Who We Are
Our Vision
We envision a transformed world in which humanity lives in right relationship within the web of life.
Our Mission
Whole Village is a cooperative farming ecovillage that aspires to model and support resilient, just, and regenerative systems.
Our Community
We have created a cooperative with 20-30 people aged 2-86 living in two residences. Some work off-site and some on the farm. We govern ourselves using a consensus decision making model.
Guiding Principles
In fulfilling our Mission we will be guided by the following principles and key activities. Keeping in mind that we are a dynamic and evolving organization, we recognize that these principles and activities are not a comprehensive list of all that we do, but rather, they express the spirit of what we are trying to achieve.
Ecological and economic
- To minimize our impact on the earth by striving to meet our food, resource, and energy needs locally, and through simple living, sharing, and human labour.
- To build resilience for an increasingly challenging future, including re-skilling for self-reliance and food security.
- To practice, support, and promote a mixed, diversified, restorative farming system based on agroecology principles and carbon sequestration.
- To encourage the development of self-sustaining centres of initiative.
Community and social
- To engage in and support personal growth as a necessary component of living and working together.
- To create a supportive and healthy environment in which to nurture all our members.
- To build a culture of shared responsibility, community service, reciprocity, and accountability to the best of our abilities.
- To develop and manage our community through the leadership and participation of all our members.
- To recognize ourselves as part of a sacred, diverse and interdependent planetary community and to strive for the mutual enhancement of all.
Education and outreach
- To learn and practise living sustainably in place – on our land, in our community, and in our bioregion.
- To serve as a model farming ecovillage.
- To network with like-minded organizations, neighbours, and the larger community to foster healthy connections.
- To educate ourselves for the purpose of practising political, economic, social and environmental justice.
- To foster and support new and developing ecovillages and the ecovillage movement.
Participation Expectations
These weekly minimum hours are an average based on a weekly summary of tasks throughout a month. There are seasonal differences: Growing season is busier with outdoor stewardship. Winter is busier with Community stewardship and Administration.
Each person is expected to contribute to each of the following areas, and after approximately 1 year of residency take responsibility for leading at least one major project:
Farm or land stewardship – examples include:
● Community approved projects and tasks such as fruit orchards, compost,
gardens, fencing, tools, preserving, growing food, animal care, building,
attending Workbees (and sometimes leading an activity), Work Parties or
equivalent.
Community stewardship – examples include:
● bookkeeping, website development and maintenance, social media updates,
meeting planning, filing, legal requirements of co-op.
● Participating in meetings: (Checkin, Mandate groups, MOTR), eating community meals together, cooking, dinner cleanup, household cleaning, Mandate group work including facilitating, note taking and tasks, painting, construction, supply pick up, organizing education, house cleaning, shopping for community, bookkeeping, participating and helping with community events, community childcare.
Residents are expected to:
Be up-to-date with current dues, rents, internet fees, food buying club.
After one year of renting: pay the provisional rate and apply to become a Provisional Member
Expectations are created so that potential members can evaluate whether living in community would be feasible for them. These numbers are purely for this purpose and it is expected that once living in community, that all residents would contribute even more without ever calculating their hours as the success of this project is important to their everyday life.
Community and Administration – minimum approximately 13 hours/week
Farm and Land stewardship – minimum 6 hours/week,
People who have flexibility within their work hours are likely to be “a” more successful profile for a potential resident than people with fixed full time work schedules. Special consideration may be made for people with dependants and differently abled people.
Whole Village Community Covenant
As a member of the Whole Village community, I shall strive to be the best version of myself:
1. by taking responsibility for my personal growth, community participation and leadership,
2. by maintaining high standards of personal integrity,
3. by using clear and honest communication and open listening,
4. by practicing non-violence, protecting others from violence and working to resolve conflict,
5. by trusting the good intentions of others,
6. by relating to others with respect and acceptance,
7. by co-operating with others and honouring agreements,
8. by thinking and acting for the good of the community,
9. by offering my service to the community and the planet, while preserving my own health and wellbeing,
10. and by developing and deepening my respect for and sense of connection with the natural world.
The Whole Village Culture – How we Live Our Guiding Principles.
This is an agreement for those interested in joining and living in the Whole Village Community. It helps to prepare you for life in our community culture.
The project we call Whole Village
- Adopting the project of Whole Village with a sense of purpose (creating intentional community, participating in regenerative agriculture and mitigating climate change)
- An awareness of global issues (politically left of centre)
- Believing in our vision and mission by following through with action
- Giving service to community through participation (see participation expectations document)
- Participation in community work parties and events
- Working towards a smaller footprint on the earth – making daily choices as best we can to reduce it: less plastic, less use of fossil fuels, support of regenerative agriculture and fair trade.
Our Relationship with food
- We believe in paying farmers fair prices/wages and prefer to support them directly if possible.
- Choosing organic, local, seasonal, non-GMO as well as being part of the Whole Village Food Plan/Buying Club and hygiene plan.
- Contributing to growing and harvesting, preserving our own food.
- We welcome omnivores, vegetarians and vegans. We raise animals ethically as part of our regenerative agriculture practices and occasionally harvest them.
Our Relationship with each other and the community
- Attendance and participation in community meals – this means being part of cooking and/or cleanup a few times a week.
- Understanding and committing to the Covenant
- Assuming good intentions – less judgement. Being curious.
- Making choices that put the health of the community before self-interest
- Respectful interaction with all members of the community
- Participation in personal growth opportunities and seeking personal growth
- Residents are expected to be transparent and sharing of their ideas, mental health and personal challenges
- Active participation in meetings, which are the glue of the WV community and important for the running of the project. We hold between 1-3 meetings a week that you can be involved in depending on the mandate groups you choose to be part of.
- Monday night is our weekly check-in and is generally required attendance.
- Adopting the culture of WV – not expecting to live in your own suite with your own culture but being part of ours. At the same time we are open to considering suggestions that you may bring that takes us further along the road to a more successful community, a smaller footprint and alignment with nature.
- Participation in the WV project, especially the plans already begun– not just your own. “Participation Expectations” are flexible and generally a minimum – not a standard. Residents are encouraged to pitch in when and where needed without counting the minutes.
- Be prepared to have less leisure time as there’s lots to do. Work is love in action.
- Participating in and accepting Consensus model of decision making
