My name is Raheem and I have recently moved to the state of Maine from New York in the hopes of starting or finding an intentional community for a multitude of reasons. I will be graduating soon with a degree in environmental science and I have worked on several farms. My plan is to work in conservation while also chipping in to help out in creating a self-sufficient community. I am trying to get more into living more sustainably however it is discouraging and very disappointing to me that there are not more people of color who do any of this stuff. I want to be a catalyst to change that. I also have my own ethical reasons for wanting to live off the grid and off the land. I have learned quite a bit on how to do this from the farms I worked at, but I need to learn much more which I feel often comes from trial and error. However, I could really use some help and support. If anyone lives here and would like to join or give advice, I would appreciate it.
Brah, im not in Maine but have a property near in Nova Scotia Canada. I also have a spot in atl GA area. I need a property manager and one to assist in traveling to and from atleast these two property. Link me for more details. Been at it and still building. Email me at Funnyfencefarm@gmail.com
If you haven’t already, consider checking out the communities directory on the IC.org website, they should have some communities listed for Maine, I know there’s at least one up your way, but probably more too.
I love your attitude. I feel the same but I am much older. I am ready to put all my efforts into building the new world. There is an excellent ecovillage in Maine run by Ethan Hughes. I am sorry but it was a few years ago that I knew about it and i haven’t kept up but it was going great. He started it up after a very successful one in Missouri. The one in Maine uses only hand tools, no electricity of any kind and they use candles for night light. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea as it’s pretty radical but its ethics are second to none
Consider putting in more time than a “bit”. Communities like businesses need your full attention and energy to make it happen. The earlier you realize this the more fulfilling your life will be.
I am also interested in starting or joining an intentional community. The requirement for me is all members are fully dedicated to making it happen.
Hello. This site has a huge number of resources for starting or joining an intentional community. Here’s a link where you can find others interested to start or join specific types of communities. You can search profiles, create a profile, and communicate for free.
I live in Maine. I’d really love more people to talk to about our community journeys. I’m exhausted by conversations that are rooted in dreaming rather than intent. It would be lovely to chat with someone who’s at the actionable steps stage.
Hi, OllieG, welcome to IC.
I’m originally from Maine also. I grew up in Bangor but spent my summers climbing Mt Katahdin and canoeing the lakes and rivers in that region. Loved snow and didn’t mind the long cold winters, but as I got older, I preferred warmer climates. Going on 5 years ago, I bought a 30-acre farm in SW Virginia on a S facing slope. What little snow we get melts quickly. I’ve been trying to build a community of freedom-loving people. The first family I invited to join me didn’t work out, and I had to buy them out to get rid of them. The second family has been here 2+ years and are a blessing. We get along extremely well and have accomplished a lot together. There are at least 6 homesites on the property along the periphery of the 10-acres of open land and edge of 20-acres of woods. I just looked for my listing on IC directory and couldn’t find it. I made an update last week, but it doesn’t seem to have posted. Email me at farm@corylayne.com and I’ll send you pdf with pics, maps, and info about the farm, our mission, and future plans.
Just putting this out there… i am on ICMatch, plus permies, plus have a blog, and a website, “blooski”, mastodon… and on and in all of that, i beg, plead, cry, complain, but really, spell out how READY AND WILLING i am… HAVE BEEN for decades, to be part of a community that fits the mold of one that cares DEEPLY about our collective footprint on this planet… all i need is someone, or a group, to physically get me there. I would then give over my life to the “cause”
Hi,
my name i s Mackenzie Andersen I live on the Boothbay Peninsuila. You did not mention where you are in Maine.
I was raised in Maine and spend many years in NYC. I write a substack newsletter that is very locally based called The Individual vs The Empire".
One of the issues I write about is the recent enactment of HP 1489, based on a study by private sector commissioners in the realtor and development industry. Their first decision was to exclude short-term rentals from the study, effectively making short-term rentals the default zoning for all of Maine and requiring any other type of community to form its own intentional community providing the town ordinances will permit it.
Maine is a Home Rule State but HP1489 transfers home rule authority over housing density and community character from the municipality to the state and prohibits references to certain ideas, arguably a violation of the first Amendment of the US Constitution.
HP1489 states:
Amends the fair housing provisions of the Maine Human Rights Act to define the terms “character of a location,” “overcrowding of land” and “concentration of the population” and to prohibit municipalities and government entities from using these criteria to restrict the construction or development of housing accommodations in any area;
HP 1489 mandates “priority zones” in every municipality and has financing designed for large developers.
Priority zones is another way of saying “intentional community” but the state favors a singular type of intentional community- overcrowded housing zones where the inhabitants have little access to rural lifestyle living.
I grew up in a business in the home- making ceramics. My Dad grew up on a farm in Iowa. Our business in a home is very much like a family farm. but it is now gone.
Businesses in the home have never been part of the economic development or housing public dialogue in Maine but now there is the remote workers movement that is also being ignored by the state as it plans overcrowded housing for the masses. If it were not for short-term rentals, there would be no need for priority zones based on population increase in Maine. Currently, the rate of population increase is in decline and it was never unusually high enough to explain the unprecedented housing shortage.
I am interested in developing a concept of a home-working intentional community. You can read more about it on my Substack blog, The Individual vs the Empire/
I am in Maine and trying to be at that stage. I want to develop a concept for an intentional community fir Home workers. You can read more about it on my Substack, The Individual vs the Empire. I am currently filling out the iniquity form for the GRaham Foundation grant for individuals,
Coweeta Heritage Center is looking for Volunteer Members to help start up an community. Much of the work (infrastructure) is in place. Please look at the site here on IC.org. Thanks!