Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Farming in community

[Beverly Jones Redekop (beverly.jones.redekop]

We just freshened our values statement today:

Groundswell Cohousing at Yarrow Ecovillage
Yarrow, BC

Whole Farm Plan
Core Values – Feb 10 , 2019

Yarrow Ecovillage Community Farm Values

We live in a co-housing community that includes a farm. We have all chosen
to live in smaller spaces in high density living in order to preserve our
farm and natural wildlife habitat. We are creating a way of living that
sustains the place where we live via a shared understanding and value of
the commons.

The Yarrow Ecovillage Community Farm defines sustainability in the
following way:

1. We thrive even as individuals come and go (regenerative social planning).
2. We steward the land and waterways (regenerative agriculture).
3. We cultivate strong ties between people and land (multi-generational
relationships).

>From our definition of sustainability we have identified the following
values:

Community Commons
We value opportunities for participation on the farm and among community
members and farmers.
We value interdependence, respecting the nurturing cycle of soil, people,
and seeds.
We value interconnectedness: the person to person interactions, the
connection of people to land, and the connection of our greater community
to the land.

Environment
We value long-term stewardship of land, intentionally building soil using
organic methods and respecting wildlife habitat.
We value restoration of land and waterways.
We value interactive biodiversity.
Local Food Security
We value supporting small scale organic farming: access for farmers to
affordable land and shared infrastructure that supports the ability to
start and sustain farming.
We value a local economy where community members have access to organic
produce on site, and where we support our farmers in a very real way.
Education
We value the sharing of knowledge.
We value the mentorship of new and potential farmers (succession planning).
We value the multi-generational relationships with land and people with our
children learning and becoming part of food and land sustainability.
We value a culture of learning, sharing, and sustainable practices.
By living and practicing these values, we hope for dynamic, joyful,
passionate ripples of connection between land and people. And that this
farm is becoming a living example of deeply caring for and respecting land
and people.

At the Yarrow Ecovillage Community Farm, this is done within the context of
the commons: our human-scale commitment to the “ongoing reciprocal
relationship” of these people to this land.


On Sun, Feb 10, 2019, 10:03 AM Rich Wilber <richwilber [at] comcast.net> wrote:

> Rocky Corner Cohousing, currently under construction in Bethany,
> Connecticut, will have an organic farm as part of the community. We haven't
> finalized the relationship of the farm to the community, and we are asking
> for ideas on how other communities with farms have resolved this. Lease the
> land to a farm entity? Pay a live-in farmer? Community owns the farm and
> any financial risks?
>
> Thanks in advance for any feedback!
>
> Rich Wilber
> _________________________________________________________________
> Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
> http://L.cohousing.org/info
>
>
>
>