Heartwood Cohousing

  • Community
  • 0 followers

About the Community

  • Established
  • Rural

What we do

We are a close-knit community of people who care about each other, support each other, and have fun together. We are blessed to live in a peaceful and beautiful place. Our close connection with nature means we enjoy plenty of outdoor recreation and organic food grown on our own land. Strong community relationships, low stress, playing outside, and eating local organic food add up to an exceptionally healthy lifestyle.

Although we are an established 24 home community (completed in 2000), we are currently developing a second phase of 14 homes so that also makes us a forming community. We broke ground in July 2025 with new homes ready for move-in in 2026. Check out our website for lots more information.

We own 360 acres in southwest Colorado (Durango/Bayfield area), of which 67 acres is irrigated pastureland, where many members keep horses, llamas, and cattle. We enjoy a rural lifestyle – peace and quiet, close to nature, unlimited nearby recreational opportunities in the mountains and red rock canyons (including 7 miles of trails on our land), star-filled night skies, free from crime and traffic, clean mountain air, and organic food grown right here on our own land. Our rural location also means that Heartwood is a very close-knit community and an amazing place to raise kids.

Because we have high speed internet available (100+ Mbps available) and a great little regional airport just 25 minutes away, many Heartwood members work remotely from home.

The neighborhood and homes are designed so we can easily enjoy privacy or community socializing when we choose. Kids are safe, loved, and well-supported.

We help each other in times of hardship or need. We celebrate with each other in times of joy.

We share the value of environmental stewardship. All of our homes are very well built, passive solar, and energy efficient – many of them feature strawbale or straw-clay construction. They are clustered on just a few acres, leaving over 95% of our land in open space. We share resources to minimize our environmental footprint. All of our farming and gardening is organic. We have many photovoltaic solar systems, with more being added almost every year.

We live in a nearly perfect four-season climate with 300+ days of sunshine per year. Although our summers are warm and sunny, our dry mountain air means that our homes don’t need air conditioners. We keep our windows open throughout the spring, summer, and fall. The fresh air is another way we’re able to stay more closely connected with nature and enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

We share many wonderful amenities: approximately 350 acres of open space, 7 miles of trails, 67 acres of irrigated pastureland, gorgeous common house, village green, kids play structure, woodworking shop, gardening tools, greenhouse, raised bed gardens, henhouse, laundry facilities, exercise room, library, free box, guest rooms, ping pong and foosball tables, tennis and pickleball court, basketball court, barns and stables, tractors, yurt, hot tub, sledding hill, bonfire circle, and more.

We are located at an elevation of 7100’ in the Four Corners region, about 20 minutes east of Durango and 3 minutes west of Bayfield. We are surrounded by gorgeous uncrowded public lands. The San Juan Mountains are just north of us boasting Colorado’s biggest concentration of 14,000’ peaks and its largest wilderness area. West of us is the Colorado Plateau, which contains the red rock canyons of Mesa Verde, Canyonlands, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Zion, and Grand Canyon National Parks. There are more wilderness adventures within 5 hours of Heartwood than you could fit into a lifetime.

We’ve packed a lot of information and photos into our website. Please take a look around and virtually explore Heartwood Cohousing. If you like what you see, click on the “GET IN TOUCH” link to stay connected via our “Heartwood Happenings” and “Phase 2 Update” newsletters. You’ll also find information about our virtual tours, which we host on Zoom on the 15th of every month at 3:00 Mountain time.

Whether your goals are the deep connection of community, a healthier and more peaceful rural lifestyle, an active outdoor lifestyle that includes world-class hiking, road and mountain biking, skiing, kayaking and rafting, weekend family camping trips to the desert or the high mountain wilderness, or an evening of excellent food and entertainment in nearby Durango or Bayfield, Heartwood is a great place to live, love, put down roots, raise your family, grow together, prosper, and change the world – one neighborhood at a time.

Our Vision

Our Vision: To create and live in a community that fosters harmony with each other, the larger community, and Nature.

Our Mission

Our Vision: To create and live in a community that fosters harmony with each other, the larger community, and Nature.

  • Community type
  • Cohousing

Video

  • 66 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
  • Open to volunteers
Total
66

How to join

Our membership process is self-selecting, which is to say that after thoroughly familiarizing yourself with Heartwood, it is your choice whether or not to join the community. The process is detailed in our Prospective Member Checklist available on our website. We sometimes have homes for sale or rent. Please feel free to check our website for details and contact our Membership Team for more information.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

We offer virtual tours on Zoom on the 15th of every month at 3:00 Mountain time. On our website you can find information about our monthly virtual tours and register. Please call or email us to schedule an in person visit and tour. We can help you reserve a Common House guest room for your stay. You are welcome to attend community meetings, community meals, work parties, or any other community events during your 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: $350
Labor required: 2 hours/week
Members with pre-existing debt: Yes
We do expect everyone to actively participate and contribute their talents to the maintenance of the community, ideally in the ways that work best for them with an offering of at least eight hours of community work per month. Monthly dues for each home (approx $260 – $530 depending on number of people in home) contribute to the community’s annual budget which addresses common costs including common building maintenance, water/wastewater management, landscaping, roads, trash, etc.

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

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Hot tub or hot springs, Large Scale Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Gym or sports area, Internet, 7 miles of Trails, Irrigated Pastureland, Tennis & Pickleball Court, Sledding Hill, Meditation Yurt

Frequency of communal meals

  • 2-5 times per week

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies
  • Religions
  • Christian
  • Buddhist
  • Jewish
  • Hindu
  • Quaker
  • Native
  • 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

  • Wind
  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%
  • Land area size
    360 acres

Reviews

Location

  • Colorado, United States

Promoted Needs and Offers

Need
  • Communities with Openings
9 months ago

Seeking Couples Interested in Long Term Deep Connection & Farming (open to singles)

Description Our  sloped and terraced community farm has far more potential than we have time and energy to use to the fullest. We have been in community for 15 years now, but feeling pulled to the deeper nourishment we find in long-term residents over shorter-term interns.  We seek one to two couples (or super aligned singles) who are interested in conscious connection, intimate conversation, personal growth and healing, regenerative agriculture, and serious about a building a life in community.  Although we hold space and flexibility for shifts in needs, we desire humans who plan to stay for all or part of a season (1-3 months at a minimum), after which we would explore longer-term alignment and relationships.  We MAY also be open to folks wanting to live off-site, as long as we prioritize ample time to explore how we work together before we get too deep. Current Use Heart 2 Heart Farms is a small, forested, 10 acre Permaculture farm nestled in the fertile hills of the Willamette Valley. Between the quaint towns of Newberg and Sherwood, this oasis is in the middle of wine country, just 30 minutes south of Portland, has been an intentional community and teaching facility for over 15 years, hosting a myriad of community outreach, up-cycling, homesteading, and prepping workshops.  Although we have recently slowed substantially, residents should be prepared for both a busy environment, and shared, informal, mixed-use spaces. We are almost completely self-sufficient, producing large varieties of heirloom fruits and vegetables, and we breed, butcher, and sometimes sell heritage chickens, turkeys, rabbits, pigs, goats, sheep, and cattle. We tan hides, carve bone, save seed, occasionally blow glass, throw pottery, create alternative/green energy, dig root cellars, and build constantly. We have three large un/under-utilized areas available: The front hill is a terraced and amended south-facing slope that has LOTS of room and potential. We also have a poultry pasture is 2 acres of partially wooded Douglas Fir, an additional 4 acres of wooded mixed use browsing space and native habitat that’s virtually unused at the moment, two large greenhouses (including one set up aquaponically), and lots of space to expand the orchard and rotational grazing system. Additionally, we have a 20’x40′ healing center and sacred space we use for yoga, massage, reiki, ceremony (including traditional Lakota sweat lodge and grief/trauma work), and make available to local practitioners to offer their services to the community. If you are wanting to connect deeply, work hard, learn and expand your experience base, and participate in a small but established intentional community, shoot us a note and let’s explore. Owner’s Short Term Vision for the Property Our short-term goal is to find/train a few young/new farmers to assist with land stewardship and increase productivity of the existing space to spread out the work/responsibility and assist in overall streamlining and cleanup of the existing farm/operations. Owner’s Long Term Vision for the Property Our long-term vision is to continue to use this space as a teaching and educational facility, expanding the diversity and frequency of events we can host and services we can offer. Over the next few years, we hope to find an a couple interested in learning/independently managing most of the farm production, which will allow us to dig deeper into the training and certification we make available, to include natural building, basic and advanced Permaculture technique and application, beekeeping, horticulture, animal husbandry, food preservation, fermentation, plant identification/natural foraging, and primitive skills. Available Water / Irrigation Extensive rainwater collection on site, as well as a high-flow/capacity well. Soil Type / Quality Sandy loam with great organic matter, good clay content, and established vermiculture and mycorrhizal network. Buildings and Structures Available for Farm Use We have multiple barns and greenhouse space for use, or lease, depending on the particulars of use/situation. Farm Equipment Available for Use We have a skid steer on site, as well as rototiller, chipper, 26′ truck, and pickup trucks for use. Hand tools are also available, depending on the arrangement. Any Restrictions That Could Limit Agricultural Production Creating and supporting natural borders, food forests, and wildlife habitat (and incorporating these into a holistic/natural pest management strategy) is a very high priority to us, so intensive mono-crop/large machine harvesting and/or crops needing spraying/chemicals are not likely a fit on this site. County: Washington Total Acreage: 10 Acreage Available to Landseeker: 5 Current Farming Practices: Organic, Not Certified, Biodynamic, Dry Farming, Season Extension Farming Practices Allowed: Certified Organic, Organic, Not Certified, Biodynamic, Dry Farming, Season Extension Agriculture Types Suitable: Beans, Bees, Berries, Dairy, Fiber Animals, Flowers, Goats, Herbs, Hogs, Mushrooms, Nursery Stock, Nuts, Orchard/Fruit, Pasture, Poultry, Rabbits, Sheep, Vegetables, Vineyard, Other
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