Frequently Asked Questions
What is Green Acres Permaculture Village?
Green Acres Permaculture Village is a small, retrofit, intergenerational intentional community in Bloomington, Indiana that integrates self-knowledge and expression with a shared culture among humans and the living Earth to encourage abundance on every level.
For more specific details about our community, see our listing in the Fellowship for Intentional Community directory: https://www.ic.org/directory/green-acres-permaculture-village-current/
What’s an ecovillage? What’s cohousing?
An ecovillage is a type of intentional community with a particular focus on sustainability. There are hundreds of ecovillages around the world, with new ones forming every day.
Cohousing is a form of intentional community that balances the need for privacy with the need for community, generally by structuring private residences around a shared “common house.”
Our community combines elements of ecovillages and cohousing communities.
Ownership?
All three properties are owned by Founder Ann Kreilkamp. However, because she does not make a personal profit from rents, she does not function as a regular landlord. All rent money goes towards property maintenance, farm costs, insurance and property taxes. In the near future, she intends for one of the three homes to be sold to someone who shares Green Acres Village vision, values and the path forward cultivated over the past 12 years.
Where is Green Acres?
Green Acres Permaculture Village is located at the corner of Overhill Drive and Dekist Street. It is in Green Acres Neighborhood, which borders the IU Bloomington campus on the east.
Community Dinners?
Join us every Thursday evening at 7 pm for Community Dinner with friends and neighbors. Community Dinners are giftings, rather than potlucks, however most people do bring something to share, whether that be food, drink — or a musical instrument!
Plus, we have now introduced “offerings” after dinner on occasion. Examples: a Feldenkrais class, several astrology talks, knife sharpening skills, and salsa dancing lessons.
Can I get involved even if I don’t live in Green Acres?
We would love that! The best way to get involved is to start coming to our gatherings. To stay informed about our events, join our email list and follow us on Facebook.
Are older folks welcome in the village? Are IU students?
Yes! We welcome folks of all ages who are attracted to our vision, whether singles, couples, or families with kids. With this caveat: due to our small size (only three homes), we cannot function as a “retirement home,” where older people age in place until death. If we were larger, that would work. Anyone who lives here needs to be able-bodied, due to the type of physical work an urban farm requires.
Why create an intentional community? What’s the point?
Ongoing, accelerating cultural, political and economic turbulence necessitate new ways of thinking and living so that individuals and communities can thrive in the coming decades. To learn more, we recommend the following books, among others:
- Surviving The Long Emergency by James Kunstler
- Climate: A New Story, by Charles Eisenstein
- The Ascent of Humanity by Charles Eisenstein
- The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible, by Charles Eisenstein
- The Long Descent by John Michael Greer
- The End of Growth by Richard Heinberg
- Nature and Madness, by Paul Shepard
What is permaculture?
“The conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive systems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of the landscape with people providing their food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way.”
Visit permacultureprinciples.com to learn more!
In GAPV, we embrace the full understanding of permaculture to also include:
1) permaculture of the body (as its own biome, or ecosystem, requiring a healthy lifestyle to maintain health);
2) permaculture of the mind (as its own — very mysterious! — ecosystem, which includes honoring and integrating shadow elements within the psyche);
3) interpersonal permaculture (as its own ecosystem, including mutual shadow work, group shadow work, shadow work between any group and its larger context).
Both permaculture of the mind and interpersonal permaculture require the recognition and taking back of “projections” in order to dissolve inevitable conflicts that arise.
Green Acres Permaculture Village is a small, retrofit, intergenerational intentional community in Bloomington, Indiana that integrates self-knowledge and expression with a shared culture among humans and the living Earth to encourage abundance on every level.
For more specific details about our community, see our listing in the Fellowship for Intentional Community directory: https://www.ic.org/directory/green-acres-permaculture-village-current/
An ecovillage is a type of intentional community with a particular focus on sustainability. There are hundreds of ecovillages around the world, with new ones forming every day.
Cohousing is a form of intentional community that balances the need for privacy with the need for community, generally by structuring private residences around a shared “common house.”
Our community combines elements of ecovillages and cohousing communities.
All three properties are owned by Founder Ann Kreilkamp. However, because she does not make a personal profit from rents, she does not function as a regular landlord. All rent money goes towards property maintenance, farm costs, insurance and property taxes. In the near future, she intends for one of the three homes to be sold to someone who shares Green Acres Village vision, values and the path forward cultivated over the past 12 years.
Green Acres Permaculture Village is located at the corner of Overhill Drive and Dekist Street. It is in Green Acres Neighborhood, which borders the IU Bloomington campus on the east.
Join us every Thursday evening at 7 pm for Community Dinner with friends and neighbors. Community Dinners are giftings, rather than potlucks, however most people do bring something to share, whether that be food, drink — or a musical instrument!
Plus, we have now introduced “offerings” after dinner on occasion. Examples: a Feldenkrais class, several astrology talks, knife sharpening skills, and salsa dancing lessons.
We would love that! The best way to get involved is to start coming to our gatherings. To stay informed about our events, join our email list and follow us on Facebook.
Yes! We welcome folks of all ages who are attracted to our vision, whether singles, couples, or families with kids. With this caveat: due to our small size (only three homes), we cannot function as a “retirement home,” where older people age in place until death. If we were larger, that would work. Anyone who lives here needs to be able-bodied, due to the type of physical work an urban farm requires.
Ongoing, accelerating cultural, political and economic turbulence necessitate new ways of thinking and living so that individuals and communities can thrive in the coming decades. To learn more, we recommend the following books, among others:
- Surviving The Long Emergency by James Kunstler
- Climate: A New Story, by Charles Eisenstein
- The Ascent of Humanity by Charles Eisenstein
- The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible, by Charles Eisenstein
- The Long Descent by John Michael Greer
- The End of Growth by Richard Heinberg
- Nature and Madness, by Paul Shepard