• Breadth: sharing many facets of our lives with each other
• Length: establishing a community that endures (even as individuals may come and go)
• Depth: sharing deeply with each other, and seeking to fulfill our fullest potentials, both as individuals and as a group, in a way that is safe and respectful for all .

As part of our ongoing exploration of community, we endeavor to explore, challenge, and transcend fears and beliefs that are common cultural barriers to connection and community. These include beliefs in lack of time, lack of money, and fears of responsibility, rejection, and/or trusting others.

Cultivating Sustainability

The principles and practices of permaculture are at the heart of our ecovillage and our plans for the future. In keeping with this, we weigh long-term environmental impacts as we decide how to nourish and grow our village. We support each other in making sound day-to-day living choices that reduce our impact on the earth.

We recycle, reuse, and share resources whenever possible. We engage in ecologically and socially sustainable practices to meet our needs. We encourage alternative means of transportation, particularly walking, biking, and public transportation. We foster cottage industries, home offices, and artistic endeavors.

Diversity

We embrace diversity in race, age, income level, education, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnicity and physical ability.

Safety and Trust

A feeling of safety and trust is a key component of community. We foster these qualities by assuming goodwill on everyone’s part, keeping agreements, utilizing non-violent communication techniques, being constant through conflict, and utilizing relevant group processes.

Consensus Decision-Making

We use the consensus decision-making process whenever possible, because we value every member’s participation and inherent wisdom. Consensus empowers each of us as individuals while we work toward furthering the community’s needs and goals.

Balancing Togetherness and Solitude

We value both togetherness and solitude and seek a dynamic balance between them. Though we live in individual homes, we share community gardens, patio, greenhouses, sheds, gazebo, and intend to create other common spaces, such as a workshop space from a renovated garage.

Participating in and Inspiring the Larger Community

We seek healthy interactions with our neighbors, the Bloomington community, and the global community. We strive to be an inspiration, especially to those who seek to build community via the retrofitting process.

Beauty

We find beauty and wisdom in nature’s design and seek to enhance it in our village.

Self-Awareness

We strive to develop our self-awareness and actualize our deepest potentials through continual learning and the cultivation of mindfulness.