Common Ground (VA)

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Common Ground (VA)

Located in Lexington, Virginia, United States

Mission Statement
Homestead/Co-operation/Ecology. Our complete mission statement, description, and many other policy documents are available on our website through our land-trust organization at School-of-Living.org.

Community Description
Common Ground, a homesteading intentional cooperative community, holds a perpetual lease on 77 acres of land owned by the School of Living–a regional community land trust. Members hold lifetime subleases. Each household has use rights to about two plus acres. The community exists and operates for the mutual benefit of its members, to help one another become established on the land while conserving, protecting, and improving the environment and its resources.
Members follow their own spiritual and dietary leanings. Currently we have six households. Many of our children have been homeschooled cooperatively in our schoolhouse facility. We would like to continue our tradition of offering an enjoyable and natural learning environment to our kids.

Members work together in our organic gardens and on community building or maintenance projects. We build shared facilities through group planning and joint and individual labor. We continue to pursue the goal of becoming an educational center open to the larger community and public. We have recently completed a large pavilion with attached stage area and open-air canning kitchen. We have celebrated birthdays, holidays, and special occasions. Intergenerational play includes potlucks, songfests, swimming in the pond, and hiking. Neighborhood events include sweat lodges, the Fourth of July, and the local ice cream social. Neighbors and area organizations use our land for approved activities.

A yearly community budget is adopted; each household is assessed a monthly fee to cover operating expenses. Income is not shared. However, cottage industries can be practical for our location. We seek members with homesteading skills, a commitment to ecological land use, those of goodwill and initiative, good communication skills, and the ability to work cooperatively and to enthusiastically share their lives with others.

Our membership process can last from 6 – 21 months. Our decision making strives for consensus. The membership fee is $1,500 per adult member. Members finance, own, and maintain their “improvements.” Each household is responsible for their own income.

Visitors are welcome on weekends, upon prearrangement. Tenting, camping spaces, and a few rooms are available. Learn more about us at the School of Living website: http://www.schoolofliving.org.

Housing
Status: We have land we have developed on
Area: 80 acres
Current Residence Types: Single-family homes, Multi-family homes, Room(s) in a house or building, Natural built structues, Lots to build on
Current Number of Residences: 8
Planned number of residences: 12
Planned Residence Types: Lots to build on
Housing Provided: Purchase, Rental, Work-exchange, Included in Membership
Land owned by: Land trust organization
Additional Comments:
We are open to co-housing units. Many passive solar and natural built homes for sale currently or in near future.

Membership
Adult Members: 12
Child Members: 5
Non-member Residents: 2
Percent Women: 51-60%
Percent Men: 41-49%
Visitors accepted: Yes
Visitor Process:
Call or write the Corazzas to arrange a visit or for more information. You may need to give some time for a reply as Internet is in town. As a last resort you can email Rita Jane Leasure at ritajane@rockbridge.net but expect delays in response time.
Open to new Members: Yes
Membership Process:
One half year to two years but currently looking at temporarily or permanently suspending any formal process other than home ownership equalling membership.
Additional Comments:
We truely have many spiritual paths each held firmly and in harmony not as a mix but individually held and practiced.
We would like to see a homeschooler’s cooperative and/ or alternative education center restarted- have building for this purpose.

Economics
Join Fee: $1500
Dues, Fees, or Shared Expenses: Yes
Regular Fee per Month: $100
Shared Income: None
Required Labor Contribution: Encouraged or suggested
Open to members with existing debt: No
Additional Comments:
one workday/ month and as needed hours/month
$1500 per adult member= join fee
This varies annually but has long been kept at around $100 per month per household

Sustainability Practices
Energy Infrastructure: We use both systems.
Current renewable energy generation: Up to 25%
Energy sources: Solar
Planned renewable energy generation: 50-75%
Current food produced: Between 26-49%
Planned food produced: From 50-75%
Food produced locally: From 50-75%

Lifestyle
Common Facilities: Common House, Garden(s), Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Swimming pond or pool, Hot tub or hot springs, Outdoor Kitchen, Tractor & Farm Equipment, Stage or Auditorium, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas
Internet Available: Yes, individuals provide it
Internet Fast?: Yes, it’s fine.
Cell Phone Service: Good for most people.
Shared meals: Rarely
Dietary Practice: Omnivorous (plants and animals), Paleo (no grains, dairy, processed foods, or legumes), Organic (no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers), GMO Free (only non-genetically modified organisms), Vegetarian Only (no animal meat; dairy and eggs okay) – Please check this only if you are 100% Vegetarian
Dietary Choice or Restrictions: No – people may eat however they wish.
Special Diets OK: Yes
Alcohol Use: Yes, used occasionally.
Tobacco Use: Yes, used seldomly, or ceremoniously.
Additional Diet Comments:
Open to more
This varies by household input to community gardens
In ritual/ rites accepted; habit smoking disliked by most here
Common Spiritual Practice(s): Eclectic (integrates pieces from many religions)
Education Style(s): Home Schooling, Private Schooling at the Community, Private School off the property, Public Schooling, Up to each family or individual
Healthcare Options: Up to each family or individual
Additional Comments:
Open to and accepting of varied lifestyles as individually lived.

Source: https://www.ic.org/directory/common-ground-va/
            http://www.schoolofliving.org/CG/CGHmp