Finney Farm

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Finney Farm

Located in Concrete, Washington, United States

Community Description
Finney Farm consists of 105 wooded acres located in upper Skagit County, Washington. The land is wet, fertile, lovely, and green. Our community exists for many reasons:

•        To steward the land in an ecologically sound manner free from traditional development.
•        To create and maintain affordable housing, eliminating much of the need for forced wage-slavery.
•        To encourage the sharing of resources.
•        To work toward common goals of self-sufficiency, autonomy, and community.
•        To allow members to pursue personal interests such as creative endeavors, activism, and education on a daily basis.
•        To create an environment in which people are living each day with an expectation of open communication, empowerment, and consensus-based decision making.
•        To encourage a strong community work ethic, which is beneficial to the community as well as the individual.

We hope to create an environment in which compassion, respect, consideration, independence, integrity, communication, and living the good life are not qualities to be granted or denied but are instead the expectation. We seek to hold this land from traditional destructive development, instead using ecologically sound methods for any growth. The permaculture model isn’t a good fad, it’s a timeless commonsense approach to rural living.

We envision around 10 families living in hand-built houses living on this land. We have a shared garden and orchards, community meals, some child-care sharing, and a community house which includes kitchen, laundry, bath, and office facilities. We also get together for homeschooling, farm work projects, art or craft projects, and performance or volunteer opportunities.

We would like to create a village feel to our community. We hope to have many skilled members who are able to share resources and would encourage trading for goods within the community before seeking goods outside of Finney Farm.

We currently have seven adults and four children living on the farm. We have many skills—journeyman carpenter, seamstress, teacher, mother, wild-edibles enthusiast, homebrewer, knitter, musician, flamenco dancer, spinner, vaudeville and burlesque performer, gardener, tree planter, historian, technical drafter, father, counselor, dancer, laborer, fisherman, bellydance instructor, cook, writer, and much more. We are anarchists/socialists/discordians who are into both DIY living AND community. And a good life.

2016 Update: We currently have 8 adult residents, a few children, and other short term residents (interns, WWOOFers, short term renters etc). We occasionally have space available (private rooms in the common house or cabins/tiny houses) please see our website or visit our Facebook page for current availability. We get a huge number of inquiries each year and we are growing at an intentionally slow rate because finding a good fit is more important to us than numbers. If what you have to offer are “leadership skills,” we probably aren’t a good fit. We are also more interested in farming, building, rural living, communication/community, alternative energy skills than drumming, yoga, and empath readings. We attempt to bridge lifestyle activism with direct action by building a social and educational outreach program in our area which includes our seed distro. In 2015 alone, we grew/harvested/processed/packaged/distributed 8000 packages of organic heirloom seed to schools, food banks, and families at no charge. We have other outreach programs including events, classes, an intern program, etc.

Housing
Status: We have land we have developed on
Area: 105 acres
Current Residence Types: Single-family homes, Room(s) in a house or building, Tiny house, Natural built structues, Lots to build on
Current Number of Residences: 5
Planned number of residences: 8
Housing Provided: Purchase, Rental
Land owned by: The entire community membership

Membership
Adult Members: 8
Child Members: 3
Non-member Residents: 3
Percent Women: 51-60%
Percent Men: 31-40%
Visitors accepted: Yes
Visitor Process:
Please contact (by mail, email, or phone) in advance and we’ll send you our visitor information.
Open to new Members: Yes
Membership Process:
Please see our website for more details about our process

Economics
Dues, Fees, or Shared Expenses: Yes
Shared Income: None
Required Labor Contribution per Week: 7
Open to members with existing debt: Yes

Sustainability Practices
Energy Infrastructure: We use both systems.
Current renewable energy generation: Up to 25%
Energy sources: Clean Energy from the Grid
Planned renewable energy generation: 50-75%
Current food produced: From 50-75%
Planned food produced: From 50-75%
Food produced locally: From 50-75%

Lifestyle
Common Facilities: Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Large Scale Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Stage or Auditorium, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Waterfront access
Internet Available: Yes, both the community and individuals provide it
Internet Fast?: Yes, it’s fine.
Cell Phone Service: Good for some people.
Shared meals: 2-5 times per week
Dietary Practice: Local (food sourced within 150 miles), Organic (no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers), GMO Free (only non-genetically modified organisms), Mostly Vegetarian, Mostly Vegan, Gluten-Free
Dietary Choice or Restrictions: No – people may eat however they wish.
Special Diets OK: Sometimes
Alcohol Use: Yes, used occasionally.
Tobacco Use: Yes, used seldomly, or ceremoniously.
Additional Diet Comments:
Our members are primarily vegan or vegetarian, but we are open to other practices as well.
Education Style(s): Home Schooling, Private Schooling at the Community, Up to each family or individual

Source: https://www.ic.org/directory/finney-farm/
             http://finneyfarm.org