Hygieia Homestead :: Communities Directory

Formed: 1999 Established: 2000

This page last updated:3/24/2012

Hygieia Homestead

Sterling, Michigan,

United States

We are a self-sufficient farm focusing on the health of the planet and all her inhabitants by learning and teaching sustainable farming, live (raw) vegetarian food philosophy and lifestyle, spiritual practices, peaceful honest communication, and ecological building. We are making a positive response to the present social condition and plan to be part of the solution!

Status: Active

Contact:

Janet J Allen
Michigan United States
Phone: 989-654-4031

Community location is placed at the center of the zip/postal code, city/state, or city/country (not based on street addresses)

This page last updated:3/24/2012

Visitors Accepted

(We now have a guest room! Interested visitors are very welcome. We'd love to meet raw vegetarians who want to grow their own!)

Visitor Process: Email or telephone

Affiliations: Sparrow Hawk Village

Statement of Housing Non-discrimination:

Our community does not discriminate in regards to housing based on race/color, national origin, religion, sex/gender, family status (i.e. having children, not having children, or being pregnant), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, ancestry, source of income, age, creed, personal appearance, political affiliation, HIV infection, military/veteran status, unfavorable military discharge, gender identity or expression, receiving public assistance, or being the victim of domestic abuse.

Population Members(adults and children): 2 Non-member Residents: 0 Open to new members: Yes	Government Decision Making: By consensus Identified Leader: No Leadership Core Group: Yes (There are only two of us, so far.)	Labor and Money Financial Style: 100% income sharing (We are married. Open to other arrangements with others.) Open to Members with Pre-existing Debt: No Labor Contribution: Expected (Labor arrangements are to be determined. We hope to earn income by growing and selling biodynamic fruit, vegetables, honey and value added products such as dried fruit. We also plan to have fiber animals such as sheep. Eventually we hope to have horses and other animals, too.) Join Fee: No Answer (To be decided when someone is interested in joining) Regular Fees: No Answer (To be determined)
Land and Buildings Rural (There is a gas station two miles away. Nearest town is 7 miles.) Area: 55 acres (22.3 hectares) (About one acre is wooded and we plan to expand the woods as soon as possible. We planted 3 orchards in fall of 2006 - a nut orchard, a stone fruit orchard and what we call an apple orchard with apples, paw paws, persimons and pears. 75 of the 96 trees are alive now in October of 2007 and we have ordered more trees to plant this year. We also have periennial berries, herbs, root crops and flowers started.) Land Owned By: Individual community member(s) (Other adjacent land available.) Number of Residences: 1 (We are finishing a 30 by 100 foot earth sheltered, passive solar heatied building with a hip roof and a loft above. One end is a 900 sq ft root cellar with 4 feet of earth over the top where there is an entrance to the loft. We have a composting toilet and constructed graywater oasis with health department's blessing! Our plan is to eventually build a large house with guest rooms and turn this building into a harvest barn.) Cohousing: Yes (We hope to build a large cohousing home when with private rooms. We also want to offer classes and have guest rooms.)	Food, etc. Percentage of Food Grown: over 50% (Working toward 100% as soon as possible) Share Community Meals: Nearly all meals (Eating together is a joyful sacred time for us!) Dietary Choice or Restrictions: We all share a common diet (Live vegetarian diet is very important to us. Eventually we want to hold classes in live food philosophy and preparation and feel all members must be earnestly working in this direction.) Dietary Practice: Raw food only (Our aim is 100% live vegetarian food. Some raw dairy is eaten and possibly we will have dairy goats and make our own raw cheese. We consume very little raw organic cheese now.) Alcohol Use: Seldom used (Unpasterized wine for special occasions only.) Tobacco Use: Prohibited	Social Factors Common Spiritual Practices: Yes (Earth and nature based. Law of attraction.) Which Spiritual Traditions(s): Eclectic (integrates pieces from many religions) (Personal growth and achieving higher consciousness. We believe in honesty with kindness (respect and compassion) will be an important step to world peace.) Educational Style(s): (To be determined when there are children present. We do want children around us in some sort of arrangement. Both of us are grandparents.)

Cohousing Details

Cohousing Status:

Building

Number of Units:

There is room for many as desired by the future members.

Square Feet in Common House:

3000

(900 sq ft are root cellar with 3 rooms. We plan to use water barrels frozen in winter to cool or to transform an air conditioner into a cooling unit if needed and electricity still available.)

Architect:

We designed and acted as general contractor. We are doing the inside finishing ourselves.

Developer:

We have done all the planning ourselves.

Commercial Lender:

Retirement funds were used to build the first building. Our goal is to have no debt and live simply.

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Become an Editor Current editor(s): rawnurse

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