Water Birch Co-op

  • Community
  • 0 followers

About the Community

What we do

We are seeking community around shared housing and meals in a large, urban house in downtown Denver. Open-minded, open-hearted, compassionate, self-aware. The house has 11 bedrooms.

The community is a self governing Co-op. The Co-op makes decisions cooperatively for how the house will function, so some things will change as we decide how to make the house work best for the diverse people living here. The starting intentions include:

• Communication with compassion.

• Shared space and life.

• Shared meals.

• Shared staple foods which are Organic.

• Group decision making.

• Safe, inclusive space: queer and trans friendly, anti-racist, non-violent, and feminist.

• The purchase of the house by the co-op in about five years.

• The expansion of the co-op, possibly to include other housing types (like separate apartments).

• Weekly meetings.

• We expect there will be a buy-in fee when the co-op becomes formal. We expect it might be between $500 and $1000 and will be refundable when moving out of the house.

• Quiet hours are from 10:00pm to 8:00am.

We are looking for community members who:

• Want to live in a community not just have a place to sleep and eat.

• Want to live in a beautiful, clean, and organized house and are willing to help make and keep it that way.

• Are curious, compassionate, flexible, and open to living with others who will undoubtedly have different ideas about many things.

• Are interested in pioneering a new co-op. There will be work involved to get there.

• Are responsible and communicative.

• Embrace enthusiastically that living in community requires introspection and personal growth.

• Are not joining as a way to run away from something.

The house belongs to one of the members. The intention is that the co-op will buy the house in about five years at which point the current owner hopes to buy another building nearby to enlarge the community. We would like to include others in our community in the form of dinners that include our neighbors and friends. We have a community potluck every other month and some neighbors garden with us.

Our Vision

To share community, meals, living space, food, and garden. To attend to personal and interpersonal growth.

Our Mission

To share community, meals, living space, food, and garden. To attend to personal and interpersonal growth.

  • 10 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
  • Open to volunteers
Total
10

How to join

We have an application form. The community reads applications, discusses prospective members, talks to them, meets them, does background checks, and decides as a group. We give 3-6 month leases to begin. At the end of their first year, the community together will decide whether to have the prospective member join permanently.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

We currently have an unoccupied room with a bed. Please call or email if you would like to visit.

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Governance structure

  • Sociocratic/Circle-Based

Organized in circles or domains with distributed authority.

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: $1030
Labor required: 4 hours/week
Members with pre-existing debt: Yes
We require members be capable of paying their deposit, rent, utilities, and shared food costs.  We verify income as part of the application process.

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

Common House, Garden(s), Workshop, Large Scale Kitchen, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 2-5 times per week

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a single individual, couple, or Family Trust

Setting

  • Urban

Within city limits with access to urban amenities and infrastructure.

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%
  • Land area size
    0.16 acres

Reviews

Location

  • Colorado, United States

Water Birch Co-op

Promoted Needs and Offers

Need
11 months ago

Travel to visit intentional communities with Ecovillage Tours ✈️

Ready to actually visit some communities? Take the next step on your journey towards intentional community living. Join an Ecovillage Tour! ✓ All-inclusive guided trips ✓ Visit a variety of communities, cohousings & ecovillages ✓ Meet community founders & residents ✓ Learn group governance, permaculture, eco-living & more ✓ Make lifelong friends within your traveling group ✓ Transformative adventure awaits! About Ecovillage Tours The only transformative travel experience that brings you to regenerative intentional communities. Find your next home, get guidance on how to start a community, or simply have a values-aligned vacation. www.ecovillagetours.com Upcoming Trips  Vermont | Jul 19–26, 2025   Italy | Sept 30–Oct 9, 2025   Hawaii | Jan 4–11, 2026   India | Feb 26–Mar 12, 2026  Bali | Jan 26–Feb 4, 2026  Costa Rica: Central | Jan 17–24, 2026 Southern | Feb 4–15, 2026 Caribbean | Mar 21–30, 2026 Guanacaste | April 12–21, 2026 See all the pricing, lodging, and itinerary information on the webpage for each tour. Or explore them all at www.ecovillagetours.com/upcoming-tours. Spots on trips are limited and fill up quickly. Book your spot today!   Questions? Email us at [email protected] Call us at +1 (734) 245-8745 Or schedule a 30-min Discovery Call with our team.   We look forward to hearing from you! Excited to journey together soon, —Cynthia Ecovillage Tours, Founder Hear what many past tour participants have to say about their experience:   “For anyone thinking of joining or starting an intentional community, or an ecovillage, this is an absolute must.” — Adam Bates, tour participant       “I had an amazing time on the tour!  It gave me an opportunity to experience things that I could have never done on my own.” — Lobsterbird, tour participant       “It is an experience worth paying for. You get to know places and people who are on the real hands on effort for bringing change and make local ecosystems more resilient.” — Eduardo Bryce, tour participant
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
Need
Need

Join our newsletter to stay up to date.

By subscribing you agree to with our Privacy Policy and provide consent to receive updates from our company.

Free Plan

Free plan
Free

Advertise in our Directory

  • Subtotal

    {{ currencyFormat( pricing_summary.total_amount ) }}

Become a + Member

  • Send Direct Messages and see contact information
  • Find communities based on your profile tool
  • Post Needs & Offers Listings and Events
  • Access to resources in the Members Library /// like vetted documents uploaded by communites (e.g. bylaws )
  • Member badge on your profile
  • View communities detailed reviews
  • Create Private Groups