Coho Canyon

Coho Canyon is a micro-community founded in 1990 and best defined as a very small ecovillage tugged in a cul-de-sac of a country road. Located in the south-facing hills of the San Geronimo Valley in West Marin County, California, we are in possession of two adjoining, sunny and woodsy parcels on a approx 55% hillside,  currently  a 1 acre and an 11 acre parcel with 2 cottages on each, all near each other where the infrastructure was developed, a natural forest, steep with seasonal streams and wildlife to commune with, and different ecosystems at different levels. We border a 200 acre parcel of raw land, a rather inaccessible forest  with no access easement from here.
The 3 cottages and communal farmhouse are within a stone’s throw of each other, at different levels of an approx 1 acre hillside. The setting allows for  audio and visual privacy.
Anyone interested to rent from us ( up to 1 year) or otherwise plug in as not-for-profit shareholders should know that, due to its proximity both to San Francisco and wide expanses of protected nature areas, Marin County housing is quite pricey. We are just 10 minutes west of the bohemian village of Fairfax which has a large natural foods store and plenty of live music and dance, cinema, cultural and educational events, a Summer farmers market, a Kazbah-style  Tea Temple with  events, etc.

The local economy is such that it is easy to earn a good living if you have entrepreneurial skills and/or a good work ethic.
Unfortunately, the land is still encumbered with a mortgage, high property tax and high home and  fire insurance, so we cannot offer below market rental deals, nor work trade. (not making our monthly overhead would cause our little relic from the 70’s to succumb to the gentrification going on here, and it getting sold to a land developer…wouldn’t want that!)

This one -of- a- kind place is currently held, and the financing secured  by two people only. We are currently ( 2026 on)  forming a legal framework for co-holding land,   and are currently  screening for  up to 5 people to put in $100.000 each as ownership shares with clear contracts for each person, and an exit strategy.   You will still need a source of income to inhabit a dwelling, as there will still be  overhead costs. We are open to ideas of what use you would want of the land in return ( but not speculation!), now or in the future, and the contracts would be supervised by a coop lawyer.
The good news is we have secured a new 30 year fixed on our name as title holders, so we can relieve the next generation of the burden of trying to qualify for a loan, while still providing land-security. Incoming deposits would be used to pay off some more cumbersome loans.

Our alternative is to sell it as a cul-de-sac estate on the market, but in our many years here we have heard that we are one of few communal, not-for-profit landholding ventures in the Bay Area, and pretty much the  only ‘hold-out’  from the 70’s.  We acquired it in 1990from the original 70’s people with 4 of us, to keep it off the real estate market. We found the oldtimers time capsule, and gave it to the valley historical museum. This is a legacy,  vintage land with grandfathered in cottages, they have been maintained by various contractor friends after the first big overhaul, and they are in good working order,  although they will continue to need maintenance of course as they date from 1940 to 1976 to 1994.

This listing is our last ditch effort  change the  old paradigm individualistic profit motive to a new paradigm of just co-holding with like-minded people.  We would hear from you what your vision is for joining, when we meet and  you see and feel the land.

The legacy we’d like to leave going into the future is:

= decommodification. (if we thought it was okay to speculate with land, we would do that ourselves right now after 35 years of paying off speculating partners and  a lot of high interest loans and re-financing through all sorts of global financial crises and). We are actively engaged with the larger community in our valley around this issue through public meetings and personal connections.

= the 10 acre conservation nature easement we had surveyed and paid to register in the county to prevent future development of our forest. ( if the primary mortgage would be paid off on that parcel, we could subdivide that off  and make it a conservation  land trust for wildlife and plant habitat , and be relieved of a lot of property tax….)

= for next generations of guardians to care for, and continue to do good works on and from here, and keep themselves and this cul-de-sac land with its private driveway a safe haven.

= we are affiliating ourselves with  the Deep Ecology philosophy/reality, and with the re-wilding/restoration movements and efforts in our bioregion.

Our little eco-haven here is in a very desirable location, and we believe it may be the last acreage in the bay area where the conditions for  a rural community/co-housing are already grandfathered in.  It is still in our capable, idealistic hands, but if we sell one of the 2 parcels on the market, that chance is forever gone! If you are able to make a substantial donation to our 501 c 3 non-profit organization,  become lienholders in 2nd and 3rd position on title ( great LTV right now) , and/0r  buy into a yet to be determined safe legal co-holdership framework  with help from FIC consulting resources,  you will help keep that possibility open for future generations.
We weathered storms, literally and figuratively here for almost 35 years years now, and did not succumb to the capitalist traps of real estate speculation (most exiting land partners did, whence the  mortgage:)).

This being communal land since 1976, we are unique in the area.
Idealism, integrity, and knowing we are mere temporary guardians, always wins!
We hope for same in the next guardianship, who will manifest their ideas suitable to their needs in these coming times. Although there is no need to be a ‘commune’, a common  general vision and like-minded/-hearted people  will be great, It is largely a business relationship for those who have other purposes than making this home, and  close friendly neighbors, pref inter-generational, for those who do want to live here. New partners could help create win-win contracts, within the ramification of what we know is possible as long as the 10 acres are untouched and used for gentle forest immersion only.

At this point in time , Autumn of 2025,  we can free up  a 400 sq ft  and two 600 sq ft cottages, when  the rental leases expire (our cohabitants have been made aware of possible impending  sale before they moved in) .

The  1500 sq ft farmhouse has two 300 sq ft large rooms with private entrances, they can be freed up as well but we prefer to keep the center part semi-communal, following the co-housing model.

Sorry our land is not suitable for tiny homes:( It just does not work to have add’l housing units of any kind.

We are set up for dogs due to a  previous nonprofit dogrescue effort of 10 years, as one of our many ‘giving back’ and activism efforts. Pets would have to be separated from the wildlife and kept as domestic companion animals.

The land has acquired many friends over the years:

Our ‘millennial’ and ‘gen z’  bay area friends come and enjoy a decompressing  experience. And international young students through the Wwoof.org platform come help us and meet minds and hearts with us.
We are looking forward to settling some matching people in here as a true long term home as soon as possible though in these fast changing times of Great Turning
Travelers /activists/artists/musicians/gardeners with work ethic and skills are welcome to apply to come and home-base on the land and trade for short periods of time with a contract.
We are open to new visions and ideas on how this land can facilitate ceremony, and healing for the Earth…
Are you ready to help create a new paradigm where some form of community is the only sensible, and good way to live? Are you financially solvent and able to help us in any way to  keep this safe for generations? Would you want to telecommute from this place of quiet, endless nature, friendly folks, organic farms, small town social life and entertainment, if city-life feels too stressful or is not tenable? We are within an hour of the cities and there is public transportation, ferries, etc, so some commuting works as well.
Do you have skills and abilities, a business sense and creativity, a desire to live simply with friendly neighbors doing same? Let’s do it!

P.S. We are considering together with  fellow idealistic landholders to allow the larger community  ( back-to-the-landers,  Burners, eco-philanthropists ) to help us shift from bankloans and other financial burdens by creating digital assets/ ecovillage coins based on appraised  landvalue. Anyone with experience setting this up and /or interested in doing this, please contact and you will Zoom with other super interesting folks!