Kenwood Ecovillage

Mission: Kenwood Ecovillage will be a mix of shared/private living/working space for cottage industries, freelancers and entrepreneurs. The project will be resident-owned. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about ecovillage life and experience the urban forest we steward while living among us in dormitory style accommodations.

From www.ic.org/directory/kenwood-ecovillage/:

Kenwood Ecovillage will be a mix of shared/private living/working space for cottage industries, freelancers and entrepreneurs. The project will be resident-owned. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about ecovillage life and experience the urban forest we steward while living among us in dormitory style accommodations.

Living in community will enable us to share our resources and spaces, which is easier on the planet as well as on our wallets. We will support each other in starting independent businesses and co-ops, so that we can take charge of our own livelihoods and ensure that our work is safe, socially and ecologically responsible, and spiritually as well as materially rewarding.

We invite families, elders, students, spiritual seekers and teachers, people of all ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds, strong women, sensitive men and gender benders of all types... all “dreamers, wishers and magic bean buyers...” who are ready to pioneer a better way to live.

The Kenwood property consists of a vacant convent, chapel and school buildings on 73 mostly forested acres adjacent to the Mt. Hope neighborhood in Albany New York.

The site features 225,000 built square feet including dormitory-style living spaces, classrooms and meeting rooms, areas that can be converted to apartment living, a gymnasium, a single-family house, workshop spaces, and a chapel. The grounds include lush forests, hiking trails, playing fields and tennis courts.

The availability of this property within the city of Albany presents an ideal opportunity to live in community, learning and teaching skills for living consciously and respectfully within society and the natural world.

Some of the possible activities at Kenwood include:

Classes and workshops
A youth hostel
Venue for local performances and markets
Cottage industry incubator
Maker/hacker space
Monastic and neo-monastic community living
Natural and Organic horticulture
Child care
Elder care
Summer camps
Spiritual retreats
Catering company and special events venue
Set for historic films and movies

What would you do at the Kenwood?

We are now assembling a team of visionaries who are committed to crafting a viable plan for the Kenwood. We are seeking a diverse membership and strive to welcome and accept all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, income levels, skills, interests, backgrounds, genders, sexual preferences, and family types.

Our goal is to create a flexible governance structure that facilitates living within our ecological means and empowers diverse residents to work together to create a culture that truly values differences and strives to avoid privileging any groups or individuals over others.

A service of the Data Commons Co-op. The project has been supported by Equal Exchange, the Cooperative Charitable Trust, the USDA, and many others - thank you! Tech volunteers over the years include: Benjamin Bradley with support from GAIA Host. Ben Mauer with support from Quilted. Paul Fitzpatrick. Ronin Tech Collective, Brattleboro Tech Collective, Sligo Computer Services. Jason Lemieux. Default map tiles courtesy of MapQuest. Default map data (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA.