Via Lactea Sanctuary is open to new members who wish to deepen diverse practices of Earth-centered Spirituality while farming in community. We are an agricultural community, spiritual education center, and retreat space organized as a 508 (c)(1)(a) non-profit, tax exempt FBO and Member Association. Current members (3 permanent full-time adults, and two part-time) live and homestead on and off-the-grid within a beautiful NY State Forest. We work in close connection to our waters, soils, forests, plant, animal and beyond-human-allies. We are currently seeking prospective Land Care Community Members who will tend (and work to regenerate) 84 acres of mixed forest and agricultural land, learn and share practices of Earth-centered spirituality, celebrate the Wheel of the Year, tend dairy cows, make dairy products (butter, yogurt, cheese etc.) and provide support in hosting trainings, events and healing retreats, especially for front-lines activists. We are especially interested in providing young or potential families with a place to produce nutrient-dense food, to homeschool their children, and to teach simple, Earth-centered living, all of which our founding family has done for 16 years. There is currently housing available (small, private rustic yurt and currently grid-tied large old farm-house) for two small families or up to six individuals (including possible partners). While we are currently seeking prospective permanent Land Care Community Members, we envision a community including a mixture of long term homesteaders/subsistence farmers, short-term apprentices and visiting retreatants. Core Values Subsistence is resistance. We liberate ourselves by working for the liberation of all beings. Heart-centered, Self-led connection with each other, the land, human and more-than-human communities. Shared values connect us. We hold the Earth as sacred, and we hold our work on/with the land as a form of worship, prayer and/or meditation. We encourage Earth-centered spiritual practices such as ancestral connection, recovery of individual and cultural lineage-derived spiritual technologies, and Earth-based healing practices. Core self-organizing agreements: 1) we use ADVICE PROCESS to consult with those who will be impacted by a decision; 2) we commit to an established CONFLICT RESOLUTION process; and 3) we seek regular practice in providing and receiving FEEDBACK. With time, we are working toward integrating INTERNAL FAMILY SYSTEMS-based Self-leadership into our community practice toolkit. We center consent and bodily sovereignty. We hold war as a fundamental tool of oppression, identify as an anti-militarism member organization, and work for peace on all levels of society-not just the absence of war. People of color and all gender/sexual orientations are welcome here and we commit to being in a continual process of examining and dismantling our racism, privilege and cultural biases.
Calling People of the Cow! We are Via Lactea Sanctuary, settled on traditional Gayogohono (Cayuga) homelands and striving to live in peace with All. Our mission is to create a sanctuary where ancestral wisdom, regenerative agriculture, personal and societal healing and land-based liberatory practices are integrated through collective subsistence farming. We have found that community-supported dairy cow husbandry provides a) an abundant and regenerative way of life, b) a pathway toward recovery of ancestral spiritual and agricultural practices, and c) a viable foundation for resistance to the dominance of Empire.
Membership process begins with prospective members (who may be local to Ithaca/Cortland NY) contacting us with interest, then attending community meals, celebrations, and/or work parties. Those who live further away may schedule up to a one week-long working visit. After participation in work on the land on three or more occasions, or a week-long working visit , prospective members may apply to reside in the community for an initial intake period, whose length will be determined by everyone’s circumstances at that time. One would be an “intern,” “apprentice” or ‘guest resident’ during this intake period.
Everyone must agree before moving forward.
Primary authority rests with the community’s founder(s) or designated leader(s).
Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.
Common House, Garden(s), Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Outdoor Kitchen, Large Scale Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Fire pit, Internet, barn, pastures, forest land, ceremony space
Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.
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