Shiloh Springs EcoVillage

Mission: Shiloh Springs EcoVillage seeks to exist as an offering of hope to the world and faith in our Creator that there are better ways to live and work with one another and the Earth than are now commonly practiced.

From www.ic.org/directory/shiloh-springs-ecovillage/:

Here at Shiloh Springs Ecovillage (Shiloh Springs), our primary goal is focused on quality of life, character development, and spiritual growth within the foundational principles of Messianic Judeo Christian faith with traditional Biblical ethics. We also have some beliefs in Mormonism, however we have no ties to any organized external churches. To that end, we stand apart as an anatomist community, and with that said, we are looking for a core group of initial founders to set the standard of common unity of faith in the Savior of the World, Yeshua, Ha Mashiach.

We have many goals toward sustainability, on-site electrical power generation, renewable clean-burning fuels, power economy, and eventually power independence, more sustainable agriculture, more effective heating systems and technology, more earth-friendly recycling and waste disposal systems. These things take time, work, and collective minds and energy to bring to fruition. It takes people with sincere desire and strong work ethic to courageously try new things, refine old but proven practices, and to develop and implement new ideas. We believe it takes the synergy of a community of willing people who can think outside of the box and work in this living experiment in social evolution to help find better ways, hopefully becoming a part in a this new human renaissance. We also embrace the wisdom that there is some degree of security in knowing how to live and survive outside of far-removed infrastructures and unstable economies. This kind of sustainability is also the goal of Shiloh Springs EcoVillage.

At Shiloh Springs we understand that personal and spiritual paths are very individual matters yet we are all part of one another’s paths and experiences. People who gather here should believe that personal and spiritual growth and development are deeply important to every individual. For it is not enough to feed the body, we must also feed the mind and the soul. It is the goal of Shiloh Springs EcoVillage that we encourage each other in this growth. Only in this way can we ever come to understand how to live and work peacefully and effectively with one another, how to solve problems and resolve conflict, and how to become that change we wish to see happen in this world. Therefore we will meet together for practical purposes such as work projects, conflict resolution, and EcoVillage planning and business, for these things are necessary. But we also will encourage the planning of recreation, fellowship, charitable projects, celebrations, and social activities. After all, we are neighbors and brothers/sisters of the Messiah's Gospel. Love and trust come of both working and playing together.

What we cannot offer at Shiloh Springs EcoVillage is a place to hide, from your brethren, yourself, or from the world. If you have criminal problems or a criminal record, social problems such as hostility, violence, addiction, or sexual predation or deviances from Biblical standards, these are not problems that can be resolved nor can they be condoned here. Shiloh Springs EcoVillage has a process for the consideration and admittance, as well as the removal or resignation of members and residents. When considering someone for membership, Shiloh Springs will require a completed written questionnaire we provide and a criminal/sex offender background check for the sake of the security and peace of mind of the entire community. As one of our primary industries is the growth and preparation of food for sale at the local Farmers Markets, member must be able to obtain a Food Handlers License. Having an infectious and or contagious disease many disqualify you from being able to join or live in the community.

In 2007, after years and years of searching and praying regarding buying land, be were directed to this place here in Colorado. We purchased 70 acres in the county of Montrose, at the edge of the unincorporated town of Redvale. The land at Shiloh Springs EcoVillage is located on the rim of the canyon of Naturita Creek, which crosses the edge of the property some 500 hundred feet below. We are currently in the middle of construction of the community irrigation system. The plans for a micro-hydro plant are currently in development. We would like to build a common house for community gathering and to house facilities that would assist residents and be temporary housing for persons (such as student interns), with laundry and bathroom facilities. We also are looking to eventually integrate aquaponics into the greenhouses, and get a working permiculture-based system going regarding the gardens. This year we have introduction bee hives, vermi-culture (worm farming), and hops to the community.

The land does hold a mortgage. It is not the intention of Shiloh Springs EcoVillage to give private ownership deeds to entering members or to break up the ownership of the land, but we do intend to place the land into a situation such as a trust, down the road when the mortgage has been satisfied.

Shiloh Springs EcoVillage will offer short-term and, after a provisional period and member consideration, longer-term lot leases to residents. All members are required to work for the Farm Co-op, as a condition to retaining a lease to live within the community. Our desires are to have an ever-increasing emphasis on internal economy, through non-monetary forms of exchange such as barter, reduced or exchanged housing costs when possible, or paper-accounted trades between stewardships. Starting our own thrift store, herb shop, dry goods hardware, community cow and garden, and other home-craft enterprise is foundational to our success and will be highly encouraged.

Our intention at Shiloh Springs EcoVillage is to move toward living off the grid, on renewable energy sources, producing fewer greenhouse gases, and living environmentally friendly in more unity with the land. We will seek to build using alternative techniques such as straw bale, hemp concrete bermed earth structures, attached south facing greenhouses, passive radiant heating systems, and passive cooling systems when possible. We encourage the development of additional types of cohousing and cooperatives within the community. We would also like to encourage implementing the use of vehicles owned jointly by the community itself, eventually ones electric powered, or ethanol and bio-diesel powered. We are dedicated to developing the ability of growing most of the foods we consume ourselves or to barter for them first, before outside food is purchased.

We strive to be good stewards of our land, with much of our acreage reserved for limited agriculture, with vineyards and orchards, the pastures and common garden spot. In the river bottoms we will attempt to reintroduce native blackberry plants and medicinal herbs to help revitalize our region's bio-diversity, as well as add to our pasture land. Additionally, we have cut out lots of the dead juniper and winter-kill from our forest and would like to consider the planting of a food forest among the trees. We wish to restock the fish pond on the land as another sustainable community food source.

Outreach and education is an integral part of our mission, rather than isolating ourselves completely from the mainstream society or others with similar beliefs, we promote Shiloh Springs EcoVillage as a viable alternative to the disconnected rat race that popular society has embraced. Shiloh Springs EcoVillage will have an Altruistic Society for community charitable and outreach projects such as a Gleening Society, local Food Bank projects, and participating in other similar activities. We encourage all members to volunteer their time as they can as these opportunities in brotherhood, service, and good will arise. We enjoy sharing all that G_d has so mercifully and amply blessed us with, with willing hands and hearts.

If you are interested in Shiloh Springs, please email us and arrange to visit. We also have conditional memberships available for those who would like to come and live with us on a temporary basis, to see if this lifestyle is for them. And though we are not actively seeking new members to share our Community with, we are looking for those core members to actually establish our community with. We acknowledge that this path is not for everyone, our paths may take many twists and turns, and not everyone is destined to put in the effort needed to live this particular lifestyle, but for those drawn to such a lifestyle, please reach out and lets visit.

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.