Sign for The Lavra surrounded by trees and greenery in a natural setting.

The Lavra

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Social
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2012

What we do

We are located on 5 acres outside of San Luis Obispo, CA. We host WWOOFERs and other volunteers from around the world to help on our organic farm and learn small-scale farming and building methods. We offer workshops, lectures, and celebrations throughout the year that are meant to connect the wider community to each other through positive and educational interactions.

The kitchen and living area of the main house acts as a hub open to friends and visitors to the Lavra. We also hold events in our multi-use room in the main house, in which we do yoga/movie nights/music nights/public lectures. We also have a large vegetable garden, vineyard, and an animal area with chickens and milking goats.

Our Mission

We serve as a gathering space for the wider community. We enjoy supporting sustainable farming methods, the arts, educational initiatives, and creative building models. We also enjoy celebrating change and transitions, including through solstice celebrations and other gatherings. We hope to encourage a more reflective and cooperative society.

  • Purpose
  • Social
  • Activities
  • Farming
  • Education
  • Experiences

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2012
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2013
  • Started living together

Gallery

  • 6 Total members
  • Not open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
6

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Please review our website for more information on our farm and gathering space, then send us an email to arrange a visit or volunteer opportunity.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

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

Decision-making process

  • Leadership Decides

A single person, couple, or small group makes most major decisions.

Governance structure

  • Founder/Leader-led

Primary authority rests with the community’s founder(s) or designated leader(s).

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

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

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Large Scale Kitchen, Stage or Auditorium, Fire pit, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • About once a week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Dietary restriction

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

Community activities and engagement

  • School, Educational Institute or Experience
  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • WWOOF'ing, Guest Farming
  • Festivals, Conferences, Events

Substance use culture

  • Substance use is frequent and public in the community
  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a single individual, couple, or Family Trust

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Self-produced energy

  • Over 66%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • 33 - 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Greenhouse / aquaponics
  • Livestock / poultry
  • Land area size
    5 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • California, United States

The Lavra

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
4 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
5 days 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 
Need
Offer
  • Professional Services
2 days ago

Community Planning, Facilitation & Coaching for Intentional Communities

Through Radicle Collective, I support intentional communities and the people within them as they navigate the practical and relational work of building life together. My work can include visioning and community planning, facilitated conversations and retreats, decision-making and governance design, conflict transformation, establishing group agreements, culture-building, and individual or group coaching. I work with communities at many stages – whether it’s a few people exploring whether to live together, a fledgling community developing its foundations, or an established community in transition or conflict. I draw from training in psychology, coaching, urban and regional planning, facilitation, Nonviolent Communication, permaculture, and related practices to approach community as a living system – one shaped by individual needs, relationships, shared structures, place, and the connections between them. Rather than bringing a single model for how community should work, I help groups understand what is happening across those different layers, surface what matters, work honestly with difference, and create structures and practices that support connection, agency, belonging, and the values that brought them together in the first place. I’m based in Berlin and available to work online or in person, depending on location and scope. I offer sliding-scale pricing and am open to creative forms of exchange where appropriate. If your community is forming, stuck, changing, or simply wants some skilled outside support for an important conversation, I’d be glad to explore what might be useful. You can learn more about my work and get in touch at radiclecollective.com.
Offer
Need

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