Communities Directory: Motherland Ecovillage

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Forming Formed: 2009

Motherland Ecovillage

Portland, Oregon,

United States

(seeking to establish rural community outside of Portland, Oregon or elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest)

We are an egalitarian community forming in the Pacific Northwest, inspired by our vision of a community of neighbors living in harmony with nature. Each family will live on their own family domain about 2.5 acres (1 hectare) in size, on which you may design and plant your own gardens with living fences, grow your own food, co-create a beautiful home and Space of Love and cultivate a personal connection with the natural ecosystem. Family domains will be designed with the knowledge and security that the land will be passed down to your family's future generations in perpetuity. Founded on the principle of individual family domains allowing the greatest ecological, spiritual and creative potential, this model preserves individual privacy and personal creativity while offering a community-based lifestyle responsible to a village of cooperative neighbors with shared values.

Values include living and working practices that are socially and environmentally conscious, and eco-healthy for the earth and all of life. This includes 100% organic gardening, 100% non-toxic homes, and fully supporting each other in transitioning to re-localized "small is beautiful" economies and living systems. This new 2.5 acre family-centered ecovillage model answers the most pressing concerns of our time inclu. peak oil, climate change, ecological restoration, love & relationships, education, health, healing, housing, transportation and economic uncertainty. This is a complete paradigm shift in which one's emergency plans are also one's most joyous dreams for the future.

Permaculture, Grow Biointensive, Natural Fukuoka Farming, Indigenous/Local Wisdom, and other horticultural practices are all welcome, with a preference for self-sufficient gardening not using machinery and not seeking to profit from the land. The original meaning of the word "farm" is to take. The original meaning of the word "garden" is to give. We seek to establish a culture of generosity, abundance, self-sufficiency, creativity, truth, joy, and love.

ME's vision (borrowed from Mothering Magazine): "celebrates the experience of parenthood as worthy of one's best efforts and fosters awareness of the immense importance and value of parenthood and family life in the development of the full human potential". We envision the community being of all ages and all family situations, including singles, non-traditional families, elders and youth. Thanks for reading! http://directory.ic.org/22404/Motherland_Ecovillage

Status: visioing - seeking land and members

Website: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=107761785457

Contact:

Send an Email

Links:

http://ringingcedars.com: Official Ringing Cedars Press website - read sample chapters and check out the most incredible, mind-blowing, life-changing books, the Ringing Cedars Series.

http://www.realitysandwich.com/node/788: Call of The Ringing Cedars by Scott Fraser - great book review and personal account, includes statistics of Russia's dachnik gardeners growing the majority of the country's food

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjdRxCmPJsk: Life in Eco-village - awesome RussiaToday news profile of one of Russia's first Anastasia-inspired ecovillages and its community members

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlMDckgqU30: Practical Tools to Grow an Intentional Community - video by Peak Moment interviewing Diana Leafe Christian author of must read book Creating A Life Together

Last Updated:11/20/2009

Visitors Accepted

Visitor Process: Please join our email list and email us using the Email This Community link! We are also forming a local readers group in Portland, OR. You can join the readers group (for people who may or may not be interested in the ecovillage) on Facebook (URL at the top of the listing). Thank you for your interest. Bright thoughts to you and your family!

Population Non-member Residents: 0 (we are also open to members, supporters, and volunteers who may not live on the land but wish to conribute to the community) Open to new adults: Yes (please send us a message if you would like to keep in touch, join the mailing list, etc; your info will be kept private, including unknown to people on the email list (unless you specify you'd like to network with others) Age Focus: No Focus (we are seeking members interested in raising children in the ecovillage as well as members of all ages) Age Restrictions: No	Government Decision Making: By consensus (a vision document and community bylaws will be written, with clauses for changing the documents as needed; to be written by and agreed upon by residents using consensus) Identified Leader: No Leadership Core Group: Yes (we are too small to need a core group separate from other members at this point; in the future, a process for people interested in becoming new members will be formed, which could be as simple as meeting each other and working together over time all the way to a tiered transition that involves a trial period to make sure it's right for everyone with no risks)	Labor and Money Financial Style: Members have independent finances Open to Members with Pre-existing Debt: Yes Labor Contribution: Expected (general community building involvement; possible work trade options in lieu of or in addition to payments for the cost of the domain; community participation may not be required in some cases e.g. personal commitments, caring for family, etc.) Join Fee: No Regular Fees: No
Land and Buildings Rural (currently based in Portland, Oregon) Area: 0 acres (0.0 hectares) (open to a range of acreage amounts; five families = 12.5 acres + common areas; 30 families = 75 acres + common areas) Land Owned By: Individual community member(s) (NO LAND YET: we are researching the best structure that works with zoning laws and allows private ownership to protect land passed down to family in perpetuity and with limits to keep land within the ecovillage - perhaps land trust, conservation easement, non-profit, or HOA) Number of Residences: 1 (each family will live on their own private +/- 2.5 acres plus common areas for a community health & education center, community festivals, and shared walkways) Cohousing: No	Food, etc. Percentage of Food Grown: over 50% (goal is near 100%, mostly on individual family gardens inclu. food forests, plus possible community land for shared grains, fiber, etc.) Share Community Meals: Rarely (up to individuals, meals will be shared during community celebrations) Dietary Choice or Restrictions: Diet is up to each individual (vegetarian, vegan, and raw living foods diets will be supported but not mandatory) Dietary Practice: Other (diet is closely related to one's environment, lifestyle, and physical/emotional/spiritual health; living on your family domain will likely influence your diet to be greatly different from current practices if you are living an urban lifestyle, in transition as far as the state of your health, and/or not growing the majority of your own food) Alcohol Use: Seldom used (residents will be free to drink alcohol as they please, but responsible consumption is expected) Tobacco Use: Prohibited (no smoking at any location within the future community, including on roads and paths, open spaces, indoors, and parking areas; applies to visitors and residents; exceptions would be religious or spiritual practices if natural tobacco free from all synthetic chemicals is used and is okay with immediate neighbors)	Social Factors Restrictions on Romantic Relationships (between consenting adults): Yes (no set restrictions but the culture will be supportive of family-centered relationships that function as healthy models for children and value respecting girls and boys equally as future mothers and fathers and neighbors, rather than objectified partners) Shared Spiritual Path: Yes (a non-denominational awareness of and respect for all of life) Which Spiritual Path(s): Other (all are welcome!) Educational Style(s): Other (free schooling, home schooling, and unschooling will be supported by family domains and a community center for educational programming; families will be free to choose the education they feel is best - public and private schools that may be near by, forming a free school within the community, organizing with other un/home schooling families to offer community-led education, strictly personalized family/nature-based education, or a combo of any of these, etc.)

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Become an Editor Current editor(s): Aireen

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