Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
- Mary Oliver
The Minnesota Ecovillage Project was founded to create a place for humans to thrive -- to live ethical, sustainable, meaningful lives in harmony with one another and the the natural world.
We each felt in our bones that there must be a better way of being human -- some way of living that would make life worthwhile, without the exploitation of our fellow leaving creatures or the destruction of this planet we all all call home. Our search for ethical, interconnected, meaningful existence has led us to each other, and to the woods of north-central Minnesota.
Seeking to be liberated from supply chains, we are learning how to live in harmony with the land by hard work, creativity, and local economic relationships – growing and processing much of our own food, building homes and furniture from natural and reclaimed material, and learning to live with the rhythms of the seasons.
We believe humans are meant to live in shared community, as an antidote to the isolation and loneliness that characterize our society. We intend to create a place where people of all ages can share in life together– share meals, share labor, share knowledge, share caretaking responsibilities, share crisis, share joy. We desire to weave a fabric of social support to create stability in times of both joy and crisis.
The ecovillage is located about 90 minutes north of the Twin Cities, on 66 acres of diverse Minnesota ecosystems: oak and maple forests, birch and aspen, tamarack bogs and duck ponds and a flowing river. We see ourselves not as owners or developers, but as stewards and caretakers of the land during our short time on Earth.
We call our little village SOLIS after Sun, which we recognize (along with all other living organisms on Earth) as the source of our life, energy, and existential orientation.
This village is a humble collective of people wishing to abandon economies of consumption, competition, and exploitation. It is a laboratory for experimentation in different ways of being human, a workshop for ecological ingenuity, a playground for creative expression, a retreat for the solace of green things, a dance party in the woods, a seed for a better world.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
- Wendell Berry
Our Values
We are guided by the central values of stewardship, belonging, interconnectedness with nature, non-dominance / non-competition / non-violence, consent, preparedness, humility, awe, simplicity, creativity, fun, hospitality, hope, joy, whimsy, and wonder.
We are a community dedicated to learning, research, growth, experimentation, and education.
We embrace our responsibility for the world we inhabit and the climate crisis in which that world finds itself.
We affirm the dignity and prioritize the safety of Queer / Trans / LGBTQ+ people.
We are committed to anti-racism and the dismantling of white supremacy.
We support gender equality and actively work to dismantle the patriarchy.
We are anti-capitalists and believe a better way of living and working together is possible.
We are family-friendly, affirming the value of intergenerational as well as chosen family.
We embrace a growth mindset, valuing progress over perfection.
We relate to one another through conscious informed consent mediated by non-violent communication.
We practice self-governance by principles of sociocracy.
We make decisions led by empirical evidence.
We pledge our allegiance to Reality.