Cozy cabin surrounded by lush trees and vibrant foliage in a forest setting.

Hamden Cooperative Forest Farm

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Forming
  • Social
  • Suburban

Founding year

  • 2020

What we do

  • Note: we have a room opening for July 1st, 2026! Please text or email to inquire!

We are founding a small community on 7.25 acres of wooded, hilly land in Hamden, Connecticut, USA, with a ranch house, a stream, a streamside meadow, and soaring poplars and maples. Although the land is heavily populated with invasive species, there’s also trout lilies, trillium, bloodroot, white wood asters, snakeroot, and several types of goldenrod. Day to day, we will be spending a lot of time together as a community: cooking and eating together; sharing chores; working together on home and land improvement projects; and hanging out. We want to host occasional events like workshops, cookouts, and backyard shows.
We want to manage the forest as a forest-understory farm that provides food for humans, especially mushrooms, shade-tolerant native edible plants like mayapple, honewort, ramps and fiddleheads, and water plants like wapato and cattail. We want the land to provide way more ecosystem services than it does now and support all kinds of wildlife, from turkeys to caterpillars. There is also mown yard near the house that can be converted over time into small garden and orchard areas. We have chickens, goats, and livestock guardian dogs.
The community is about 15 car-minutes or 30 bike-minutes from central New Haven. The monthly cost-share amount is $800 for one person or $1200 for two people sharing one room, plus utilities. We want to protect the land so that it can never be sold, but instead is owned in trust by the community, providing everyone who lives there with land security.
As a community, we have a lot of thoughts about power, privilege and how to live as justly as possible in a deeply unjust world. We are committed to restorative conflict resolution, and to anti-racism.
If this sounds like your dream living situation, please message us! We’ll be happy to answer any questions and send an application your way

Our Mission

Our focus is on community living with compassion towards each other and the ecosystem, using forest farming as one path into a better relationship with the world.

  • Purpose
  • Social
  • Community type
  • Coliving
  • Commune
  • Sustainability practices
  • Permaculture design

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2020
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2022
  • Started living together
  • 4 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
4

How to join

    1. Initial phone call
    1. Guest dinner or brief visiting period
    1. Membership trial period of 1 month
    1. Full membership

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Please email or call to chat and possibly set up a time to visit. We ask everyone these questions first: Are you interested in sharing chores, garden work, a meal rotation and social time with housemates, can you tolerate judicious glyphosate use on land you live on, and are you vaccinated against Covid?

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

  • 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
  • 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

Join fee: $800
Regular fees: $900
Labor: Yes (5 hrs/week)
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
Note: buy-in is equal to one month’s cost share and refundable upon departure.

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

Common House, Garden(s), Vehicle Share, Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Tractor & Farm Equipment, Fire pit, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • Approximately 1 meal per day

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced
  • Livestock / Animal Husbandry

Dietary restriction

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

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies
  • Religions
  • Wiccan, Paganism, or Earth Religions

Gender composition

  • Majority non-binary/gender diverse (over 30%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

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

  • Coliving

    Shared living spaces with private bedrooms/bathrooms and communal
    kitchens, dining, and social areas.

  • Commune

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

Sustainability approach

  • Permaculture design

Land practices in our community

  • The community practices permaculture

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Energy sources used

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Up to 33%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Livestock / poultry
  • Land area size
    7.25 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • Connecticut, United States

Hamden Cooperative Forest Farm

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
3 days 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.
Offer
Need
  • Communities with Openings
20 hours ago

Looking for a family-friendly farm, cohousing, or intentional community

This might be a little hard to explain, but I’m going to try. I’m 28, Colombian-American, and I have a seven-year-old daughter. Our life is a little unconventional. I travel, my work is not a normal 9–5, and I’ve realized I don’t want to keep building our life around temporary housing, hired help, and having to recreate a support system everywhere we go. I keep wondering whether there is somewhere we could actually belong. Not necessarily an “intentional community” in the formal sense. It could be a farm, a group of families, cohousing, an intergenerational household, or something I don’t have the language for yet. What I want is for my daughter to grow up around people she really knows. Other children. Adults who become familiar and trusted over time. A place where people notice when someone needs help, where meals or childcare or work sometimes overlap naturally, and where community is more than everyone living near each other. And for myself, I want people I can actually think and build with. I care a lot about spirituality, inner work, land, education, caregiving, and learning how to live differently. But I also care about power and about whether the communities we create reproduce the same things we say we’re trying to get away from. I need to be around people who can acknowledge things like racism, class, gender and systemic inequality without becoming defensive or treating those conversations as inherently divisive. I’ve been developing some of my own thinking around all of this through a framework I call Conscious Colombia, Participating Wisely, and Contemporary Sādhana. A lot of it comes down to a question I keep returning to: how do we become people who can participate in community wisely, while also creating structures that remain accountable and open to correction? I don’t have a fixed location in mind and I’m not looking to rush into anything. I’m really just trying to find the people and places where this kind of life is already being attempted — imperfectly, seriously, in real life. If you’re building something like this, living in something like this, or even asking similar questions, I’d love to talk.
Need
  • Events
3 weeks ago

Harvest Moon Fellowship Fire Circle

Harvest Moon Fellowship Fire Circle WE Network Flagship Village – Clubb, MO Join us under the rising Harvest Moon for our monthly Fellowship Fire Circle as we align with Natural Law, celebrate our monthly birthdays, and hold space for community fellowship. When: Friday, September 25, 2026 (Gathering begins at dusk) Where: Flagship Village Grounds – Clubb, Missouri Who: Pioneers, trade-builders, families, and community supporters Astrological & Lunar Alignments The Harvest Moon in Aries: Sitting opposite the Sun in Virgo, this full moon illuminates Aries, bringing pioneer energy, bold action, initiative, and the drive to build. Virgo Birthdays: At this gathering, we celebrate all village members born under Virgo (harvesting skills, practical service, order, and detail). Natural Law & Elemental Alignment Earth & Water (Harvest & Storage): As the Autumnal Equinox turns the season, we honor the physical yields of our raw materials, soil stewardship, and long-term storage preparation. Fire & Air (Fellowship & Vision): We gather around the flames to heal the body, align with Natural Law, share upcoming trade shop plans, and build our parallel community ecosystem together. Seeking Foundational Elders We are actively recruiting our Four Elemental Elders (Earth, Air, Fire, Water) to help lead and anchor our flagship village. If you feel called to step into a leadership role for land stewardship, eco-upcycling, spiritual/body healing, or community systems, come connect with us at the fire. What to Bring: Camp chairs, blankets, and a spirit of fellowship. 👉 Details & Intake: Visit fffc.wtf
September 25, 2026 00:00 – September 27, 2026 23:59
Need
  • Forming Communities
4 weeks ago

Looking for: people building relational capacity, with a view to community

What’s here now: An intention, a framework developed over five years, and a programme running in central Victoria to find people to build with. No land, no group, no timeline. The question this is organised around: What makes a community of people living together sustainable over decades – where people enjoy being there, conflict is low, and the conflict that does arise gets handled in ways people value. The distinctive premise is capacity before formation. Most communities form first and build relational skill afterwards, usually under pressure. This one proposes doing it the other way round: people build the capacities first, and the group forms from people who have them. That includes a working idea about collective capacity – that a group has a ratio, and below some threshold it can’t metabolise its own conflict and starts consuming itself. Roughly: in a group of twenty, perhaps three or four with high capacity, most in the middle, and very few without. Untested, and something this project exists to find out. Governance: Sociocracy, with the intention of testing it meaningfully at scale rather than adopting it nominally. What’s actually happening: A three-week residency at a property near Castlemaine, and a practice group running before it. The medium-term aim is twenty to forty people at a rented facility. The long-term aim is a support hub sharing the framework more widely. What I’m looking for: People who want to build this capacity seriously, and who might eventually want to build something together. Not necessarily people who want to live here – the current property probably isn’t the long-term site. Happy to hear from anyone this resonates with, including people already in community who’d rather share what they’ve learned than join anything.

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