gathering the tribe

Seeking land in York county Maine; Rockingham county New Hampshire; or Strafford county New Hampshire

our aspiration

We are a small group of people aspiring to live in reciprocity with the land and with each other, while creating an intentional way of life in a community setting. Our short term vision is to gather people who would venture on this path with us and then build the community, gather on the land, and look for the potential in all things great and small. We welcome you to join our rag tag band of makers, artisans, educators, artists, creatives, musicians, farmers and to embark on this journey together. [Read more details here]

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF

Meghan

she/her/hers

"In order to live harmoniously with the rest of creation, we must be willing to listen to and respect all of the harmonies that are moving around us." -Sherri Mitchell, Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change

Learning to live in reciprocity with nature is a foundational goal of mine to honor my purpose as a "healer." I continue to search for a word that accurately identifies the work I do, because I believe that it is not a single person, but rather the magic of synergy, relationship, creativity and intention that heals. I facilitate experiences that guide others to become self-actualized and empowered.

I taught children music in elementary schools for a number of years, and meanwhile became a Reiki Master, Reiki teacher, and yoga instructor. I integrate nature-based, Shamanic practices and herbalism, as well as various art forms, into my work and personal life. As a candidate for a Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in Expressive Arts Therapy, I currently counsel college students. I hope to use my expertise in nature-based expressive arts therapy to serve my future community.

Ryan

he/him/his

Many of the the functions of a healthy community have been separated in our world today. Food production, education, healthcare, social interaction, art and more have been plucked out of our lives and sold back to us at a premium. One of my missions in life is to bring those functions closer to home.

I enjoy hunting, fishing, foraging and exploring the woods and waters of the New Hampshire and southern Maine Seacoast. Other interests include woodworking, gardening, permaculture design and natural movement fitness. Growing up in southern New Hampshire I enjoyed exploring the White Mountains on skis and in hiking boots as a teenager. I studied economics and finance in college and had a short career in corporate finance before discovering a passion for foraging, tracking and survival skills. Next, my path took me to Maine Primitive Skills School, where I was an apprentice and then an instructor from 2017 to 2019.

While mentoring students at several summer camps I discovered the joys of sharing nature with children and have embraced the purpose that comes with being an outdoor educator and naturalist mentor at White Pine Programs. I am a Wilderness First Responder, Certified Permaculture Designer, and run the meetup group Seacoast Nature Connection.

Yulia

she/her/hers

Yulia is a passionate environmental and social justice advocate and has been learning the ropes of community engagement, convening networks, and systems thinking.

She has experience in program management, design, writing, education, resource management, and community engagement.

She is bilingual in English and Russian and brings her old world mindset of creative reuse and minimalist thinking to living on the Seacoast. This mindset also extends to social justice and inclusion of all and creating a kind, inclusive, and equitable world.

Yulia is a board member of Seacoast Permaculture NH; a member of the Dover Arts Commission. She also volunteers for the Port City Makerspace and teaching workshops and ushers at the Music Hall.

She is also an artist who creates wearable objects from rescued and non-recyclable materials. From old clothing she makes new clothing, totes, jewelry, rugs and other items, extending the usefulness of existing materials, giving them new life and making them fun and beautiful. She loves teaching these skills to small groups and sharing the wisdom and art of repurposing rescued and loved items with their second or third life.

Sarah and Jude

she/her/hers

Having explored ecovillage creation in the past with other groups, Sarah comes with a passion about the creative potential of humans when we re-align with nature, work together, and embrace regenerative practices. She is enthusiastic about the possibilities of the cooperative endeavor of creating a life together with intention - creating a deeper sense of community and the extended family we can be to one another, as well as a more ecologically-sensitive footprint on Earth, the precious organism we live and depend upon.

Sarah has spent the last 19+ years focused on raising two daughters and exploring interests with them while "unschooling" (also known as self-directed learning). She is the founder of "Nottinshool," a social opportunity for homeschoolers in NH, which ran for several years; a co-creator of the first Nottingham Earth Festival; founder/creator of Roots Down Kinnections, a nature and gift economy-based program which explored the elements as well as permaculture values and principles with kids aged 6-11. She founded and ran Nottingham Ecstatic Dance. She is a licensed massage therapist; holds a Permaculture Design Certification and served on the Seacoast Permaculture Group's board for some time; Natural Resources Steward as well as Wilderness First Aid certified and has some experience with learning natural building. She has done some study of art at Pratt Institute; Leadership for Service and Change at Antioch University Online; and is carefully considering how she would like to direct her learning from this point forward. Before the pandemic hit, she was an assistant/teacher at BigFish Learning Community in Dover and provided part-time respite care.

your name here

We'd love to chat with you!

Vision: A multi-generational community of people stewarding land held in common by applying permaculture principles, holistic management, reciprocity, and reverence for the sacredness of all life. We are a node in a large network of regenerative communities and organizations that are liberating people through food sovereignty and economic independence.

Mission: To create a land-based community that lives in mutually beneficial relationships with the diverse and abundant living inhabitants, human and nonhuman, which supports long-term residents, short-term residents, and visitors who seek to learn, heal, connect, and live in holistic reciprocity.

Goals:

Land is held in common through structures such as a community land trust.
Members/residents have investment in the community through one or more of the “8 forms of capital.”
Members/residents have the space to create socially responsible businesses that lead to individual and community resilience by bringing wealth into the community and reducing members' reliance on the industrial economy and international supply chains (i.e. worker-owned coops, fair trade organizations, community loan funds, farm coops).
Work toward producing enough food on site or through neighborhood partnerships to meet the basic yearly needs of our members/residents.
Use community financing to power expansion of our community and businesses.
Create legal means to defend our community from challenges to our existence.
Strive toward non-violent communication concepts and practices.
Utilize sociocracy for decision-making, time management, organization of tasks and activities, etc.
Create “safe-enough” supportive spaces that allow for transparency, emotional vulnerability, and connection.

Values:

We acknowledge that the land we are on is the ancestral home of the Abenaki people, and that colonization has wrongfully benefited some groups from this taking while harming others. We thank them for their thousands of years of stewardship of this land. We understand that this acknowledgement is not enough and hope to actively support indigenous efforts toward restoration in our community.
We honor each member’s personal journey toward understanding and connecting with their own ancestral context and/or mentoring lineage.
We commit to bettering the lives of the next 7 generations of our descendants and those of our community by choosing to live in a regenerative relationship with the land and its non-human inhabitants.
We utilize native species, traditional practices from this region and those of our members’ ancestors to grow, harvest, and preserve food.
We use synthetic-chemical-free and toxin-free growing methods.
We responsibly and respectfully raise animals to live their best lives. We support the efforts of hunters to respectfully harvest wild animals, when it is done so with respect, gratitude, reciprocity, and in consideration of the land and safety for other members, per the community agreements.
We respect each other’s multifaceted perspectives and multiculturally diverse identities. We support and respect both non-vegan and vegan lifestyles and choices, as well as individual health freedoms and choices.
We value the “8 forms of capital” including: social, financial, intellectual, material, living, experiential, spiritual, cultural.
Recognize fundamental human needs (i.e. safety, inclusion, acknowledgement, appreciation, empowerment, autonomy, connection).
We value non-violent communication, transparency, authenticity, self-care, and reciprocity.
Each member of the community is empowered and given equal opportunity to be heard, as every voice matters.
The nature beings of the land have a place at the decision-making table. (Hawk medicine!)

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