Forest Moon Ecovillage

The whole purpose of the Culture Artist Organization is to help each other learn to live in harmony with nature while reducing our environmental 'footprint.' The ultimate way to maximize sustainability is to create communities built on sound ecological principles. There are such communities in existence now, but as an artist and a musician, I have an intense interest in seeing such a community built around the arts. I began the Culture Artist Organization in November of 2006 with this goal in mind. Since that time, I have found that there are artists, musicians, and art patrons all over the world who share my vision! Combining sustainability and artistic expression just seems to be a perfect blending of all the best things in life.

With that idea in mind, a few of us 'green thinkers' have begun to work towards designing and creating just such a community. This community will not only be a sustainable village; it will also function as an educational facility, a place for artists to showcase their talents, and as an example to the world of what is possible. Our eventual goal is either 'zero footprint' or 'negative footprint' where the environment is concerned. A 'zero footprint' community would take from the Earth no more resources than it puts back. A 'negative footprint' community would actually add more to the Earth than it takes away; for example, if we have to cut down a tree, we plant two in its place.

We've begun designing such a community...on paper at least...and hope to eventually make it a reality. We're looking for people who would also be interested in such a community. Do you have a keen interest in sustainable living? Do you feel more at home with nature than with the 'concrete jungle' of the city? Are you an artist or a musician, or do you at least have an interest in the arts? Then you're the sort of person we're looking for!

Any interested parties would have a say in how such a community would develop...what its principles would be, how its people would live, what its vision is. Since our potential members are spread out all over the globe, we usually 'vote' by email on issues that arise. Information on developments with the community are posted in the monthly Culture Artist Newsletter. 

We are also looking for Board Members for the Forest Moon Ecovillage. Board membership is not necessarily restricted to residents of North Carolina, although the organization will be based here. We have board members from as far away as Texas who will be participating online. The only requirements for board membership are as follows:

1. You have a sincere desire to promote sustainable living
2. You have a working understanding of the principles of Deep Ecology
3. You have at least five to ten hours per month to contribute to the Forest Moon Ecovillage
4. You can travel to South Carolina/North Carolina at least once a year to volunteer at the annual fundraising art festival held in summer or for other activities of the organization

If you are interested in serving on the Board of Directors of the Forest Moon Ecovillage, please contact Chuck Hall at: chuck@cultureartist.org for a board member application.

Most Intentional Communities fail within the first five years. Because of this, Forest Moon Ecovillage is being very carefully planned. Each step along the way is being thoroughly investigated before any commitments are made, so board membership requires a great deal of patience. With that in mind, please don't take the following as written in stone. This is just what the future members of the community have pieced together so far. As things progress and more people come on-board, I'm sure new people will have new ideas. So take this as just a rough sketch, for now.

Location
We have about a dozen people who have expressed a serious interest in working towards developing this community. Sometime in 2010 we're all going to come together to settle on a property. Due to the fact that the majority of the Design Committee members are from this area, the future location will be somewhere in Upstate South Carolina or Western North Carolina, preferably in the Appalachians. Areas currently under consideration are north Greenville County, South Carolina, Polk and Rutherford Counties in North Carolina, and parts of Spartanburg County, South Carolina near the NC/SC state line. The tentative plan before final selection is made is to post pictures of potential sites for members to vote on. Once the selections have been narrowed down, there will be a week of visiting the actual sites before making the final decision.

General Principles
The community will be incorporated as a nonprofit educational institution and will be run democratically by the Board of Directors. Any decisions that would affect the whole community would have to be approved by a majority of the members of the community, then voted on by proxy through the Board. Each family would be responsible for building their own home, with the help of other community members. Since the community is based on both sustainability and the arts, a set of guidelines would have to be put in place as to what would be allowed and what wouldn't where building is concerned. Personally, in order to encourage creativity and expression, I'd like the only restrictions to be that the buildings would need to be made out of natural materials.  And of course they'd have to be built according to the local building code. The community as a whole would have the right to have final approval on any building to be constructed. There would also be several buildings held in common for community use (see the Details section below).

A certain amount of land would be set aside for agricultural purposes. If enough land could be purchased, it is also possible that each family parcel would have enough land to have individual gardens. A barter system could be put into place to exchange labor in the community garden for food credits at the community co-op.

If at all possible I would like to see a community parking lot or garage where all members who own vehicles could park them. Such an area would be designed to be convenient to as many of the family parcels as possible. By restricting vehicular traffic in the community proper, members could be assured of having a safe place for their children and pets to play. There would eventually be a biodiesel production facility near the parking area for members who choose to purchase diesel vehicles. Any vehicles purchased for use by the community itself would have to be capable of being converted to sustainable fuel sources.

Membership
Members from all walks of life will be welcome, regardless of race, gender, spiritual path, political inclination, sexual orientation or creed. Tolerance will be the rule. Anyone who has a desire to live in a sustainable way and to be tolerant of other members will be welcome. Any occasional disputes that may arise will be settled by all members of the community by democratic process.

As I am a Marriage and Family Therapy Intern, I would also like to see occasional classes on parenting, relationships, addiction and any other topics for which community members express an interest. The community center for Forest Moon Ecovillage will be the first building to be constructed. This will act as a conference center as well as an educational facility, and would be perfect for such classes. Classes would be available to community members for free and to those outside the community for a reasonable rate. Any other community members who would like to offer classes and instruction could offer them to the community and to the public as well. We have already had a number of people from all over the U.S. and Canada who have expressed an interest in conducting workshops once the Community Center is completed!

Our vision for the community is one that incorporates art into sustainability to create aesthetically pleasing environments that are also environmentally friendly. With that in mind, we actively seek out artists and craftspeople to join us. I am a cob builder and I use sustainable building practices and natural materials harvested from the site whenever possible. For examples of how beautiful such buildings can be, visit the Cob Gallery.

Spirituality
Ideally we would like to see a community that welcomed all religious beliefs and spiritual paths. A community chapel and/or other sacred spaces will be created for use by all who desire to use them. The only "law" regarding spiritual practice will be tolerance. Members will be free to exercise their personal beliefs without fear of reprisal or interference, as long as they are willing to grant other members the same privilege. We welcome people of all faiths as well as people of no faith at all. Members may teach other interested members about their own paths as long as they are willing to respect the rights of others to their own paths as well. We believe that diversity is a strength as long as we focus on what we have in common rather than on what we don't.

One further word about spirituality: Several future members practice Pagan and/or Native American spiritual paths. While such a spirituality is not a requirement, this information is provided for those who might be uncomfortable with earth-centered spiritualities. Future plans for the Ecovillage include an outdoor gazebo/sacred space to be used as a wedding chapel for Pagan ceremonies. This does not mean that this sacred space could not be used by practitioners of other spiritual paths as well.

Economy
Unlike some intentional communities, the Forest Moon Ecovillage will allow members to work outside of the community in the "real world," but ideally we would also like to see at least one business developed that could be run by community members. If such a business became successful, it would offer members the option of working within the community. If members decided to pursue this option, a business compatible with the talents and interests of the community could be selected and marketed.

Two major ideas that have been presented and discussed by the Board are a coffee house and an annual festival. The coffee house would be open to the general public and would feature local talent on the weekends. It would act as a sort of liaison with the surrounding community. Many of our current potential members are already musicians, and we already have a pool of talent to draw on for any future coffee house entertainment. The coffee house would also function as a gallery and gift shop to showcase arts and crafts produced by members of the community.

The annual festival idea has garnered so much support that we are now considering holding the first one in Summer 2011 as a means of fundraising for the purchase of land and the construction of the Community Center. The name selected for this event is the First Annual Forest Moon Art Festival.

The initial plan is to build an outdoor stage or amphitheatre on community property prior to building any other facilities. If such a facility could be built, at least two festivals could be held each year; one in the Summer and one in the Fall. These festivals could serve a dual purpose. They could promote arts, crafts, music and drama created by members while offering the general public an "open house" opportunity to see sustainable alternatives in practice. Such events could generate revenue by selling concessions and renting booths to local artisans while generating goodwill with the people of the surrounding area.

The First Annual Forest Moon Art Festival will probably not be held on the site of the eventual community, because the proceeds from this event will be used to actually purchase the property. But future Forest Moon Art Festivals could actually be held on the property itself. A preliminary study on the feasibility and potential revenues from such a festival indicate that such an annual event could raise most of a small community's (30 to 40 people) annual operating budget.

The Community Center will be next to be built on the community property. The center will contain a large meeting room and a resource library. Lectures and workshops on sustainable living would be held on at least a monthly basis to educate the public on the benefits of green living, spirituality and holistic health.

Details
The community property will have several buildings held in common for the benefit and use of the entire community. This list isn't all-inclusive, and as things progress and more members join in the development process, it will probably evolve. Consider this just a place to start. So far, the Design Committee suggests the following buildings/facilities:

A Community Building which could be used for community meetings and councils, and a resource library
A campground for festival visitors
A bathhouse for the campground
A laundrymat for use by all members
A community swimming area
A co-operative grocery/farmer's market
A community school manned by volunteers
A coffee house/restaurant that would be open to the general public as well as to the community
A playground
An outdoor stage/amphitheatre for community-based plays and concerts
A chapel and/or other sacred spaces for use by community members so inclined
An art studio/gallery
A gym
A sports field
A garage and biodiesel production facility with a workshop
A botanical/sculpture garden or hiking trail
At least two or three homes which could be used to house the homeless families in the larger community until they could get back on their feet
Several cottages available for rental for retreats, vacationers, visitors, etc.

All of these facilities need not be built at once. They could be ranked in order of priority and built accordingly. The Community Center will be built first, since it is the central hub of the community. Since the community will be primarily an educational facility for sustainable living techniques, at least two seminars per year on sustainable building will be held. As a project for each of the seminars, one of the above facilities could be built using natural building techniques like cob building, straw bale, earth bags, etc. This process would continue until all the needed facilities have been built. Funds for materials to build each facility could be raised through a combination of seminar fees and other fundraising projects and/or grants. As a nonprofit whose two primary focuses are art and education, the Forest Moon Ecovillage will be eligible for many grants for both the arts and education.

Schedule
Most intentional communities fail within the first year due to poor planning. Because of this, we are in no particular hurry to make this community a reality. We're doing our best to make sure that all plans are made deliberately after careful consideration. Our current five-year plan meets the following schedule:

• 2011 - First Annual Forest Moon Art Festival fundraiser

• 2011 - Land search/acquisition

• 2011 - Begin building roads/infrastructure and other facilities, including amphitheatre

• Fall of 2011 - First art festival/concert(s) held on the premises of Forest Moon Ecovillage

• 2011-2012 - Complete construction of the Community Center

• 2012 - All community buildings completed

• 2012 - First phase of all construction completed

Design Committee
Right now we have five Board members and about a dozen people who are interested in making this community a reality. They are spread all over the world at the present time, so most of our 'meetings' are held via email or online chats. If you are interested in serving on the Design Committee or the Board of Directors, email me and I'll put you on the mailing list for our online rap sessions. We don't have a regular schedule as yet, so I just send out emails when there's an issue to be resolved. The only obligation to serve on the Design Committee at the present time is an interest in joining the community once construction begins, and a willingness to share your input. You don't have to be a Board member to serve on the Design Committee.

Forest Moon Art Festival
In order to raise funds for the work of the Forest Moon Ecovillage, we will begin holding an annual Art Festival, starting tentatively in Summer of 2011. For more information, visit the Forest Moon Art Festival link, or email chuck@cultureartist.org. We'll be looking for volunteers, so this is a way you can get involved!

More About Forest Moon Ecovillage

Join Us!
If this sounds like something you would like to be a part of, please subscribe to the newsletter! You are under no obligation to commit to membership. Subscribing will put you on our mailing list to be notified when meetings are held and will give you updates on our progress and topics of discussion. And of course, your input and suggestions are always welcome!