by Ava-Margeaux Tierney

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage has been politely living in the very back of my consciousness for at least a decade. However this was the year that it burst to the forefront of my awareness and I actually did something about it.

I signed up for the April 2018 visitor program and bought an extra warm sleeping bag (I’m a tent camper and the lovely folks at Dancing Rabbit HQ were nice enough to forewarn of inclement weather) and left the bustle of NYC for rural Missouri. The joys of beauty, community, and sustainability were key.

The first thing that struck me about Dancing Rabbit was the beauty of the land. Vast open spaces and stunning prairie vistas await all those who deign to visit. Lavish sunrises and sunsets splash across the sky each morning and night. It is an intense color palette of reds, pinks, and oranges come to life. I could easily see why the founders chose this site to create their vision of a healthy, happy community.

It’s my observation that their vision of a balanced community included a commitment to natural beauty. The artistry of many of the structures at Dancing Rabbit is simply marvelous. There are living roofs, homes with strange and unusual windows, a bus that’s been transformed into a tiny cottage, and a magical outhouse that looks to be right out of Harry Potter. I hope this trend toward natural building and using local materials continues at Dancing Rabbit, for that is certainly a major ingredient in the magic of the village, and one of the biggest reasons I had for visiting.

The second thing that struck me about Dancing Rabbit was the amazing community of feminist people that have come together to live and work, grow and share resources. In a world where we are encouraged to consume without thought, it was a breath of fresh air to see a whole group of people consciously consuming and and successfully looking for ways to reduce consumption. It was also a breath of fresh air to see gender norms blended and blurred. This was apparent in the how the work is shared, the attention to gendered language, and even in many of the hairstyles worn in the village. It’s typical to see a woman/girl with a shaved head or a man/boy with longer hair.

Through community dinners and meetings, I became aware that there are, of course, disagreements that arise. There are a number of avenues available to address these conflicts. I also witnessed members actively seeking each others counsel when there was a disagreement. I sensed a great deal of love and respect that the members of Dancing Rabbit have for each other. This is another magic ingredient to this village.

Additionally, there is a terrific amount of talent and vision living at Dancing Rabbit. Our visitor program was very well organized. We had two village liaisons that we checked in with each morning during the first week, and three mornings during the second week. They were very helpful in answering questions and concerns, and supporting the visitors with any unforeseen needs—warmer housing for one visitor (not me; yay, sleeping bag) and additional childcare were a couple essentials the liaisons were able to address. We typically had two core workshops each day. All workshops were strong and professionally delivered.

The workshops engaged us on subjects including permaculture, nonviolent communication, natural building, the humanure system, the history of Dancing Rabbit, and a land walk. We also visited the neighboring communities of Red Earth Farms, where people are homesteading, and Sandhill, which is a farm where people share common expenses. There is a strong connection between the communities and, indeed, they are called the tri-communities. It was impressive to see over 100 people coming together to live, to work and play and engage with the values of community and sustainability as part of their daily living.

Community and sustainability is not a hobby at Dancing Rabbit (or the tri-communities), nor is it seen as something that is nice but unattainable. Dancing Rabbit is indeed an alternate universe. I hope one day that it will be the norm. I highly recommend visiting Dancing Rabbit and employing their vision of community and sustainability in one’s own life, whether or not one decides to make Dancing Rabbit home.

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Ava-Margeaux Tierney is an adventurer and world traveller who enjoys spending copious amounts of time long-distance bike riding, reading, and making art out of her life. She is ever interested in healing the planet and each other through food, transcendental meditation, and community.

 

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There are still 3 more Sustainable Living Visitor Program sessions happening in 2018! Come experience the beauty of cooperative and sustainable living for yourself by clicking here to find out more and apply now!
 

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Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community and nonprofit outside Rutledge, in northeast Missouri, focused on demonstrating sustainable living possibilities. Find out more about us by visiting our website, reading our blog, or emailing us.