7 friends built restoration ecovillage. Outcome 50 years on

In 1994 a group of seven friends began living and farming together after taking over an 80-acre, 1974 organic farm 70 miles north of San Francisco that had been left to decay. They set up an intentional community around farming and wildlife restoration, as well as water management and permaculture, raising their families & learning by doing during a long-term restoration process that will hit its 50 Anniversary soon.
One of the first actions taken in the founding of the Sowing Circle community was an agreement made by all partners that each owner’s “share” in the company that owns the land would not be linked to the land’s market value.
The group worked with the previous landowner to create the first Organic Agricultural Easement in the country which protects in perpetuity the organic gardens and orchards from any development or any use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Today their Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC) is one of California’s oldest organic farms and their Sowing Circle one of its most-enduring intentional communities. At the start, they wanted to put to practice their ideas of permaculture, water management, and wildlife restoration.
The idea was to live like the land-based communities that predated them- like the Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok-, much like an old-growth forest. “Until recently, the majority of human settlement has functioned much like an old-growth forest,” writes OAEC kitchen manager Olivia Rathbone. “Humans... have long had the skills and knowledge to actually increase the biological carrying capacity of the land rather than deplete it, to render the concept of 'waste' obsolete.”
Today, their kitchen waste is composted, either directly or via their chickens. Their human waste is sent through one of three commercial-grade composting toilet systems - one of which involves mycelium - and which are being monitored by the county and state as testing grounds for more widespread use. Tree clippings (for fire management) become mulch. Their greywater is recycled in the gardens and even their seeds are saved in a very extensive heirloom seed library.
There’s a long history of land-based communities here, after the Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok cane Italian and Portuguese homesteaders in the late 1800’s and finally, from 1974 through 1990 the Farallones Institute established their Rural Center here (a counterpoint to their Integral Urban House in Berkeley) where scientists, designers, and horticulturists lived together and experimented around appropriate technology and sustainable design. Their cluster of 5 300-square-foot passive solar cabins (financed through the state’s Office of Appropriate Technology in the seventies) called “Solar Suburbia” is still the main residential cluster, though they have been enlarged to 700 to 900 square feet.
Brock Dolman moved here in 1994 as one of the seven founding friends of the Sowing Circle. His advice to those hoping to start their own intentional community or permaculture practice: listen to your predecessors rather than trying to follow trends or recipes for design. “It’s really taking our cues from what is the genius of nature that has been in that place for eons and eons and eons.
It has adapted to the conditions: temperature, moisture, soil, availability, slopes, aspects, the traditional ecological knowledge of indigenous people's interacting with that landscape over time. Why we would disregard those clues and impose an idea that we happen to make up because we think we have a better idea. I think our sense is that that's just human hubris and folly."
oaec.org/
On *faircompanies: faircompanies....

[@brotherofalex]

I only skimmed through this (it's quite interesting), but just had to say this guy is one of the most well-spoken, educated-sounding-but-not-pretentiously-so guys I've ever heard in a KZbin video. He has almost zero verbal filler. Seems like he'd be a great educator for the students who visit this place.

[@lorenluyendyk5800]

Brock Dolman is a living legend. He teaches and is an activist at the state level watershed manager

[@freedomdove]

Do you really not have 30 minutes of your day to fully watch this video????

[@gageparker]

@@freedomdove When I am in a line, or needing to kill some time, I skim youtube videos and put them in my "watch later" que. It may be a week or more before I get to them, as the que has gotten pretty extensive. The other thing I like to do on youtube is to reply to unnecessarily snarky commenters.

[@freedomdove]

@@gageparker Seriously? Do you think I'm just a snarky commenter by saying what I did? You must have an extraordinarily short attention span. It doesn't take much to watch a 30 minute video in a 24 hour time span, IMO. It's fine to bookmark it to watch later. How about they/you comment on the video after you've done that in your spare time? Why skim through it and comment? You haven't given it your full attention yet.

[@whooshr5588]

@@freedomdove my god, you’re insufferable. Chill.

[@dynokill]

The variety of videos and stories we are being told through this channel is incredible.

[@MBMCincy63]

totally agree with that comment!

[@HigoWapsico]

+1

[@Incommumfilms]

inspiration hey!

[@matty5689]

The channel/business (Fair Companies) that Kirsten and her partner have created is an unprecedented resource. I've been watching these videos for 6+ years and they've been doing this for nearly 15 years. That's something to be celebrated- their videos inspire me. My only qualm is the amount of people with very explicit wealth biases seem to be infiltrating some of the approachability and simplicity that has always been part of the channel- almost like they're using it to show off their "cribs" which seem to rely very heavily on industry and require insane wealth no matter how "green" they may be.

[@jameskniskern2261]

Wonderful community. My wife and I bought 8 acres in Kentucky, and over the last 7 years have been turning it into our own little permaculture paradise. We have a meld of appropriate technology and human labor, since it is just the 2 of us. We like to think that we are the force for LIFE here, and really do make a difference to the soil.

[@THEMAYQUEEN1]

My partner and I have just built a house on 7 acres down here in Australia and are very slowly doing this also. It’s exciting and very rewarding for sure

[@THEROOTMATTERS]

You must open yourselves up to more people. Not a lot, but more.

[@ndinebosschabe]

Thank you Kirsten your channel has transformed my worldview, I will be rewatching a lot of your videos to use the methods and technologies to apply in my own life

[@smrk2452]

This is a hippie commune grown into maturity! This was their vision. Thanks for all your hard work.

[@HippocratesGarden]

As a Registered Nurse, with a degree in Psychology, who was raised on a row crop industrial farm, the most important phrase of the whole video is: "We're all about life, not death". Unless and until a significant number of the world's population -get it-, no policy or government, or anything else will make the worldwide change we need. While yes, life comes from death, that does not mean health can come from poisons, diversity from reduction, or abundance from mass extinction.

[@421bb4]

Well said!

[@elainebraindrain3174]

Yes totally agree

[@pbear49]

Absolutely! So much to learn here.

[@jeffmorand4796]

He needs to go to Davos and bend Klaus Shwab and Bill Gates over each knee, clowns and B.S. Science will be the end of all life on Earth. End the U.N. - W.E.F. clown show Freedom Convoy Canada and World, cheers

[@j2muw667]

I’ve been trying to figure out how to start / be a part of an eco community in my area.. (lots of big industrialized farms , ranches and feedlots).

[@thinkplanetearth2946]

This reminds of another video you did a few months ago called "Rundown apartments reborn" where people decided to live communally as well and plant their own food. Obviously not on the same scale as this, as they lived in the city of Portland in an apartment complex, but they managed turn their parking lot and surrounding grounds into gardens. Quite inspiring.

[@stravaganza7616]

Indeed! There should be at least one community like that in every town and city 😍🤩

[@tracybell65]

This is how we should all be living.

[@tlockerk]

I don't think there is any ONE way to live. The strength of a republican democracy is in having 50 different states with thousands of people in that state doing different ways to live. Freedom to choose is important. I'm enough of an introvert to be horrified at 'group meals' but thrilled with the garden work on my own.

[@ricardocosson1105]

sure seems that way, but such intentional communities fail over and over and over... the info/message has been out there for decades, yet it doesn't spread/work.... why?

[@tracybell65]

@@ricardocosson1105 Its a dedicated hard working lifestyle and seems most would prefer the click and collect life they have at the moment. Very difficult to become self sufficient.

[@tesha199]

@@ricardocosson1105 people are lazy and complacent

[@jennyredbeans]

Your choice. Don’t force anyone though.

[@gazoakleychef]

Kirsten your videos fill me with so much joy

[@jesicahmwikali3552]

hi Gaz love your channel

[@SweetChicagoGator]

Wonderful !! I once lived in a commune of 22 men and women. Now that I have been a widower for a few years, I was thinking of living this nurturing way of life again. 🙂

[@kristinabliss]

Lots of nudity at least, if you don't mind having to reach consensus about everything. Better hurry though, us old folks become less in demand at monasteries and communes as we grow more feeble.

[@bardwatcher]

So happy to see this place still thriving! I toured Occidental annually from 1999 through 2006, and then moved east, but have never stopped thinking about it, and planning my return some day. Thank you for sharing this story with the world!!!

[@whatifitnt]

Spent many hours there touring, learning, field trips with homeschoolers, plant sales, ... we moved away years ago... this was a great trip down memory lane. THANK YOU!

[@inthechairwithcloochy8102]

This man is a genius. From the 29th minute until the end is such an important message, although the entire video is so important. Wished I lived in this beautiful place....

[@risasb]

Farallones was one of our inspirations when we were 70s back-to-the-landers. It's good to see this happening there; a 50-year take on a place has real value.

[@colbywilliams7595]

I love everything about this, particularly their acknowledgement and honoring of indigenous knowledge and relationships to the land. We need more of this in permaculture everywhere, but especially in places like North America and Australia - recognition that the stewardship of the original inhabitants of these territories provides for the standard of living that we enjoy today.

[@Raymondgogolf]

Hi Colby 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@StarMountainHikes]

I have been envisioning myself purchasing some land and building a permaculture homestead for the past couple of years. Seeing properties like these that you show us gives me even more inspiration to follow this dream. Also, I was born in Santa Rosa, CA and I lived in Forestville until I was 8 years old. Seeing the area again brings back those childhood memories. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@orthodoxboomergrandma3561]

We’re you acquainted with Christ the Savior Brotherhood? I know Vincent Rossi who is a Russian Orthodox monk now…

[@ajmentel2453]

you should look to build an intentional community as these folks have done rather than homesteading. the last two minutes of the video sum it up pretty well. permaculture as a system is incomplete without community.

[@j2muw667]

Have also wanted to start/ live in an ‘eco- community’ / farm / catholic community. In my area... Just never sure how to get started...

[@ajmentel2453]

@@j2muw667 sincerely, good luck with getting American Catholics on board with an intentional eco-commune. They're up there with evangelicals in anti-commune(ist) thought from my experience. As far as getting started, land is the biggest challenge especially these days - and while it may seem boring, you need to understand how communal economics and politics work if you're going to be sucessful and create a long term community. edit: the channel "Flock Finger Lakes" just put out a new video a few minutes ago called "Your Ecovillage Questions Answered" which is an interview with one of the founders of the Ithica Ecovillage

[@debscamera2572]

@@j2muw667 me too.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Imagine the legacy we can leave behind if we get started today putting these kind of projects up all over the world! Love this so much

[@karencooper6634]

I know this place, I used to live a few miles from there. They had the best and most amazing Mothers Day Sales...Plants from all over the world were available and the gardens were all in bloom, such a delight to spend time walking around.

[@Raymondgogolf]

Hi Karen 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@dakotaovdan]

Would love to live in a community like this

[@ajmentel2453]

you could try to organize your community along these lines - look up mark lakeman for project ideas and democratic confederalism for the political/economic structure (cooperation jackson is a good model to look to in the united states and rojava abroad)

[@benjaminbrewer2569]

Do it! All you need is land and like minded friends.

[@scpatl4now]

@@benjaminbrewer2569 ...and the right kind of climate. Like he says in the video, his solution will be different somewhere else. The job is to find out what that is.

[@Samthemancharles]

@@scpatl4now What do you mean 'the right kind of climate'? This can be done anywhere, it's been done all over, from Wisconson to Vermont to India to ... wherever. Or did I misunderstand you?

[@scpatl4now]

@@Samthemancharles The right kind of climate to recreate the stuff they grow. I suppose you could do it elsewhere, but their location is ideal

[@RobDeity]

The knowledge coming out of these communities makes me hopeful for the future. Imagine if all of humanity understood and implemented these simple, priobiotic perspectives... Imagine technology and automation that operates to cultivate life and biodiversity...

[@lilithrogers5204]

Oh, so beautiful and wonderful...Thank you.....I lived there for a couple years many years ago...so grateful for my time there and so glad you've been able to continue....and keep on Growing!!

[@lindac7146]

This was an amazing introduction to this village; its mission and philosophies. I'm blown away by all of it.

[@Raymondgogolf]

Hi Linda 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@wendypanozzo9133]

I love these kinds of videos. I wish it was a bit longer and dove into more questions like the housing situation, how they support the business,does all the produce go to the residents etc.A lot of questions left un-answered.This could of easily been a 45 minute video with so much to cover.

[@tinawindham6958]

Part 2 , part 2 louder…

[@Raymondgogolf]

Hi Wendy 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@Raymondgogolf]

Hello Wendy Good morning

[@andrew213rn]

@@Raymondgogolf Chill out buddy

[@mmmgardens5505]

I attended their permaculture design certification in 2019. This place is incredible.

[@kanonierable]

This channel is a garden that produces a most precious crop: optimism and a love of life.

[@moodbeast]

Please feature more of these communities. I wonder if there are full time workers amongst the residents, how does the upkeep work? How does one apply to move into their place (they have a waitlist, i'm sure). It takes a special group of people to collectively live and work together.

[@tinawindham6958]

I want to build one for pet parents bc I’m tired of people killing my cats and dogs and also pet parents get discriminated against if they need to rent. 🤟🏼

[@ajmentel2453]

he mentions it's a consensus-based intentional community - essentially a hyper-democratic system based on equal distribution of power and supplies. I can't speak on the specifics since I don't know but I imagine that every member works as much as they want to, but since it's an intentional community nobody is there to sit on their ass. I would also imagine they have yearly/monthly planning meetings to plan for the season, elect work captains to coordinate teams & jobs (instantly recallable by vote), to air grievances, and suggest new ideas. IMO an ideal model but you're right, it does take a special group of people to start one.

[@sweetpea1322]

@@tinawindham6958 So true! I'm looking for a rent house now,have been for months. I have 3 small dogs,that I refuse to leave behind or give up! They're family to me. Every place I check into say no pets.

[@moodbeast]

@@ajmentel2453 What happens to the elderly, or people who've lived there for decades? I guess an intentional community evolves as people age, have families, move away.

[@ajmentel2453]

@@moodbeast I guess that's up to the discretion of the community. If they can spare the manpower and resources for caring for the elderly residents and infirm, there's not really any reason not to IMO, especially if they're some of the ppl who built that community. I would like to think the active lifestyle of intentional communities plus modern medicine keeps you spry and healthy into old age but that isn't always the case. If I were to start a community, I would definitely consider elder care as a facet of contemplation when creating the bylaws.

[@the_str4ng3r]

A literal heaven on earth! Great find, Kirsten!

[@shortbean1886]

This is how we all should live 🙂with nature the way it should be ❤️

[@1701enter]

That took me back to my boyhood, I use to attend a horticultural boarding school, and we annually double dug our garden (one acre) set in a formal victorian setting all done by hand including hand barrows, not wheelbarrows, we made our own soil, in the potting shed we would use a caldren system to bake the soil before use in the greenhouses, a mixing box, John Innes if I remember correctly (the smell of the sterilizing soil combined with the fire underneath the kettles is something to experience I can still smell it now) ...no weed killers or anything other than natural produce

[@sparkysmalarkey]

Sterilizing soil is the opposite of natural, I'm no expert, but I think the point is to work with soil that is alive, full of diversity, with all the bugs and critters.

[@babymoon5282]

Just in the first couple sentences I can tell this school was not in the united States. This place is trash. We would never have a cool boarding school like that.

[@tinawindham6958]

Sparky, yes, fungi and worms agree with you. The longer the soil breaks down with mulch the more alive and rich it is! I don’t use anything to poison anything in my gardens. I have bunnies and boxturtles plus I love earthworms

[@sparkysmalarkey]

@@tinawindham6958 We have bunnies, snakes, moles, mice, and frogs or toads, not really sure. You know you are winning when the amphibians love your yard, imo. When your plants are super healthy, there is no need to worry about nature, they are strong enough to fend for themselves. There is, I think, a family of owls that has been making it's nest on the side of our house for nearly a decade now.

[@kwhatten]

@@sparkysmalarkey Also full of pest eggs that will decimate the next season's crops.

[@pollenhead]

Brock Dolman taught me more about permaculture and sustainability in 30 minutes than all the books I've ever ready on the subject in my life. This place would be my heaven on earth.

[@moip4928]

What's the name of the book?

[@pollenhead]

@@moip4928 I've read books by Geoff Lawton, JM Fortier and Paul Gautschi. I just thought Dolman was very succinct in how he put it all together. Thanks for asking.

[@barrybr1]

Day by day, story by story, I'm being being nudged towards a new life on the land. This video has given me a massive shove. Thank you!

[@firewaterbydesign]

I wish that more people would do this, or at the very least, use the land that they have to produce food for their families. How easy it is to forget that history ALWAYS repeats itself, if the lesson has been forgotten, or was never learned to start with.

[@Raymondgogolf]

Hi Design 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@firewaterbydesign]

@@Raymondgogolf Thank you.

[@Raymondgogolf]

@@firewaterbydesign You’re welcome Design, I would like us to be friends. You can text me with the 📧 on my Description. God bless you

[@Raymondgogolf]

@@firewaterbydesign Hello Good morning Happy Sunday

[@ChrisHolly]

Just amazing as per usual, to see a great way of living

[@sheafamily3]

I so enjoy the work you do as a family Kirsten. I can hardly wait to see what ya'lls kids do with this incredible upbringing you have gifted them with. Bravo!

[@thomassmith6344]

Hello Shea

[@Raymondgogolf]

Hi Sheafamily 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@joanng8601]

love that they build dirt which is how I was taught to garden by my grandparents knowing about tilth made my heart happyf

[@JONO5K1]

I would love to see this man undertake a 2+ hour interview - so much useful information!

[@Fillerhandle69]

Wow wow wow! My one question was about fire and defensible space and it is so cool to see that answered. Truly an all encompassing sustainable design.

[@betsyolsson-mackowski7682]

Excellent!!! This leapt out of the film and grabbed me with how brilliantly Brock expressed it: "We're pro-life of all species of all generations for all time. We're not antibiotic. Antibiotic-when you're against life and you live on the only planet in the known universe that has life... Kind of a party foul." Brock Doleman

[@storiesfromasuperhost8086]

I have a boarding house and love the Co-Living style of life. If I had land this is what I would do with it. Great Video!!

[@flntsky]

Wow, I absolutely LOVE this place, this is how we should all be living and working. Kirsten I really love your videos, you go straight into it with no messing about no intros just boom! and your in, I love you, keep up the good work that you and you family are doing❤️👍. Robert Beaton 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿/🌍.

[@nathanisenhour4420]

If we can just get folks to retune their thinking of biodiversity etc..That's what it's all about...it's about living. I would sell everything I own..and help that community..I was raised on organic farming by my parents and grandparents farm..we no longer own..Sadly. I'm older now..searching for a longing of a community as this. To be able to use my skills..I practice organic still. I understand the importance of heirloom seeds..we must maintain their natural genetic traits. No pesticides..etc. it's ashame folks will not even plant fruit bearing on the property. Their too complacent and lazy to actually work for It. And glorify their immaculate lawns. No person should need of nutrition or food deprivation. It's lack of the right education. Another problem is outright land ownership..The counties steal your land by taxes. My title; " leave Me Be".. Was it strictly a vegan community ?

[@tinawindham6958]

U r so right. I had a fruit garden with lots of trees and butterfly plants etc when the city came out. I hate grass and lawnmowers. I’d rather be raising chickens and stuff for my rabbits…they haven’t heard that roundup causes cancer!!! My dad always had a bag for our lawn. I love rolypolys and worms 2 much.

[@bgd73]

I was going to call that walking encyclopedia guy a genius.. until I realized what he is saying. Genius is nature, for respecting it. Awesome place.

[@abkl1]

good soil is key for life to thrive. Glad that these people are still teaching the public how to take care of their soil.

[@adrianac3258]

Amazing lifestyle here and could listen to Brock Dolman for hours ...

[@kitchencarvings4621]

That place is amazing. This seems to be the ideal way for humans to live, in harmony with nature, nurturing the land and improving it instead of exploiting it. I have started my own food forest because of your videos and others and I'm having so much fun. I bet a place like that would be a place of healing for those suffering from depression or abuse. Thank you for bringing this wonderful video to us. Your videos are the best on KZbin, in my opinion, and my all time favorite youtube video is the one about the shanty boat. I put it on in the evening and it just makes me feel calm and peaceful and all the stress of the day just melts away. I talked with Mr. Modes on Instagram and he laughed when I said that I had learned of him through your video. He said that he hears that all the time and that it certainly has gotten a lot of mileage.

[@Opa773]

This type of ecovillage prototype should be presented to each State leaders. There is no reasons that anyone should go without food ,particularly in warm states .

[@saffyone5198]

Enjoyed this. I know he is right, but just wish I understood more of the knowledge and practicalities of creating such a system 😊

[@donnaoz5502]

What a wealth of information... and eloquently presented. Thank you.

[@zed804]

Such a great model for creating a sustainable community

[@Chereese0808]

I loved everything about this!! No GMO"s here. I live in Hawai'i and we've fought hard against big corporations like Monsanto to avoid all of chemicals and destruction of the land. I'd love to try one of those plums right now Thanks for this video. Very interesting! 🌺

[@tesha199]

Yeah, I'm keen on these plums 😊

[@Raymondgogolf]

Hi Chereese 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@martinseidel3654]

Thank you very much for sharing those videos, amazing work!

[@Michael_McMillan]

So cool! I've been there!

[@maryannkerr1433]

Where in CA?

[@Michael_McMillan]

@@maryannkerr1433 Its in the city of Occidental. The deep cuts of Sonoma, in California.

[@lancedaniels]

Thanks for posting and sharing. Wonderful to see a place that has been lived in and developed so nicely.

[@TheWirdbird]

That is how I envisioned my life back in the late 70's. Never made it, although I do garden. I love what is happening there.

[@veritas.ve.42]

Kirsten, best video till date on your channel. Awesome project. Person explaining the project is clearly an enlightened soul. Thanks for sharing.

[@jeroberts7228]

Wow - that is a beyond wonderful place, with such dedicated and insightful people. And it's all so beautiful. I can't really put into words how much I loved this video, along with all of the sensible information we were given. Thank you so much for featuring them!

[@elainebraindrain3174]

How wonderful a place like this exists. Recently become aware of Professor Guy McPherson's work. My heart is crushed finding out that we are so near Extinction of all life on Earth. I'm in my sixties with severe disabilities and can't do much gardening anymore . If only All Humans respected the Earth and took care of it like you do there.👍😘

[@katiegreene3960]

Absolutely Amazing ........I want to know more about this place and how it's organized. Successful intentional communities are rare and often not very successful.....so all the lessons we can learn from the ones that are successful is vital.

[@tlockerk]

Yes, aging matters a LOT, especially with our Baby Boom heading into 60's at the youngest end.

[@tinawindham6958]

👍🏻

[@Raymondgogolf]

Hi Katie 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@katiegreene3960]

@@Raymondgogolf what comment? this is the first one i have seen

[@Raymondgogolf]

I’m talking about this one ☝️ I would like us to be friends

[@its.bonart]

This is the kind of stuff I dream about... Beautiful and so important!

[@mechanics4all405]

fantastic community regenerative thoughtful,brilliant

[@CrosshairLunchbox]

This was like watching an outdoor lecture on permaculture. Very information dense and wonderful.

[@seviregis7441]

This man is blessed with 10 green thumbs. Love this, wonderful. Looks like they have one toilet and shower for all those people, that’s tough, but I suppose that’s how they manage all the “waste” (resource) substance produced.

[@ravenwildspirit]

Please do more of places like this! Would love to see more Eco villages and Co living communities. Thanks for your dedication 🙏

[@ricksativa6849]

Awesome way to live .. I wish I was 35 years younger sometimes... This guy is great to listen to.. Explains things so well..

[@TheVigilantStewards]

What a phenomenal tour, that guy is a great presenter!!!!!!!

[@andrewmcintyre8774]

Absolutely brilliant. This is exactly how I want to co exist with mother nature.

[@sallylyons430]

I’m learning about a whole new way of living thru this channel. Tx so much

[@janetwalker3541]

Another good video, in fact these are my favorite. Wish they had communities close to me like this!

[@Raymondgogolf]

Hi Janet 👋 I hope my comment didn't sound as a form of privacy invasion your comment tells of a wonderful woman with a beautiful heart which led me to comment I don't normally write in the comment section but I think you deserve this complement. If you don’t mind can we be friends? Thanks God bless you….🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@gardenboots7464]

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for your amazing work, Kirsten Dirksen and family :) I have been an avid follower of your work for many years now. This breathes life back into me and I just want to THANK you and am SENDING LOVVVVVE.

[@Viva_la_natura]

Collective ownership of land, rational person centered production and planning, rebuilding the soil, living sustainably...not exactly what our mainstream institutions are structured to do, nor is it the ideology they practice and preach.

[@gracechan2538]

So appreciated for all the amazing videos! Only smart people realize nature give humans everything❤🙏

[@johnlabry325]

This is awesome thanks everyone!!!

[@ElCosmicGitana]

Just wonderful ❤thanks soooo much ❤

[@kenyonbissett3512]

Absolutely, incredibly, unpretentiously, WONDERFUL!!! Thank you for sharing this “eco village” with the world.

[@carolinaarentsen8996]

I love what you're doing. I'm a RISD grad from Illustration and Graphic Design. I'm always redesigning my bedroom ...it never finishes..lol..small spaces. I fix furniture often and improve them for my needs and tastes.

[@wildlifegardenssydney7492]

“We grow soil”❤❤❤❤❤❤ organically…over 50 years……omg…. I would have loved to visit….thank you Kirsten….and Brock for showing all of this insightful brilliance. Really this was such a wonderful tour. There is so much hope and beauty and community consensus here. These people know their actions count. They are super smart and connected to….the earth and biology. I would really love to hear more (and more) about this project. G and G project❤ reusing every natural resource multiple ways. I will research those public systems and low inputs, gravity fed, trusting biology are all music to my ears. Measuring performance too….omg the Seed Saving ❤❤Thank you for incorporating more Permaculture ideas, native re vegetation and indigenous wisdom. If more people did this the world and earth and all the animals and plants would be on a very different trajectory. Thank you so much for being you, Kirsten…Brock.

[@DeborahCaldwell77]

Thanks for the inspiration.

[@thomassmith6344]

Hello Deborah

[@topotone]

Thoroughly amazing! The truth of living on this planet. Thanks for bringing this episode to us.

[@AndyJayLark]

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! 🙏🙏🙏

[@sdp4549]

this gentlemen knows what’s up! thanks for curating + creating such quality content.

[@scottidw8415]

This is why I watch this channel it gives me hope that some people get it

[@RatedArggg]

I love how fire-smart they are. They need to educate other people in California.

[@Nomad_Paws]

So beautiful and inspiring! Thank you for existing and sharing!

[@T_P_W_ThachoZenjuan]

Another lovely community. Very inspiring. Excellent video!

[@benjaminbrewer2569]

This is so inspiring. So many things I want to create in my life are here. Community. Garden. Diversity of plants. Seed bank. Education. Optimal resource use.

[@maenewcombe6543]

Fantastic, all of it.

[@corinnapetry65]

Another fantastic video, Kirsten. So interesting. If I were more hippy, and less bourgeois, I would want to move in!

[@jaimecubides2831]

Marta and I enjoy your videos. We are in Santa Rosa. Thank you.

[@katiegreene3960]

Love what I see so far.

[@thomassmith6344]

Hello Katie

[@TheRealHonestInquiry]

Awesome video! I would love to learn more about the "Organic Agricultural Easement" which protects in perpetuity the organic gardens and orchards from any development or any use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

[@kevinmcgrane4279]

This is an amazing place. Thank you for filming/sharing this.

[@KAROZ888]

NZ has just been refreshed ... Ready for many of these AMAZING LIFESTYLES!!! ... NAMASTE!!! 🕉️💖🕉️

[@themysticmuse1111]

This is glorious.🙃

[@anamaria2053]

Beautiful! BTW I also understand that Spanish and Mexican communities also farmed in the area long ago.

[@tlockerk]

They usually were missionaries who brought in the Spanish architecture and many of the crops. Fabulous book "1493" discusses the HUGE exchange of seeds, flora, fauna, even microbes that forever changed the world, including China, who was big in shipping to South America at one point. Really interesting great read.

[@debbralehrman5957]

I love this idea. So practical I am glad to hear that the county and state are taking time to allow them to she the practical use of composting human waste.

[@naamdtaannaksu]

Automatically subscribed and liked when I wasn't ordered to do so without seeing the video... Keep up the good work

[@sgrvtl7183]

What a great project/lifestyle. Highly commend these people! Very interesting! 💜

[@Noidfpv]

I love it! Thank you for this!

[@billastell3753]

What an amazing village. I want to live there. Thank you for another great video. Thumbs up again.

[@kidsthesedays9]

This is important work they are doing. And you, KD, are part of that.