communal Living - *opening(S)*
OPENING: (1) 150 to 200 sq. ft. bedroom for up to 2 individuals
Cost: $760 per month (Or… $650 plus up to 5.5 hours of Village Farmstead designated work per month @ $20/hr- We have an ongoing list of farming, building, and stewardship projects - not including the Workshare (below) - that we’d love your input and help on). *Utilities and Internet included.
Communal Food and Dinners: We aim to share 1-4 dinners per week. Residents are responsible for cooking at least one dinner every other week.
Residents are also responsible for fulfilling a Workshare (or an otherwise determined equivalent). Village Farmstead is responsible for planning - alongside other residents - year round access to staples (onions, canned tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, winter squash, frozen vegetables) as well as providing a CSA equivalent of vegetables for each member.
Weekly Meetings and Chores: We have weekly meetings, mostly for simple check-ins, but also for discussing more complex decisions and projects.
All residents take part in weekly house chores PLUS snow shoveling and building-upkeep, and landscaping (mowing, gutters, etc…) within reason, and only if and when determined necessary.
Values: We are particularly interested in residents with an interest in land stewardship and farming, and who share and want to engage further with our values:
Ecology - Recognizing that all things are connected and interdependent. Being conscious of and responsive to our knowledge that our decisions and actions affect everything now and to come.
Self-Sufficiency & Thrift- Finding creative solutions to meet group and individual needs without compromising the regenerative capabilities or intrinsic value of the land, but in a conscious attempt to free ourselves from complicity and complacency in violence to other life and lands. Living within our financial means while maintaining a critical consciousness as to the impacts of the choices we make.
Communication & Teamwork - Creating pathways to being more honest, thoughtful, and observant with ourselves and each other. Learning to listen to ourselves and to each other. Understanding our feelings, communicating them, and working through them with others. Trusting each other and having a collaborative - and gracious - attitude.
Well-Being - Maintaining, respecting, and promoting our own and each other’s well-being. Creating a space where each resident’s requirements are heard and responded to, and where each individual can pursue their self-worth - in accordance with these values - and feel safe.
Solidarity - Sharing and seeking fellowship based on these values with friends, family, and our immediate community. Committing to the adage that "an injury to one is an injury to all," and therefore being critical of and responsive to our interconnectedness to other struggles here and abroad, especially those of the more oppressed and marginalized farmers, peasants, and farmworkers.
These values are alive and continually evolving with our community. They articulate concepts to be applied to our lives, in general, and to decisions and actions made at or by Village Farmstead; these are ideals we want to practice and get better at.
Career Opportunity: Let’s help each other live each our best life. It goes by fast. Members who live at Village Farmstead for one year - and appear to be a good fit - will have the opportunity to work with Sam and Sara to design, plan, and pursue a project and or career within Village Farmstead - this could be anything from an Event Planner or Store Manager to Pasture and Livestock Manager or Flower Farmer. Projects and careers will be considered based on the overall compatibility of the project and the resident with Village Farmstead.
Your residency also includes:
A private bedroom and personal storage space.
Parking for up to 1 vehicle per resident.
Shared bathroom, kitchen, living rooms, tool shed, and finished garage for shared storage as well as crafting/recreational space.
Shared 9 acres of recently planted organic pasture, for agricultural or other land-based projects!
FUN! Monthly craft & movie nights, seasonal parties, our over-active holiday decorating and planning committee, and Leftovers
A note from Sam and Sara: As the current so-called “owners” of Village Farmstead; we take very seriously our stewardship of the business, the land, and buildings; and, more importantly, our mission and our values. We aim to find consensus with all the residents of Village Farmstead, however, as “owners”, we are responsible for the longterm impacts of today’s choices, and there are certain decisions that require straying from consensus. We are well aware of these power imbalances, inequalities, our consequent potential of corruption, and constrained judgement. It is for that reason, we are in search of practical community ownership models that maintain and expand upon the original nature of this project.