Vintage red fire truck parked in a grassy field with trees in the background.

Tolstoy Farm.

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Home-sharing
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 1963

What we do

We are a decentralized rural community sharing 240 acres of canyon land in eastern Washington. The two main parcels are nonprofit corporations with dweller-owned homes, some on and some off the grid. Five adjoining parcels are owned by alumni.
We are 50 people whose lifestyles and interests are varied: from seasonal laborers and weekenders to rural commuters to primitivists who rarely leave the canyon; from high-tech to no-tech; from carnies to vegans.
Our differing pursuits include growing organic food to eat and sell, self-sufficiency, potlucks, parenting, homeschooling, carpentry, cooking, carnivorous plants, permaculture, massage, herbs, art, seed saving, gentle forestry, crafts, flowers, orchards, bee keeping, natural building, reading, relaxing, rebellion, rituals, music, and compost.
Our certified organic farm sells veggies in Spokane and through community-supported agriculture (CSAs). A limited number of summer worker slots are available yearly.
Two herbal business provide remedies and teach herbalism.
Davenport Violin and Bow teaches Violin and repairs them.
Residence openings occur when a member sells their house. Buyers must be approved through consensus meetings. We have one general meeting a year and weekly potlucks.

Our Mission

Decentralized rural living. Communally owned and managed land with privately owned improvements. Decisions made with consensus process. Community wide commitment to organic growing.

  • Purpose
  • Home-sharing
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Intentional Neighborhoods
  • Sustainability practices
  • Permaculture design
  • Natural / low-impact building
  • Activities
  • Farming
  • Experiences
  • Others

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1963
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1963
  • Started living together

Gallery

  • 24 Total members
  • Not open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
30

How to join

Members must be approved by community. Trial period of one year preferred.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Our availability to visitors varies. Contact us with the request and we will do our best to respond.

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Decision-making process

  • Full Consensus

Everyone must agree before moving forward.

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 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

Labor: Encouraged or suggested

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

Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Tractor & Farm Equipment, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • About once a week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Dietary type

  • Vegetarian Only

Dietary restriction

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

Community activities and engagement

  • Transition Town (post-petroleum and off-grid communities.)
  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • WWOOF'ing, Guest Farming

Substance use culture

  • Substance use is frequent and public in the community
  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Religions
  • Christian
  • Wiccan, Paganism, or Earth Religions

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Multi-generational (all ages well represented)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a Land Trust, Home Owners Association, or corporation

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.

  • Intentional Neighborhoods

    Geographically close groups of independently-owned homes whose residents actively cultivate community relationships and shared values.

Community type

  • Partially built or remodeled with recycled or environmentally friendly materials, and/or using natural building methods

Sustainability approach

  • Permaculture design
  • Natural / low-impact building

Land practices in our community

  • The community practices permaculture

Community type

  • Partially built or remodeled with recycled or environmentally friendly materials, and/or using natural building methods

Some or all of the buildings are...

  • Partially built or remodeled with recycled or environmentally friendly materials, and/or using natural building methods

Self-produced energy

  • 33 - 66%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar
  • Biomass (from wood or other organic materials)

Self-produced food

  • 33 - 66%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Over 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Greenhouse / aquaponics
  • Seed saving / exchange
  • Land area size
    280 acres

Guest Book

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

Location

  • Washington, United States

Tolstoy Farm.

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
Need
Need
  • Forming Communities
2 weeks ago

A call for pioneers, trade-builders, and the four Elemental Elders to construct our first cooperative village prototype.

Intake Open: Flagship WE Network Village in Clubb, MO Call for pioneers, trade-builders, and 4 Elemental Elders to construct our first cooperative village prototype. WE Network is opening ground zero in Clubb, Missouri—our living model to build trade shops and train leadership teams for nationwide village rollout. We are building a self-sustaining, salvaged homestead ecosystem operating as a parallel society alongside existing systems. Bring your own living setup (tents, micro-campers, trucks, schoolies, tiny homes) to secure your lot within the co-op village. The 3×3 Exchange: Mental, Physical, & Spiritual Maintain your lot via our 3×3 exchange (3 hours/day, 3 days/week = 9 hours total): Mental: Classroom teaching, strategy, skill-sharing, and village instruction. Physical: Hands-on labor building active land and shop projects. Spiritual: Participation in our weekly Friday Fellowship Fire Circle. Trade Shops & Lot Placement Every member contributes directly to our local micro-economy: Trade Holders: Set up your specific service shop for the co-op. Transitioning Members: Assigned a trade lot to focus on constructing the physical shop structure. Weekend Operations: Retail open Saturdays and Sundays. Mid-week is reserved for building and life. Priority Intake: The Four Elemental Elders We are recruiting four foundational Elders: Earth Elder: Land, soil, livestock, permaculture, and natural materials. Air Elder: Building structures and Eco Junk waste-to-material upcycling. Fire Elder: Spiritual health, Natural Law, body healing, and Fire Circles. Water Elder: Resource flow, food storage, bookkeeping, and services. How to Apply 👉 Visit fffc.wtf to submit your intake request today.

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A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

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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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