A Little About Rocky Hearth Alliance
Going forward if I use the terms- we, us and ours, it is the future we.
Us and Ours are communal terms.
The Vision
Rocky Hearth Alliance will be a small, homesteading community. Living, learning, and working collectively as stewards of our land and resources. We will create a safe and respectful environment in which we work, play and flourish.
RHA will be a Homesteading Collective.
Homesteading is a lifestyle or practice where an individual or family establishes a self-sufficient and sustainable lifestyle, in our case, in a rural area. The concept of Homesteading often involves producing much of one's own food, raising some form of livestock, all the while reducing one's dependence on outside sources.
Modern Homesteading may include activities like:
Gardening - Growing fruits and vegetables for one's own consumption.
Animal Husbantry - Raising animals for food. In our case, chickens for meat and eggs, and hopefully in the future, rabbits for meat. There is not pasture here for larger animals
Food Preservation - Canning, drying and freezing for year round consumption.
Off-Grid energy sources. - In our case, we manage a woodlot and heat with wood. Off-grid often includes solar electricity.
DIY Skills - Crafting, woodworking, welding and blacksmithing, building, and utilizing homemade products like soap, candle making and maple syrup.
Sustainable Practices - composting and regenerative gardening practices.
Homesteading greatly emphasizes personal independence, resourcefulness, and a connection to the land. For many, Homesteading offers a sense of empowerment and a commitment to ecological sustainability.
Rocky Hearth Alliance is dedicated to providing secure, affordable, and energy efficient housing through collective ownership and participative governance.
Our Mission
The Mission at Rocky Hearth Alliance is to build a small, cohesive, community around the concept of homesteading. By working together, we create a cooperative living model that empowers individuals, strengthens community bonds, and serves as an alternative to traditional housing markets.
The “Collective”
A Collective refers to a group of individuals who come together to work collaboratively toward shared goals, interests or ideals. The concept emphasises cooperation and collective decision making rather than individual ownership or authority. A collective can take various forms from social groups, artistry, and political or economic organizations. Collectives are often rooted in principles of equality, mutual respect and communal responsibility.
Key characteristic of a Collective include:
Shared Purpose - Collectives often revolve around a shared purpose. In our case, economic resilience through a Homesteading Model.
Cooperation - The group works together, often in a horizontal and non-hierarchical structure, where decisions are made collaboratively, and tasks are shared.
Equal Participation - everyone is included in the governance of the community, rather than Top-Down leadership. Everyone has a voice, which doesn’t mean you always get your way, but that you are given a chance to be heard. We will be practicing Sociocracy, where decision-making will be distributed among our members, based on your skills and interests.
Collectives often refer to the Good of the Group.
Modern collectives do not diminish the importance
of the individual's contribution.
Rocky Hearth Alliance Is not a religious organization. Instead of a dinner prayer, let’s express gratitude for our abundances. Can you live with that? Likewise, we aim to be politically neutral. If you lean strongly one way or another, perhaps RHA is not a good fit for you. We will be working at not creating divisiveness, and looking for ways where we are aligned. We will choose our members based on your merit, and your alignment with our overall values. If you are someone who can work to create a positive, cohesive community and treat our community members with dignity and respect, we welcome you to Rocky Hearth Alliance.
We do, however, pledge allegiance to the Earth. To its mountains, rivers, soil, and sky. One Earth, irreplaceable. To be cherished and protected by all.
(source unknown)
