Cohousing-L Mailing List: Dancing Rabbit EcoVillage founder slideshow tomorrow (Berkeley, CA)

[Raines Cohen (rc3-coho-L]

Join Dancing Rabbit EcoVillage founder and my fellow Fellowship for
Intentional Community boardmember Tony Sirna for a slideshow and
discussion of the intentional community he helped launch. Learn how
this band of Bay Area pioneers created new community in rural
Northeast Missouri, living ecologically sustainable and socially
rewarding lives, and sharing the skills and ideas behind that
lifestyle.

Free for current East Bay Cohousing supporting members; otherwise, 10
bucks cash/check at the door. This is our first EBCOHO event at The
Long Haul, a wheelchair-accessible community space near Ashby BART,
across from La Peña and The Starry Plough; lots of bike parking out
front.

RSVP/info via the East Bay Cohousing website:
http://www.ebcoho.org/calendar/12799563/

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Unique features of Dancing Rabbit that California Cohousers can learn
from include:

    * Natural building, with straw bale and cob construction, allowing
many members to build their own homes
    * Renewable energy, tapping sun and wind power to operate off-the-grid
    * A biodiesel-powered vehicle cooperative pool
    * An internal economy with its own currency, barter, and an
income-sharing subgroup
    * Design for growth, with plans to reach 1,000 members through
villages and neighborhoods
    * Biodiversity enhancement via wildlife habitat preservation
through clustering and restoration through native planting and
permaculture, tree planting, and more.

The Dancing Rabbit Vision
In 1997 the DR Land Trust (DRLT) purchased 280 acres in the rolling
hills of northeastern Missouri. We are now 12 years deep into
pioneering and constructing buildings while planning and developing
community structure. People's social and economic needs are met
primarily on-site and locally, though a few support themselves doing
web work or off-site consulting. There is an ever-increasing emphasis
on internal economy, including a lot of barter and a well-used
internal currency. Eventually, we see 500-1,000 people living in our
village, with businesses and homes surrounding the village green.

As you might expect, ecological sustainability is the primary focus of
our long-term vision and our daily lives. Residents agree to follow
ecological covenants and sustainability guidelines. We build our homes
using alternative techniques such as straw bale and cob, powering them
with renewable energy from sun and wind. Vehicles at DR are owned
cooperatively and powered by biodiesel. Overall, we eat an
ever-increasing amount of local, organic, and in-season foods,
including many home-grown vegetables.

We strive to be good stewards of our land, with much of our acreage
reserved as wildlife habitat. In the grasslands we are reintroducing
native prairie plants to help revitalize our region's biodiversity. We
have planted over 10,000 trees to restore our land to its
pre-settlement ecology, stabilize the riparian zone, and provide a
sustainable source of wood for our community in years to come.

Diversity is an important element within our human population as well.
Our village is composed of individuals, families, and an
income-sharing community. We look forward to having other
subcommunities join us, and encourage the development of cohousing and
cooperatives. To allow for economic diversity and simple living, we
keep lease rates and membership dues low and have no buy-in fee.