Q: Who are we looking for to start up this community?
A: Emotionally mature, hardworking entrepreneurial folks who like our vision and think they would feel at home in our community. Including (but definitely not limited to) people who know a thing or two about farming, intentional community, alternative energy, construction, carpentry, ecological sustainability, real estate, business, finances, leadership, cooking, teaching, conservation, art, medicine and healing, self-sufficiency skills - and those who don't have much hands-on experience but are willing to learn.
Q: Do I need capital to join?
A: In the case of cohousing: if you buy a plot, yes; if you rent, no. In the case of collective structure: there will be a join fee and you will need to lease a homesite, so yes, but how much is TBD; however, payment plans will be possible. We want SDF to be affordable.
Q: Do members have to be worker-owners of the farm?
A: Nope. The worker-owners of the farm will all be community members, though.
Q: What other entrepreneurial activities will members pursue? Can I have my own business or outside job?
A: We encourage members to start cottage industries and businesses. Perhaps some members may want to start a non-profit educational and sustainability center and hold workshops on community building, organic farming, alternative energy, ecovillages, the arts and so forth. Having businesses at our community will provide income and jobs for members and benefit everyone in the community, making the community economically viable and self-sustaining. And of course, members are free to work at an outside job (including telecommuting).
Q: Can I own a car? Are my finances private? Will I retain all my constitutional and God-given freedoms?
A: Yes, yes and yes. But living in community comes with certain responsibilities that your average suburb doesn't, like doing a few hours of labor a month, attending meetings and adhering to a basic code of agreed-upon norms... and you get a richer, more connected village community in return!
Q: How "set it stone" are the plans outlined on this website?
A: It's not likely that the two current founders would, at the suggestion of others, decide to form a 100% income-sharing strict vegan commune in another state. We want to form community in Central California, we want to farm and we want independent finances. Maybe, for instance, we won't be able to implement all of our ecovillage ideas because zoning in the area we choose doesn't allow it or simply because the cofounders all decide we don't want to. But we've tried to outline many, many ideas and options.
Just because we initially created the concept of Sweet Demeter Farm doesn't mean we're the designated leaders or that we'll have more power or authority than the rest of the founders and members. Once a committed group of members that "click" and have similar visions gets together, there will be equal, shared power and we will work by consensus.
Until then, if you don't want to live in California, if you hate farming or oppose our raising animals for meat and if you'd rather live in an urban co-op than a semi-rural village, SDF isn't for you!
Q: I see that the farm will be raising animals for meat. Are vegetarians or semi-vegetarians welcome in the community?
A: This is an important issue, and the answer is absolutely. As long as everybody is comfortable with the farm raising animals for meat and the presence of meat at community meals, there is no problem welcoming vegetarians into the community. The shared community meals will include homegrown (or local humanely raised) dairy, meat, eggs and honey and sustainably procured fish and seafood as well as grains, legumes, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit and so forth. We hope to make community meals in general accordance with the principles promoted by early 20th century dentist, researcher and pioneering nutritionist Weston A. Price, if enough people are interested. See the Weston A. Price Foundation's website for more information, www.westonaprice.org, particularly the articles in the "ABC's of Nutrition" section for an overview. We anticipate that members will form smaller eating co-ops as well; if some people wanted to get together and form a vegetarian eating co-op there would be no problem. Keep in mind that the community doesn't own the farm business, a group of members do -and the other members are free to buy or not buy anything from the farm, grow their own food, or buy food from elsewhere. And of course, people are absolutely free to eat whatever they want at any time.
Q: Is Sweet Demeter Farm and Ecovillage going to be, like, a commune?
A: Sweet Demeter Farm will be an intentional community, and communes are quite different from intentional communities like SDF. Communes are income-sharing and often have a community-owned business whose profits go to the community (and which require labor from all members). They are usually built on a spiritual or political philosophy, require shared residences and dictate some or many personal decisions. There is nothing wrong with this as long as there is nothing illegal going on, members willingly participate and the right to leave is not interfered with.
Intentional communities like Sweet Demeter Farm do not function this way. The only shared philosophy we have is a desire to live more cooperatively and sustainably; finances are independent and the community does not take a percentage of business profits; members do not have to share residences unless they want to; and members of course retain personal freedoms. It's win-win.
If you have any other questions, send us an e-mail!
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