Bright Coastal Homestead

Hello! We are a forming community, gathering Co-Founders. So far we are 4 people creating this vision and as we grow in number the vision will evolve! If this description is complimentary to what you are dreaming of, please connect with us.

Why homestead in community?

Many reasons! The common US lifestyle is not sustainable. Life is sweeter and more fun when shared. Inevitable ups and downs are easier to navigate when someone’s got your back. Caring for gardens and animals is more doable together, and it’s possible to take vacations and travel. To make it affordable to live a farm-based lifestyle for more folks. Raising children in a nuclear family can be intense, and community is a solution. In the US, most people report being lonely; it doesn’t have to be this way. Aging in our culture is often not with dignity, and we know a better way is possible. We desire work/life balance and more time to pursue our passions and contribute to the world around us. We want to be a living example of what is possible for humanity and the earth.

About us

We are an extended family of four ages 9,27, 50, and 53 with skills and experience ranging from- being excellent with animals, farmer’s apprentices, healthful living and nutrition advocate, hikers, campers, canoeists, ultimate frisbee captain, camp counselor, life guard, hosts of international students, midwifery educator, home-school parent, custom carpenter, and business-minded accountant. We value and practice heart-centered communication and consensus decision-making.

What we are planning to do:

We are looking for a beautiful piece of property in Mid-Coast Maine, near the vibrant little city of Belfast. We envision that we will preserve some of the land, give some back to our indigenous neighbors, reserve some for individually owned homes and place the rest in community ownership (land trust or non-profit/preservation). We would like to include some community-owned housing for travelers and exploring members, and other structures owned and maintained by the community, potentially including business spaces that can then support community upkeep. We envision a variety of unique, beautiful hand-crafted homes, from tiny off-grid cabins built from wood on the land, with composting toilets and water catchment, to medium sized grid-tied family homes with plumbing, or any combination in between.

We are committed to shared decision-making, perhaps with Sociocracy (an uplifting, efficient group process we’re learning about), and imagine rotating leadership roles to encourage equality and mutual growth. We envision a wonderful Common-House for optional shared meals, food preservation, yoga, dance, art, guest sleeping spaces, etc that make it possible for individual homes to be smaller. We are ready to fill a wood shop with community tools. We’d like to share cars and all other large equipment to lighten our impact on the earth.

We plan to raise vegetables and animals, thoughtfully steward the land in organic regenerative ways, homeschool/unschool in community, work hard, play, and rest deeply. The children will be free to run and roam (w/ some limits :-). We anticipate being multi-generational, with the varying life stages lending richness to the group. We believe that weekly games, meals and/or heart-circles are important to strengthen our capacity to be present, and deepen our connections with one another using NVC, etc. We imagine hosting wonderful teachers to support relationship sustainability to ensure a long-term community available to future generations.

Who we are hoping will join us:

Vibrant humans across the life span, people who lean in when conflict arises, understanding that it’s ok and completely normal. People who are naturally flexible-minded, and/or are conscious of how they are not flexible, and growing in that way. People who will, if it’s the right match, stick together and love each other thru the ups and downs, endeavoring to cultivate our connections, personal healing and community vibrancy.

Valuable skills we would be excited to have in a well-rounded community might include farming, knowledge of wild edibles, wilderness & homesteading skills, facilitation/sociocracy/NVC, carpentry, herbal/holistic medicine, animal husbandry/vet, yoga instructor, childhood educators etc.

We intend to give of our time and talents in the larger community, including hosting farm and nature programs which we’ve organized for children in the past, lending time &/or support to local families living in poverty and projects of local BIPOC. We’ll do our work to be conscious of and grow beyond white supremacy. We may create housing spaces in our community available to catch people in transition- refugees, unhoused people, single parents. We intend to train up a crew of volunteer carpenters for community uplift work.

About Midcoast Maine:

Waldo County and especially Belfast, Maine are beautiful, safe, friendly places to make a life. There’s an abundance of open-minded, open-hearted humans, MOFGA -Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association training farmers and sharing homestead skills, monthly Contra Dances, a gorgeous walkable downtown and harbor, outdoor music overlooking the ocean in the summer, a movie theater, a member-owned Food Co-op, community events all year, a community email list that serves so many purposes in keeping folks connected with offerings, needs and activities, Restorative Justice, homeschoolers and midwives, several alternative and enrichment educational programs for children, hikes, beaches, islands, Acadia National Park 1 hr away, etc etc.

Wade and Tara have lived here for 2 decades. 7 yrs ago, with a young daughter who wanted to be barefoot always (not compatible with winter), and our own desire for a warmer climate, we decided to work and travel across the US hoping to find a milder place that was as environmentally conscious, organic farming focused, spiritual/religious freedom respectful, w/ friendly open-hearted people, quiet nature places to explore, and an overall sensibility that we could call home. So we went off, had many excellent adventures as we explored the US coast to coast working 3-4 months at a time in a dozen locations, exploring tiny home communities and eco-villages. We learned a lot, met some cool folks, swam in the ocean in December, camped and hiked in National Parks, led several tiny home building workshops in NC, and after 3 years of romping, we had not found a place that was equal to what we had left. We missed the quiet and familiarity of home and so returned to Mid-Coast Maine intending to create a Community Farm here.

We are currently on a rented spot, in our 200 sq ft tiny house on wheels (we built it- one of the photos) , on a 100 acre organic sheep and cattle farm just outside of Belfast. Several photos are from our life here, plus some favorite nature spots. This is a terrific place to be for now while we work to create a cooperatively owned homestead for ourselves and some awesome others.

We intend to make living in this community as accessible as possible, with options to contribute in different ways with time and finances. Some of us will have jobs in the outer world, perhaps working from home w/ fast internet. We aspire to have some community based businesses that people can plug into without getting into a car. Some people will tend gardens and homestead. We will need some folks to contribute additional funds at the outset to purchase what we imagine will suit the group long-term.

We wish to be flexible about individual choices in some/many areas; other life-style compatibility is essential to our vision of community. Essential: Commitment to tend our heart-connections, to grow together as people and nourish our relationships. Conscious living, very little substance use, Understanding and respect of informed choice, bodily autonomy and medical freedom. Inclusive of LGBTQ+ and BIPOC. Value healthy eating. Low tech, screen free baby-hood, minimal screens as kids age, emphasis on real life experiences, human connections, earth connections, etc. We imagine most community spaces will be screen free or minimal, and we also enjoy movie nights and hope to have a group movie space and perhaps a wired shared office space.

We are middle of the road to liberal to libertarian in our political views.

We believe the earth is round :-)

We are open to all people to join us. If this description is appealing, please be in touch.

Thoughts on the name…

we’re open to the name changing! Alas, it’s already changed a few times as you see in the url :-) …

Some links below to give a sense of the larger mid-coast community.

Home

https://www.belfastfarmersmarket.org/

Home

https://ottertrails.org/

https://whiteashlearning.org/

https://www.ecologylearningcenter.org/

Home

Home

https://www.mainefarmlandtrust.org/

Maine Fiddle Camp

etc etc