • 33 - 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Land area size
    9 acres

Guest Book

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Location

  • California, United States

EVO ~ The Emerald Village in Vista, CA

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
Need
  • Promoted
Offer
  • Promoted
  • Events
2 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
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
  • Communities with Openings
3 days 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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