GEC ecovillage project in the Pacific Northwest.

🌲 GreenEarthCity Ecovillage – Northern California (forming)
Hi Permies folks
I’m sharing an early-stage ecovillage / land-stewardship project in Northern California that’s currently in the acquisition + founding stewards phase.

The long-term intention is to create a resident-led, non-speculative ecovillage grounded in permaculture, regeneration, and long-term land stewardship.
🌱 The land (high-level)
Large rural property in Northern California
With existing homes, cabins and infrastructure.
Water access and strong ecological potential
Rural, but within reasonable distance of services
Zoning suitable for residential / retreat / mixed-use community

Focus:
Soil regeneration & perennial food systems
Forest stewardship & fire-resilient landscapes
Gardens, orchards, and small-scale food production
Low-impact building, repair, and reuse
Shared infrastructure done simply and durably
Hands-on work culture (this isn’t a passive “buy in and disappear” place)

Community & scale:

Long-term carrying capacity roughly 15–40 full-time residents (depending on household size)
Mix of residents, stewards, and limited-stay members
Non-dogmatic, LGBTQ+ friendly, multigenerational
Quietly experimental, not utopian, not chaotic

Structure:

We’re using a shared land stewardship model (hybrid private CLT / co-op style) designed to:
Keep land out of speculation
Separate land stewardship from private wealth extraction
Allow people to invest time, labor, and capital without turning the land into a commodity
Details exist, but I’m intentionally keeping this post practical and Permies-relevant.

Who I’m hoping to connect with here:
People experienced in permaculture, homesteading, or land repair
Folks interested in long-term stewardship, not short-term projects
Builders, growers, caretakers, system-thinkers
People who understand that community is built slowly, not “launched”
If this resonates, feel free to comment or message.
Happy to share more specifics via a soft NDA  on land location and details once there’s mutual interest.
— Forest
GreenEarthCity

How will this occur?

Keep land out of speculation
Separate land stewardship from private wealth extraction

Promising description above, but I gotta say the project website doesn't inspire a lot of confidence that this is a realistic, viable, competent endeavor...I imagine there's a lot more thought/planning behind the scenes, which your post seems to point to, but that public facing presentation could really use a more concise, polished touch! I get what you're saying about building vs launching, and maybe it's still too early to articulate who/what this community is about, but presumably it begins with a big chunk of up front capital/credit from somebody(s) with specific aims, values, tastes etc and I think at least that much should be clear from the jump to get others on board with any level of shared commitment.

Financing a large long term 'startup' community venture is hard and brings with it necessary inequality of stake, input, responsibility, governance, and at some point I think you have to embrace that and roll with it while you set out a roadmap towards more stable, grounded, cooperative sustainable structure. I'm just a little thrown off by somewhat scattered and potentially conflicting elements of the vision as expressed there, such as whether this is meant to become a city, village, or rural retreat. Intrigued, but want to share hopefully helpful critical feedback at this point. Good luck! Lots of potential around NorCal right now for smart rural revitalization and conscientious regenerative development, no doubt.