An EcoVillage Recipe: The Permaculture Commons Hub

An EcoVillage Recipe: The Permaculture Commons Hub

Goal:

Create a shared, regenerative “village nucleus” that models resilient living, connects neighbors, and demonstrates the permaculture ethics of People Care, Land Care, Fair Share.

Summary:

A Commons Hub serves as the physical heart of a Resilient Communities Network (RCN) village — a place combining food, water, energy, and social space under one cooperative management plan. Think of it as the “barn and hearth” for a modern permaculture eco-hamlet.
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Ingredients:

• 1 acre (or more) available for community use
• 6–12 committed households or volunteers
• Access to water and sun (south or southeast exposure preferred)
• Seed fund of $10,000–$25,000 (grants, co-op capital, or community investment)
• Building tools and local materials (adobe, timber, cob, recycled wood)
• Design team: permaculturist, local builder, community facilitator
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Steps:

1. Map the Land
Mark contours, shade patterns, and access routes. Identify ideal zones for a food forest, gathering area, and water catchment.

2. Form the Commons Council
Draft a cooperative agreement stating how decisions, maintenance, and benefits are shared. (Templates can follow the “Fair Share Co-op Charter.”)

3. Build the Core Structures
Construct a simple community kitchen, tool shed, and covered meeting space using natural building practices. Solarize the roof for off-grid power.

4. Plant the Food Web
Establish a guild-based perma-garden: tree layer (fruit & nut), understory berries, nitrogen fixers, and groundcovers. Incorporate pollinator patches and edible perennials.

. Harvest Water and Energy
Add rainwater tanks, swales, and a small bioswale pond. Install a micro-PV array or pedal-power generator for shared use.

6. Launch the Village Exchange
Host monthly “skill-share Saturdays” — workshops on tool repair, seed saving, and eco-construction. Encourage local barter instead of cash where possible.

7. Monitor, Adapt, Share
Keep records: yields, participation, energy inputs, lessons learned. Post progress logs and short videos on permies.com or RCN’s community forum.
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Timeframe:

6 months – establish basic infrastructure & landscape.
2 years – mature productive guilds and active member governance.
5 years – replicable village nucleus model for nearby communities.
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Key Outcomes:

• Functional commons governed by permaculture principles.
• Local food and skill autonomy.
• Embodied expression of RCN values through practice, not rhetoric.
• A replicable “proof-of-concept” for the wider regenerative network.

You can read about Resilient Communities Network here: https://resilientcommunities.network/

An EcoVillage Recipe: The Permaculture Commons Hub - photo

hi William!
I browsed the site in your link and wondered if those are photos of an actual community farm? It is beautiful and well developed...barns and homes and greenhouses.

Can you tell us about exsisting communities there?

This has been on my mind lately as long lived successful intentional communities are rare.

I would love to hear more success stories!

and in the photo above, are those yurts? festival tents?
Is that where Resilient Communities is located?