Come Join Us!
Rent, buy, or build in our intentional community in East Chatham, NY
If interested, e-mail info@qivp.org or call Sandra Beer at 518-392-1971 (between 7pm-9pm ET please).
Latest News
QIVC welcomed a large number of visitors over the summer and into the fall, and they enriched day-to-day living in a multitude of ways. Quite a few were exploring living in community and shared with us why they yearn for community living in this day and age, while they also asked questions and engaged in activities to learn how we live out the QIVC intentions. In addition, we welcomed longer-term visitors hosted by community families. Late in August, over 40 people gathered to celebrate the 90th birthday of our eldest resident.
One QIVCer designed and led a program that brought fellow college students for an amazing three-week residency at QIVC.
Program participants explored QIVC's intentions, attended workshops on everything from Quaker decision making to human fertility awareness to extraction of honey, and contributed youthful energy to projects and discussions. By all accounts, their immersive experience revealed the richness of community life, taught them a great deal, and got them thinking more deeply about how they want to live their own lives.
The summer also saw the culmination of a major renovation of East House, aka the Yellow House, into which QIVCers and friends invested much time and energy to create a warm and attractive residence. We welcomed a visiting Quaker from Florida, who stayed several weeks in the Yellow House, and we prepared to welcome a couple whom many of us have known and loved for years and who, with their children, will try out QIVC for a year and see where that leads them.
A number of our young adults are off on new adventures this fall, while some older adults are shifting into new types of work and retirement. Some of the fruit harvest this year is bountiful - especially the pears - and we have plenty of apples, so we're looking forward to the annual gathering for apple pressing. If you'd like to attend, contact us at info@qivc.org.
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read earlier news)
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Who we are
We are currently a community of ten households and several others interested in membership, living close to the land on 135 acres of mixed woodland and pasture. We range in age from 2 to 90, with 19 adults and 6 children. We strive to live spirit-focused lives that are simple, sustainable, and joyful, benefitting from and enjoying our close connections with each other and the land. We don't all need to identify explicitly as Quaker. We welcome diversity of all sorts. (More about us)
Where we are
We are in the gorgeous Hudson Valley of upstate New York (2.5 hours from NYC/Boston, 10 minutes from our local Quaker Meeting), in the foothills of the Berkshires.
How we live
We are thriving in a range of green homes such as strawbale, slip and chip timberframe, stickbuilt, passive solar; many of us built our own. Many of us farm our land organically, raise chickens, sheep, and other livestock, and produce piles of pesto. We also support several local farms through CSA shares (that's Community Supported Agriculture). We use Quaker processes in our self-government, including consensus that seeks God's will, discernment, and the clearness process. We value equality, diversity of experience and viewpoints, and deep listening. We come together around five guiding intentions:
Our Five Intentions
We believe conscious culture creation in community can be a means to advance our intentions:
1. To live in worship, increasing our mindfulness, spiritual focus, and God-centeredness by intertwining our daily lives with others who share these intentions
2. To create a village setting that values and engages participation by people of all ages, expands our experience of family, and supports our expression in the world.
3. To create wealth that embodies integrity and Truth by carefully examining our engagement in the current economic order and stepping away from its destructive elements
4. To live in unity & harmony with the earth by considering the near and far environmental impact of our actions while striving for thrivability
5. To include a good measure of joy, fun, creativity, and service in our lives
We believe that our community's success in achieving these five intentions will be aided by membership diverse in race, age, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, and economic situations, and therefore it is our aim to gather a community whose members are diverse in these ways as well as others.
If you have questions about QIV-C and would like to find out more or visit us, please e-mail info@qivp.org or call Sandra Beer at 518-392-1971 (between 7pm-9pm ET please).
