The Hundredfold Farm Cohousing Community
Vision Statement

The Hundredfold Farm Project is a grass-roots effort to establish within Adams County, Pennsylvania, a small rural cohousing community. The Hundredfold Farm Project is looking to create, on existing agricultural land, a small multi-generational intentional community of individuals who will actively practice and share the art of living in a sustainable way.

It is our intent that Hundredfold Farm be the wellspring from which we can replenish ourselves, our community, our land, and the community-at-large. This intent will manifest itself in the following ways:

• We will strive to cultivate and nurture relationships among ourselves, both children and adults. By sharing the responsibility for caring for each other we hope to be able to function together in a rich, supportive manner. With increased feelings of trust and mutual regard we hope that everyone will flourish, regardless of their various life stages. The experience of community will help to dispel the loneliness which pervades our individualistic society.
• We will strive to have equal ownership of common land in order to avoid hierarchical privilege. By owning the common land jointly and managing it in a sustainable fashion we will preserve it for agricultural use by our descendants for at least seven generations.
• We will strive to create a cohesive community on a humane scale by arranging the houses and a common house to encourage and facilitate resident interaction. This will help to conserve open space since one of our goals is restoration, preservation and stewardship of the land. The site design will need to include consideration of wind and solar access, view preservation, as well as individuals’ need for privacy.
• We will strive to encourage a multi-generational community open to everyone, regardless of age, income, ethnicity, sexuality, and family situation.
• We will strive to live in a sustainable way by encouraging environmentally sound decisions. Some possibilities include the use of energy efficient clustered housing, using "earth-friendly" septic system designs, recycling and composting, encouraging the use of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power, and promoting car pooling and shared vehicle ownership whenever possible.
• We will strive to sustain ourselves by producing as much of our own wholesome and healthy food as possible. Organic / Biointensive / Sustainable farm practices will enable us to avoid the use of harsh and harmful chemicals. Ultimately, the farm may provide a source of wholesome food for the community-at-large. Initially the farm can provide a significant amount of produce for community members.
• We will strive to create a community in which all members take an interest in each other, and the activities of our children. The children, in turn will have the opportunity to learn from several generations of adults. We hope that everyone, children included, will feel comfortable visiting the homes of all members of the community. We also hope to encourage a measure of autonomy among children, especially the teenagers. There are many possible scenarios, such as taking care of hurt or unwanted animals, operating part of the community garden and even possibly creating income generating activities connected to the garden.
• We will strive to choose a life style which supports the community-at-large. By choosing a lifestyle which supports a bioregional approach (buying locally and using products native to our area) we will encourage local businesses. By developing a small organic gardening enterprise based on the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model, and even possibly other cottage industries, we will establish intentional links with the community-at-large. We also envision opening our community to the community-at-large by perhaps creating a common soccer field, by hosting meetings or weekend workshops and/or, by sponsoring lectures and festivals.
• We will strive to use the consensus model for all community decisions.
• We will strive to share our lives with each other in many ways. Voluntary community meals will allow us occasions for friendly relationships as well as practicing a cooperative approach to daily life. Sharing our "life skills" from musical talent to story-telling to carpentry will help to create a rich community life. Voluntarily sharing the "things" we own such as tools and lawn mowers, will help us to save valuable resources which can then be used in more creative ways.
• We will strive to enrich our lives, and those of our friends, by creating and sharing our own homegrown rituals and celebrations, both impromptu and planned.

Adopted 10/02/98