Wind Spirit Community

Wind Spirit is in its 20th year. It has been a journey through every emotion along with many years of hard but satisfying physical work. Living here at Wind Spirit, as with most communities, can be challenging, but it offers experiences showing the many facets of human nature while working together and living close to nature itself.

We have learned that the community thrives best with people who understand what it means and are able to commit to the community and to their fellow members. Being realistic about the finances it takes to run a community, openly and authentically communicating with each other, and being willing to work together for everyone’s benefit will carry Wind Spirit and its members forward, as we take care of each other, our community, and ultimately our planet.

There's some exciting momentum happening at Wind Spirit these days. With some energy spent on organizing, there are projects under way to renovate old or build new structures using several different alternative building techniques. Other projects (solar well, aquaponics) support our goal to increase our ability to feed ourselves. These projects are being, in part, funded by retreats focusing on areas that are in harmony with Wind Spirit's core mission.

And, speaking of harmony, we are also building a stronger core group of residents by coming together in formal meetings to envision the future at Wind Spirit and shape the present so we can make it happen.

We are located less than two hours from Tucson or Phoenix in a beautiful valley amidst mountain ranges on land that was once part of the Christmas Star Community. On our 16 acres we are blessed with an amazing landscape, with over 60 varieties of mature organic fruit and nut trees, along with all the native species of the area. The elevation here is 2,700 ft, providing us with a year-round growing season for vegetable gardens as well. One of the few large rivers in Arizona, the Gila, is less than five miles away and is fun for kayaking and other water activities. Friends sometime say we do not live in the desert; we do, but under a canopy of trees, in a forest, an oasis.

There are more sunny days here than in most areas in the country, so we use many solar devices. We use permaculture principles, rainwater collection, and greywater systems, and we continually explore ways to live with as little impact as we can without being extreme. The important thing is that we are constantly moving in a direction of harmony with nature.