Membership
Who does well in the community?
Excerpt from; Diana Leafe Christian Creating a Life Together
People who are fulfilled and doing well in their lives are more likely to thrive and contribute to a community.
Someone with a healthy sense of self. People with emotional maturity and self esteem, who know what they want and know their strengths and weaknesses, and are seeking personal growth for themselves, tend to do well in community.
Someone who is open to and able to hear other points of view.
Someone with a sense of connection to people and an interest in the well being of others.
Someone willing to abide by group agreements.
Someone willing to speak up, take initiative and say so when they disagree with others.
Someone willing to be quiet and listen. People who always know what’s best, or who are dynamic, assertive, and full of ideas, may need to tone down that energy somewhat, in order to give others the chance to be heard.
What type of skills are needed in our collective, how you can contribute:
Interpersonal and Communication Skills
- Conflict Resolution: Ability to mediate disputes and resolve conflict.
- Active Listening: Ensuring everyone feels heard and respected.
- Empathy and emotional intelligence: Consider the needs of others.
- Consensus Building: Facilitate group decision making processes.
Practical Skills;
- Construction and Maintenance:
Carpentry, plumbing, electrical and general repairs.- Gardening:
Knowledge of permaculture or gardening to support food self sufficiency.- Cooking and Food Preservation:
Preserving food through canning, freezing and drying.Organizational Skills;
- Leadership and Facilitation:
Organize meetings, setting agendas and guiding group activities.- Project Management:
Oversee community projects.- Administrative Skills:
handling finances and maintaining records. Orienting new members.Sustainability and Environmental Skills
- Maintaining our solar system and battery bank.
- Land Stewardship:
Caring for our land and woodlot in a sustainable way. Work towards minimizing the Communities ecological footprint.Cultural and Social Skills;
- Community Building:
Organize events and gatherings and outings to strengthen Community connection.- Education and skills building:
Demonstrate some special skill you have.
Steps to take when seeking membership at RHA;
By now you will have embraced the book and lessons of Yana Ludwig and Karen Gimnig. You will be able to participate in “Imago Dialog”. You will have also had extensive classes in Nonviolent Communication. You will have discovered the “Feelings and Needs” list and be able to explain what “Jekyl” language is.
You will want to review these Community Agreements
And these Respects and Responsibilities
Next, put together a resume. List your education and work experience, all the usual stuff you would put on a Resume. Look at the “Skills Needed” list above and describe what you have to offer in a cover letter, including special skills you have that may not be on that list, and answer a couple of these questions. Send the resume in an email to hilltop1@ny.tds.net, put “Rocky Hearth Alliance” in the subject line. Be sure to include contact info so we can start a dialog. I look forward to talking with you on the phone and meeting you on Facetime or Zoom.
Visitors
You will want to visit us to see if you would like to join our homesteading collective. Apply for a visit by submitting your Resume and Cover letter. Visits may last from a couple of days to one month. The “Greeter” will contact and arrange an interview and pick a date to visit. Visitors rent a room in the Common House. Visitors pay $150 a day for “room and board”. We will be glad to accommodate any dietary needs. Perhaps you could prepare your favorite recipe for us.
The fee for longer visits may be negotiated with a work-trade agreement.
During your visit there will be an orientation, including review of the Creating a Cooperative Culture Handbook and the basics of NVC.
Please do not treat us like a vacation destination or a B+B. Serious inquiries only, please, as we are generally busy caring for the homestead. Even though we are excited to have visitors, please arrange your own transportation as it Is not economically feasible for us to meet every visitor at the airport. Come prepared to jump in somewhere and make a contribution.
Common house photos
Provisional Membership
At the end of your visit you may be invited to apply for Provisional Membership. At this point, the “rental” ends and regular membership fees apply (see below- housing usage fee, utilities and Shared Expense Fee fee) except the membership buy-in. There is a $3000 Orientation Fee to become a Provisional Member. Our community is going to be spending time with you on NVC and the Cooperative Culture Handbook.
We simply can not spend our valuable time with you for free. If you have done a good deal of the groundwork and can “hit the ground running”, this may be negotiated. Provisional lasts up to a year.
You will continue to live in the common house while the community builds residential cottages.
Please be aware the labor toward building the residences is a gift you give the community. This is above and beyond the work requirement of gardening and firewood. Everyone benefits from this arrangement with low expenses. There is no “equity building” here that you take away if you leave. The reward is a share of the abundance that we all create here, social and otherwise. Find other ways to save and invest. I also invite you to examine yourself carefully and decide if you are a giver or a taker. Givers arrive with a we, us and ours attitude. Frankly, dear one, that is what it takes for intentional communities to thrive. Be the one that helps us thrive.
After a year you may be invited to apply for full membership. If you can’t commit at this time, you may be asked to move along if there is a waiting list, so we may accept a new candidate.
Membership Buy-Out
Members should feel that they are free to leave if they have new interests or feel that RHA is not a good fit for them. If a member is not happy here, that will disrupt the group. The buy out procedure will be outlined in our future by-laws but basically RHA will hold enough assets in reserve to buy back your membership.
Involuntary loss of membership may result from continued bad behavior toward fellow community members, continued lack of participation with the group and our projects, continuing to break community agreements, lack of engagement with the conflict resolution process, and violating another member's physical and emotional safety. These matters will be discussed openly with you and the Wisdom Circle. If you are asked to leave we request that you do so graciously. If legal action is required to have you removed, the legal fees will be deducted from your membership refund as well as any damages and repairs to your residence. This will be outlined in more detail in the pending By-laws.
Membership Buy-In and Housing Fees
Rocky Hearth Alliance is a “Housing Cooperative” which means that the cooperative, our group, owns the land and the buildings. By purchasing a member share you have the right to occupy a residential space, and we all share the common areas.
As of January 1, 2025 the member share is $65,000.
This is a floating number adjusted often because of inflation. How we come up with this figure can be explained in person. This may change by the time you officially apply. Half of these funds are used to “Buy-Out” the previous land owner and transfer ownership to the group. The other half of these funds are used to fund our bank. (let’s call it the “We Bank”) We borrow from the We Bank to build new infrastructure and new housing. Your residential usage fee pays back that loan over time and then (proposed) that fee ends. This is intended to mimic one of the benefits of ownership. This is how We intend to maintain our capital reserves, and stay solvent.
Terms may be considered (proposed) with 50% down.
There are 5 memberships available at this time, with Fred retaining 1 share for a total of 6. We will need to understand what the land can support before expanding beyond 6.
There will be a residential usage fee of approximately $300 month which varies depending on the size and amenities of individual residences.
Your share of utilities, internet, approximately $100 month
HOA fees which are the cost of taxes, insurance, maintenance and upkeep.
$7200 yr divided by 6 members divided by 12 months= $100
(estimated, some expenses are inflating at 25% a year)
One meal a day Meal Ticket (tbd). Other meals are on your own.
All members contribute 10 hrs week (proposed) garden chores, yard work, firewood, maintenance and upkeep, etc. This changes with the seasons so approx. 500 hrs year (Not including household chores like KP and house cleaning, etc).
(“Proposed” means- to be determined by our Community Circle, the future us.)
We, our community, will be committed to low cost and affordable housing.
We can achieve this by using local materials, some harvested from our own woodlot, and reclaimed and reused materials. We will experiment with alternative materials like straw bale construction. You may have toured communities where the residences are $500,000 and up. RHA is not that. Our project is more of a grassroots effort. We can adopt old technologies like masonry furnaces. We will use volunteer labor (us) whenever possible. One of our goals is fossil fuel free residences. We can share the Common House kitchen, dining area, showers, and laundry. The cottages will have small kitchen-ettes and flush toilets, as required by law here.
