About the Community
Lost Valley Center runs educational programs and hosts events and gathering. However, it is also home to an intentional community of about 50 people who live on-site. We range from ages 1 to 87, and all play various roles in the community. About half of us are staff and volunteers of the nonprofit; and about half of us rent housing on-site and are employed by our individual businesses on-site, online, or nearby. Year round, but in the summers especially, our residential population ebbs and flows with the addition of short-term volunteers, interns, students, and event participants.
We are not a religious community, nor a political community. We do not have a leader or guru. We are an intentional community, however — a community that deliberately gathers around a set of collective understandings or interests. While every community member is drawn to our land for a slightly different reason, there are aspects that all of us hold in common in our hearts: 1) a deep care for the value of life on this planet (from which the desire to serve arises), 2) a willingness to explore and venture upon a more benign and holistic life-path, 3) an interest in understanding and creating the essence of family, tribe, and partnership, and 4) a dedication to personal growth, healing/transformation, and/or spiritual understanding.
We are not organized in opposition to or against any particular ideal, so much as we are working towards the emergence of something new. We are all working together to co-create a kind, service-oriented, inter-generational community that works to become conscious of our impacts on each other and our environment, and therefore ourselves and our collective future. We support the business of Lost Valley Center by our participation in Resident Programs, contributing at least two hours per week to cleaning our buildings and grounds, and by sharing our kitchen, lodge, swimming hole and other resources with our students and guests. The rent that many of us pay provides support to help keep the nonprofit afloat financially during the winter months when we offer fewer programs to the public.
Living on-site provides many benefits:
Site Benefits
(valued at $100/mo.)
Access to 88 acres of land and educational facilities, including, but not limited to:
- access to the meadow, forest trails, ponds and creek for walking, biking, or swimming.
- access to the Guest House, Guest House Kitchen and the Outdoor Kitchen
- mail service
- access to the shop tools and workspace during specified shop hours and with necessary supervision or training (if tools are not signed-out and returned, privileges will be revoked).
- access to land and garden tools (if tools are not signed-out and returned, privileges will be revoked).
- access to natural materials on the land, including plants and trees for medicine or other projects (ONLY with specific permission from Land Steward)
- access to the community Hot Tub and Sauna (with specific training)
- access to the community spaces of the lodge and lodge kitchen to host or participate in community events
- access to classrooms, offices, and eco-resource room to host or participate in community events
.- access to the Sacred yurt (the firewood to heat it).
- access to and discount for dormitory space for personal guests (upon nightly payment)
- access to campus-wide WiFi internet (upon monthly payment).
- access to on-site meal plan options
- trash removal and recycling
- on-site parking and storage
- ability to lease on-site spaces for micro-business development
- ability to rent out certain facilities for free to run workshops and courses (final availability determined by the Events Dept., limited to 8 hours per month)
If community rules pertaining to any of the above spaces are not followed, uses may be revoked by Community Council or Site Manager. Many of the above spaces have limited or no availability when in use by the Event Dept or Permaculture Systems Dept.
Future of the Community
Lost Valley Center owns a rural property with an extremely unique zoning status inherited from the previous owners (Shiloh Youth Revival Centers). On our 88 acres of land, we are blessed with a future capacity of 35 staff member families, 150 resident students, and 3000 annual guests (currently, our total population is about 55 people on-site, and we are looking for more long-term community members). However, our site map (inherited from Shiloh) is unclear as to exactly where we can continue to develop our approved on-site residences and facilities. We are currently in the process of working with Lane County Planning Department to come to agreement about site locations and uses. In addition, we are seeking neighboring land to further develop our agricultural programs and self-sufficiency efforts.
At the same, time, we are working with our on-site and potential future staff to develop a new legal structure that allows for co-ownership of the land and residences. This may be an L.L.C., a condominium association, or a community land trust. Research is underway on this exciting topic. Finally, we can create a way for our hard-working staff to commit to this caretaking this land for the long term. In addition, we are researching conservation easements and other legal methods to protect the integrity of our natural ecosystems indefinitely. See the “Long-term Development” section of the “About” tab for more information. Stay tuned!
Contact justin@lostvalley.org for more information about our progress towards the above goals.
All residents are expected to abide by the community living agreements.
