Membership Process

We are open to new members, however we are in the process of fine tuning the membership process and ask patience from those interested in joining us. We take membership slow and easy. It is important to us that perspective members are able to be housed adequately, are able to feel economically stable while here and also be received and welcomed into the community in a conscious way.

We know that there is a limit to how many new people we can handle at a time. We also are less flexible on housing than we'd like to be since we have been devoting most of our time these past three years on the construction of our new common house and have not been spending any time on developing short or long term housing. Which means that new people must find/bring their own or be open to and creative with the housing options that are available.

As we get closer to full we are looking more closely at keeping a diversity of people here and want to have enough children to maintain a strong kid scene.

We have learned from the past to not be closed to new members but we want people inquiring to understand some of the constraints at this time. We hope you will come meet us and that we can start to build a relationship as we sort out these issues.

Eventually we would like to have about 9 households. We have a formal membership process that takes at least a year to complete. The first step is generally a letter of introduction followed by a couple of short visits to meet each other. After that, we can invite you for a longer visit during which time we all get a feeling for what it would be like to live together. Assuming all goes well, you may then request to stay and begin the process of becoming a member. During this time you participate fully in the community’s day-to-day work and decision-making, pay a monthly land use fee (currently $125-$175) and attend Land Council meetings as an observer. After six months of residence, there is an evaluation by the Land Council and you may be asked to become a Trial Member. Trial Members are active in the Land Council although they may not “block” a consensus decision. They pay an additional monthly Land Council fee (currently $50) which goes towards land taxes and organizational costs. At the end of another six months you may be invited to become a Full Member, with the same rights and privileges as all other long-term members. At this point there is a one-time membership fee of $10,000.

If you are interested in membership in Emerald Earth, please send us a letter of introduction by mail or email. In a couple of pages, tell us a little about yourself, your experience, and your dreams for community. Also see the information on visiting us.

COST OF LIVING AT EMERALD EARTH

MONTHLY:
Land use fee (all residents) $125-$175
Land Council fee (members) $50
Food, consumables and utilities (approximate, per adult) $260
(phone bills, gas, and car maintenance not included)

ONE TIME MEMBERSHIP FEE
At the time of becoming a full member: $10,000
Suggested payment schedule:
$5000 at time of membership
$1000/year for 5 years