Cohousing-L Mailing List: Rivendell Ranch

[Rivendell Ranch (rivendell_ranch]

Rivendell Ranch may or may not fit your expectations of an Intentional
Community. There are both non-profit and for-profit characteristics. I
bought the land and have been subsidizing and developing it with my own
funds for the last two and a half years. I am now looking for ways to
creatively create community and build communally. It may be partly communal,
partly many things. You'll have to decide for yourself whether the following
perks your interest enough to look further.

Rivendell is 160 acres in Washington State, located on the SW corner of the
Olympic Peninsula off highway 101. The ranch is 15 miles north of Hoquiam,
20 miles south of Lake Quinault, some 25 miles east of the ocean as the crow
flies. There are approximately 60 acres in pastures, meadows and other open
spaces. The remaining 100 acres are timber in various stages of recovery
from clear cut, included in which are three year round creeks and their
riparian support systems.

The physical address follows my signature below. www.mapquest.com will use
that address to show an online map, which you can then zoom out to see where
all this is taking place.

The guiding principle of Rivendell Ranch is to follow the description as
written by Tolkein in Lord of the Rings, in which Rivendell was the Last
Homely House West of the Mountains, the household of Elrond Half-Elven.
Tolkein's story has been one of my favorites for a very long time, and when
I started thinking about what I want to do with this land, Rivendell is what
I first thought of and have been following now for two and a half years.
Life is the proactive act of creation. Kindness, gentleness, inclusion,
non-discrimination, and an avoidance of politically correct language and
behaviour all come to my mind as I write about what I hope will come to be
here.

I hope and am working towards building a community of folk who enjoy living,
working and creating here on this land, as I do. Whether that is for a
night, a weekend, a week, the season or a lifetime - are all viable and
welcome options.

Technology is embraced in so far as it supports and enhances human life as
an integrated one-of-many with the world as it exists - the turning of the
seasons, harmonious living with the world and those others we share this
planet with. I am omnivorous. The current business lines are organic, grass
fed, free range meats, eggs, and vegetables. I am hoping to build a
community and profitable existence here in harmony with the world, this
land, our neighbors, and those who wish to join me. I see expansion moving
towards a dairy, cheeses, gourmet and medicinal mushrooms and herbs,
eco-village, self-sustainability, simplification from over consumption, a
movement away from rampant consumerism, an embracement of all, a strong and
enduring focus on the arts and humanities, a rugged determiniation to live
in harmony with the seasons of the earth in this place and those sources of
renewable sustenance that fit with this place.

There is a discussion currently under way to define the Rivendell Ranch
Constitution. It just started today, and is still gaining momentum. I am
currently concentrating on leading the conversation as regards Guiding
Principles, which the Constitution will be based on.

There is a second discussion group under way, in which all participants are
expected to participate actively in the creation process of building cob
(natural building material) Hobbit one and two room cabins here at the
ranch. These cabins will be rented out to produce an income stream to
support the basic expenses of the ranch, which include my personal living
expenses.

If you would like more information, would like to join one or both of these
discussion groups, or have any other comments or suggestions - please email
me privately. I am posting this information publicly to this group, but
responses to me posted to this group is not in the best interest of the
group at large.

Thank you for your time and attention.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Respectfully,

Guy Koehler
Rivendell Ranch
100 Hensel Rd
Hoquiam, WA 98550
(360) 987-0088 (busy means I'm probably online)

Rivendell_Ranch [at] Reachone.com (personal email)