Lama Foundation

  • Community
  • 2 followers

About the Community

  • Established
  • Rural

What we do

Lama Foundation aims to serve as a sustainable spiritual community and educational center dedicated to the awakening of consciousness, service, spiritual practice with respect for all traditions, and stewardship of the land. Community life is viewed as a school of practical spirituality whose focus is individual and collective spiritual growth through service to others, simplicity of lifestyle, self-awareness, and commitment to daily spiritual practice in some form.

Members have an opportunity to learn mindfulness and responsible stewardship as well as skills such as natural building and permaculture, gardening, cooking, carpentry, and silk-screen printing. Community-building skills are a continuing focus. The community works together as a circle in caring for the foundation and strives for consensus in decision making. Summers are an out breath, with many visitors and a public program of workshops, retreats, and hermitages. We also operate a cottage industry for producing prayer flags and other items. Winters are an in breath, where members continue to serve and strive to take more time for intensive contemplative interspiritual practice and study.

The fire of 1996 offered an opportunity to explore a more sustainable lifestyle utilizing green building and permaculture techniques. Life is rustic, but very beautiful at an elevation of 8600 feet. Come and visit!

Our Vision

The purpose of the Lama Foundation is to be a sustainable spiritual community and educational center dedicated to the awakening of consciousness, spiritual practice with respect for all traditions, service and stewardship of the land.

Our Mission

The purpose of the Lama Foundation is to be a sustainable spiritual community and educational center dedicated to the awakening of consciousness, spiritual practice with respect for all traditions, service and stewardship of the land.

  • Community type
  • Commune
  • Spiritual Retreat Centers
  • Activities
  • Education
  • 10 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
  • Open to volunteers
Total
10

How to join

Summer stewardship is the gateway to residency. Summer stewards who want to be considered for residency must be stewards at Lama Foundation by August 1st, the latest. Earlier is recommended. This gives us 2 months to get to know one another and get a sense of fit. There is an application process for summer stewardship. Please visit our website to apply.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

We are open from late May through September to visitors, retreatants, and summer stewards who help join us as community members. Summer stewardship is the gateway to residency. Summer stewards who want to be considered for residency must be stewards at Lama Foundation by August 1st, the latest. Earlier is recommended. This gives us 2 months to get to know one another and get a sense of fit. We are not open in the winter months unless an exception has been made. Call 575-586-1269 or email ahead of time to arrange a visit.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

A few people (not elected by the broader community) make the major decisions.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Monthly fees/dues: Yes (amount not specified)
Labor required: 30 hours/week
Members with pre-existing debt: Yes

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Vehicle Share, Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Large Scale Kitchen, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • Approximately all meals

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies
  • Religions
  • Christian
  • Buddhist
  • Jewish
  • Muslim
  • Hindu
  • Quaker
  • Sufi
  • Hare Krishna
  • Wiccan, Paganism, or Earth Religions
  • Unitarian Universalist

Property status

  • Privately owned

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Self-produced energy

  • 33 - 66%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%
  • Land area size
    105 acres

Reviews

Location

  • New Mexico, United States

Promoted Needs and Offers

Need
  • Communities with Openings
5 months ago

Join us in the mountains of Western North Carolina

Coweeta Heritage Center/Talking Rock Farm is located in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Coweeta is located in a beautiful and diverse temperate rain forest. It feels very remote here yet we are just 12 miles from Franklin, NC. Winters can be mild. Coweeta is blessed with springs and a stream, pristine forests, and abundant wildlife. Power is provided by a hydro-electric system which is not connected to the grid. An organic garden and trout pond provide healthy food that is also shared with the local community. Hiking, kayaking, and other outdoor activities are just out the back door. Coweeta is looking for others who would like to join together to form an Intentional Community embracing the principles of Voluntary Simplicity. Simply put (no pun intended): We wish “to live simply so that others may simply live.” It is a recognition that nature provides us with valuable services and resources that we can use to enrich our lives. Utilizing local resources, appropriate technology, and working cooperatively, we can discover creative ways to meet our needs as “directly and simply as possible.”. An example of this, in the tradition of many Indigenous People”, is to gather, and use wildcrafted foods as part of our diet. There is great joy in going to nature’s grocery for our sustenance. Voluntary Simplicity is based on the recognition that “very little is needed to live well” and that “abundance is a state of mind.” Living lower on the economic ladder allows us more time and freedom to pursue other life goals: community and social engagement, family time, artistic or intellectual projects, more fulfilling employment, political participation, sustainable living, spiritual exploration, and more. According to the Voluntary Collective, “The grounding assumption of Voluntary Simplicity is that all human beings have the potential to live meaningful, free, happy and infinitely diverse lives while consuming no more than an equitable share of (the world’s) resources.” We affirm the need for a work/life balance, the right to a healthy environment and healthy food, and healthy community relationships supporting a diverse population. It is our responsibility as engineers of a new generation to make the changes that we want to see happen and pass this on to the next generations. We can’t wait for someone else to do this important work. Voluntary Simplicity is a quiet revolution that can change the world. As one person said, “we must be poets of our own lives and of a new generation.” We hope you will join us here at Coweeta or elsewhere on our journey to a healthier and more sustainable future! Temporary housing is available in a 27 foot trailer trailer with attached deck next to a creek while we build additional housing. Your basic living expenses (shelter, basic food items, power and water) are met through our market garden or other fundraising projects that you will participate in. You are expected to contribute a given amount of your time and energy to help grow our community and meet our financial obligations. Possible future plans include establishing a retreat center for healing our earth and each other. Work includes organic gardening, construction projects and other community building activities. Come join Coweeta and learn how to live lightly on the land and enjoy the Earth’s bounty! For more information, visit www.coweetaheritagecenter.com Contact [email protected] for a visit or more info.  Paul

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