Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage

Visiting Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage

The Webmaster — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:47:14 +0000

The following is a piece written by Jade, who visited Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage a year and a half ago. She was nice enough to write of her impressions during her two-week visitor program, and has since moved to DR and become a resident Rabbit.

We publish “testimonials” periodically, hoping it helps people imagine what it would be like to attend our life-changing visitor program. We hear from so many people on our publication e-list that want to come and visit us. Let this be your sign! Here’s what Jade had to say:

The Dancing Rabbit visitor program is very informative, hands on, and emotionally supportive. It’s very rich and full, with a “take breaks when you need to” culture.

Being at Dancing Rabbit is like being in a society, if society wasn’t toxic. It’s hard to describe in words and very much something that can only really be felt through living the experience. It can be confronting to participate in a micro culture that doesn’t exploit you and to then discover how many unhealthy patterns have been internalized.

Each day starts with check-ins, so there’s plenty of room to sit and be present with feelings that may come up. I left feeling inspired and hopeful that there is community around choosing a different path of life, one of creation, building and connection. I long for this myself and often feel that this path is an uphill battle. It was nice to move downstream for a bit.

Jade Grievink (36), is a single parent, psychologist, connector, entrepreneur, artist, poet, landlord, gardener, childcare professional, traveler, translator, activist and a bunch of other stuff.

The post Visiting Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage first appeared on Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.

Looking From the Outside In: A Dancing Rabbit Update

The Webmaster — Tue, 26 May 2026 01:03:59 +0000

Whenever I go somewhere else, it’s always a great opportunity to get a fresh view of life here at Dancing Rabbit. I think that I, as all humans do, often focus on what I’m doing wrong, on ways to improve things. And when I live with a small group of people who are also trying to do the best they can and who don’t have to work 50 hours a week to pay for rent, food and gas, then yeah, we can spend a lot of time just focusing on ways we are falling short.

Christina here, writing about superpowers, kryptonite, and how people keep leaving hair in the shower drain.

I was recently visiting a fairly different community of a similar size in terms of number of people that was very different in many other ways. I spent five days at a “care farm” in Northwest Wisconsin acting as a chaperone for my son’s visiting class. This community had a mixture of adults with intellectual disabilities who need more support and the other adults who support them, and the community grows enough food to feed almost 300 people. This means that while they have a similar number of people, they are a lot more united than we are when it comes to purpose and daily life.

One of the members asked me a question that I have been thinking about ever since. As we were weeding quackgrass from opposite sides of a bed of oregano and comparing our different experiences with different communities, she said, “What is the superpower of your community?” Then she added, “And the superpower is often the kryptonite.”

This was such a great question that I had to think for a day before I could even come up with an answer. I did ask her what her answer was for their community, and she said it’s their flexibility, which means their kryptonite is that things can be a bit chaotic.

As I mentioned, I think it’s hard to focus on what we’re doing well because it’s so much easier to notice the gaps and problems. But after thinking about it, I decided that for me, it’s the sharing and the willingness to experiment that are our superpowers.

Saying “sharing” while I was visiting a community that is literally income sharing felt a little embarrassing—obviously they do it so much better!—but there is something about sharing showers, a common house, garden, kitchens, and yes, cars, that both forces community and makes it very challenging at times. In fact, I personally don’t share a kitchen because I find it too hard to compromise on food (I want to eat as much sour cream as I want and also yes, there must be a pickled element to every meal).

Juggling car schedules, working in the garden when people don’t show up who said they would, and taking the hair out of the shower drain that’s definitely not mine—yeah, that all really stinks. But on the other hand, the conversations we have in shared car rides, knowing someone else is watering the new seedlings when I am away, or not having to actually scrub the shower myself every week—that’s all pretty great. It also means that we are using fewer resources and, most importantly, driving a lot less than we would otherwise.

Additionally, I have come to learn that I really prefer to spend time with people while we engage in an activity, such as talking while we weed, stack wood, or organize the free store. Sharing these things also really helps me to have a greater connection with my fellow communitarians.

The other superpower I settled on was our willingness to experiment. I think this is actually one that makes things confusing for visitors and even seems to have a rub with a lot of the original goals of the ecovillage. Whether we like it or not, it’s not “come visit our village where we have everything figured out and we will teach you how to save the earth and humanity,” but more “welcome to our ecovillage where we continue to make mistakes, sometimes the same ones over and over, but where we think we’ve learned lessons from our willingness to fail.”

I think visitors are often disappointed by that, and they often expect us to have things a lot more figured out and “right” than we do. I too, like pretty much all humans, think failing is awful and I would much prefer to never get anything wrong. But as we are trying to figure out ways to do things that are not the same as the “default world,” we are going to have to experiment. And experimenting means not always getting it right on the first, or even the third try.

I have yet another trip on the horizon, and I’m realizing that as much as I love the experience of travel, a big part of why I do it is because it helps me appreciate my own life more. I’m sitting in bed writing the first draft of this post in my notebook as the birds chirp and the rain falls in my garden. Why would I ever leave this place?

But I also know that I will definitely come home with a newfound appreciation for our superpowers and yes, our kryptonite as well.

Christina Lovdal-Gil is a regular contributing writer to this newsletter, and overall instigator for social events in the village.

Upcoming Event: Silvopasture Field Day. Curious about how trees, livestock, and forage connect? Join us Monday, June 8, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM for an immersive look at multi-species pasturing and agroforestry design. This NRCS supported event is free and oriented to farmers, landowners and natural resource professionals, and includes a pasture tour, demonstrations, a light meal and refreshments, three free trees for attending farmers, and access to exclusive funding microgrants. Parking is at the main Dancing Rabbit entrance. Registration is required–sign up today at: https://knownandgrownstl.org/events/field-day-at-fox-holler-farmstead/ .

The post Looking From the Outside In: A Dancing Rabbit Update first appeared on Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.

A Sense of Place: A Dancing Rabbit Update

The Webmaster — Tue, 12 May 2026 00:12:47 +0000

In the spring I like to put the kettle on and leave the house with an empty porcelain teacup. I walk along the footpath until I reach a wooden bridge spanning a shallow draw often flooded with rain during this season. On the banks are a smattering of stinging nettle, the cantankerous European plant I have come to love as an allergy cure and spring tonic. The nettles are young enough that with a gentle touch I can harvest a few leaves from each without fear of being stung, even with my fingers bared to their long, waspish hairs. Nettle is like a crotchety person with a heart of gold. You have to play by her rules and respect her boundaries, but she will care for you if you’re brave enough to get close.

When my cup is half full, I walk back to my house and top it off with water that has boiled in my absence. The result is a vibrant green tea that tastes like freshly mowed lawn. As I sip it, I try to connect to what I am taking in: the sunshine, the soil, the rains. It is a small ritual of connection to place.

This is Emeshe by the way, and it’s funny to think about how the forest plants used to be anonymous to me; a nameless crowd of green. I was like a person at a party where I didn’t know anyone. Being a transplant from an arid climate, the lush foliage here was beautiful and captivating, but my appreciation for them was like the love you feel for the stranger on the subway; based more on aesthetics than substance. These days I am feeling that beginning to shift.

With my third spring in Missouri well under way, I feel I’m deepening friendships not just with the humans around me, but also with the other life forms that I see, smell, and hear each day. Just as I’ve come to know the history, quirks, and rhythms of my community mates (don’t talk to her before her morning coffee, he’s always forgetting his coat everywhere, etc.) I’ve started to know the history, quirks, and rhythms of the plants; which ones came from overseas and which are native, which are delicate and which are hardy, which are food and which are poisonous. Many members of this community have deep knowledge about the local plants and I am grateful for moments when they have taken the time to share their knowledge with me.

I often name the reason I moved to DR as a craving for depth over breadth. I wanted to know and be known, see and be seen. In a world where shallow connection is available everywhere, I wanted to know what it was like to have deeper roots and stronger foundations. What I didn’t realize was how that connection was not just about the human relationships I cherished, but also about the non-human relationships. The sea of green is becoming a landscape of familiar faces, a place of beings whose names I know and habits I understand, and I feel my community is growing beyond just the 50 or so people I share my life with. As the woods around my house fill in with leaves, and the garden begins to take off, I wonder which new plants I will get to meet this growing season and what they will teach me.

Emeshe Amade is co-leader of Dancing Rabbit’s nonprofit, the Center for Sustainable and Cooperative Culture. She is a regular contributing writer to this publication.

The post A Sense of Place: A Dancing Rabbit Update first appeared on Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.

Time is Running Out: Help us Reach our Goal by Midnight!

Connie Tao — Thu, 07 May 2026 19:45:00 +0000

Give STL progress report: We’ve raised $1,210 out of our goal of $5,000, and we’ve only got until midnight to get there!

To make up the difference we need your help! Every dollar raised goes into our scholarship and sliding scale fund. This allows us to offer our Sustainable Living Visitor Program on a sliding scale, allowing participants to pay exactly what they are able to for what can be a powerful and life-changing experience. It will also allow us to provide scholarships to our programs on natural building and permaculture.

“One of the most nourishing experiences I’ve had in years. This program fulfilled deep needs for me that the outside world hadn’t been able to meet for most of my life.” –Erin Rosenfeld, 2021

“Communal sustainability is one thing to read and study, but the opportunity to live amidst it and speak to those who practice it every day is INVALUABLE.” –Kendall Dane 2024

Help us eliminate financial barriers to sustainable living by donating today, and give someone with the dream of a better future the tools to realize it. The first $2,000 in donations are fully matched!*

To maximize your impact, give during a Power Hour (listed in Central Standard Time):

3-4 pm
9-10 pm

Share this email with friends and family and encourage them to donate as well.

*Thanks to a donation from our longtime friends, Ed Pultz and Wendy Soderland!

In community,

Eric Mease
Villager // Land Steward // Development Lead

The post Time is Running Out: Help us Reach our Goal by Midnight! first appeared on Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.

Today’s the Day: Make Regenerative Living Accessible

Connie Tao — Thu, 07 May 2026 13:30:00 +0000

“All of the ideas we have about living in a better way for us and the Earth are possible, and community is the way to do it. I learned so much and had so much fun and this program really changed my trajectory in ways I never expected. I really can’t recommend it enough.” –Juji Jamieson, visitor, 2021

Every year, we welcome over 100 people into our village. They come to share, learn, sing, build, and celebrate the beauty, struggle, and triumph of life lived in community; one which is striving for harmony with the natural and human worlds. As you know, this is a rare thing these days. Which is odd, given that, for many of our visitors, it feels so deeply right; like they’re finding something which is hard to believe we ever lost.

“You have to see the other side! There is a different, more meaningful and more fulfilling way to live.” –Jenna Sandry, 2024

Our mission is to bring this experience to as many people as possible; showing all who care to see that there is a different, more meaningful way to live. We also teach them the skills needed to bring this way of being into their own lives and communities, or give life at DR a shot. Our flagship program, the Sustainable Living Visitor Program, is a one to two-week comprehensive introduction to sustainable living and Dancing Rabbit. We offer this program on a sliding scale, allowing anyone to pay what they are able to. We offer additional scholarships to all of our programs. However, in order to maintain this level of openness, we need your support.

Today is Give STL and 100 percent of donations will be used to bolster financial accessibility to our programs through scholarships and our sliding scale. By making the experience of sustainable community living available to all who seek it, we are ensuring that those with a vision of a better world are given the tools to realize it. Our goal is to raise $5,000, and the first $2,000 will be fully matched!*

Ways to get involved:

Donate now and lend a hand to those on their journey to regenerative living.
- To maximize your impact, give during a Power Hour (listed in Central Standard Time):
  - 9-10 am
  - 12-1 pm
  - 3-4 pm
  - 9-10 pm

Share this email with friends and family and encourage them to donate as well.

*Thanks to a donation by our longtime friends, Ed Pultz and Wendy Soderland!

In community,

Eric Mease
Villager // Land Steward // Development Lead

The post Today’s the Day: Make Regenerative Living Accessible first appeared on Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.

The Many Paths to Dancing Rabbit

Connie Tao — Mon, 04 May 2026 22:32:27 +0000

There are many paths which lead to Dancing Rabbit. Mine began in college, when, through my studies in anthropology, I discovered the world of ecovillages. Eight years later I landed at DR for a six-month stint in the work exchange program. Having no outside job to return to and the desire and ability to do physical labor, it suited me well. It allowed me to steadily get a feel for life at DR while learning the ins and outs of running a small-scale regenerative dairy.

While this is a beautiful way to explore life at DR, it does not suit everyone. It requires a one-month commitment and 25 hours of physical labor per week. For many folks interested in exploring ecological community living, the Sustainable Living Visitor Program is the ticket. The one to two-week program offers a comprehensive introduction to all things Dancing Rabbit: sustainable community design and technologies, regenerative farming, conflict resolution, community governance, co-operative structures and, perhaps above all, the experience that a different, more meaningful way to live exists in 21st century America.

In a moment we’ll hear from someone who arrived last spring via the visitor program, and is now exploring life at Dancing Rabbit.

But first, Thursday, May 7 is Give STL. One hundred percent of donations will go into our scholarship and sliding scale fund, allowing anyone to attend our visitor program at whatever price they can afford. By making the experience of sustainable community living available to all who seek it, we are ensuring that those with a vision of a better world are given the tools to realize it. Our goal is to raise $5,000, and the first $2,000 will be fully matched!*

Ways to get involved:

Donate now and lend a hand to those on their journey to regenerative living.
Mark your calendar for May 7, and donate on the big day!
Share this email with friends and family and encourage them to donate as well.

*Thanks to our longtime friends, Ed Pultz and Wendy Soderland. We’re searching for more matching donations!

Now, let’s hear from Lindsey, a recent DR transplant, about how the visitor program played a role in her journey…

I participated in Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage’s visitor program and work exchange program, and I am now exploring residency. And while I have lived in several communities around the US over the past 20 years, I can honestly say, I have never experienced anything quite like Dancing Rabbit.

Most communities I have lived in or visited have been bonded together by mission statements that include elements of sustainable agriculture, experiential education, health and well-being, and/or resource and land stewardship. Typically, these missions have focused on a handful of projects or ventures that most, or all, residents participate in, and which are intended to support the community over time–physically and beyond.

At Dancing Rabbit, the mission of creating a sustainable society is both simple and expansive. What distinguishes it from my previous community experiences is the vastness and diversity of the projects fulfilling its mission. It’s a true village, in the sense that it is made up of individuals and families that have been invited to bring all of their passion projects and personal visions with them into their everyday lives.

As a matter of fact, the primary limitation I experienced in my two-week visit is that there could never be enough time to touch, or be touched by, the rainbow of projects and lifestyles alive at present–let alone all of the potential projects one’s imagination may conjure up, given the time and space for reverie!

And while this reflection may sound like a bit of a rave, I want to be clear: this village is not a getaway, or a retreat from real life–these folks are working hard to spin the fibers of a life rich in alternatives to the status quo. Residents are busy, and calendars are full.

So, what makes this pace and style of life diﬀerent? Well, in my humble and limited perspective, the answer to that question is palpable in the conversations with the folks that live there, and the glimmer in their eyes when they get to share what they are creating, and dreaming of creating, with all of us who take the time to visit. They may be “chopping wood and hauling water,” but this (literal and metaphorical) wood and water is directly in service to the quality of their lives, and the lives of their loved ones and neighbors.

There is something so refreshing about oﬀering one’s blood, sweat and tears into an ecosystem that directly supports and sustains itself, versus through the multiple degrees of separation our capitalistic systems have normalized for us all.

I highly recommend checking out the DR visitor program if you have interest in living in an intentional society that is “walking the walk,” or if you are seeking inspiration on creating alternatives to the systems that continually underserve and exhaust us all where you live. And if nothing else, come check out the program to simply be reminded that we can, and we will, create ways of being that are so much healthier and more fulfilling than those we are being sold.

Lindsey is a white and able-bodied woman, currently residing at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, learning how to restore and steward the lands stolen from original Native inhabitants, including the Osage Nation and Illini and Ioway tribal people, among many others. She is always seeking practical beauty and aspires to excavate new layers of self, via the invaluable mirrors of both land and community. When not playing in the dirt, or swimming in lakes, she loves doing transformational circle work with women, reading by candlelight and learning new ways to move and be in her body.

If this is the kind of experience you think more people should have, please consider donating today, or by May 7.

In community,

Eric Mease
Villager // Land Steward // Development Lead

The post The Many Paths to Dancing Rabbit first appeared on Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.

The Journey Towards Community

Connie Tao — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 20:59:46 +0000

Everyone’s journey to finding community looks different; some start their search early, suspecting from a young age that something isn’t quite right with society and the ways of living we’ve been thrust into. Others may lead a full and varied life before realizing that any alternatives exist; checking all the boxes society expects of them, only to discover that many of these metrics bear only a tenuous relation to true happiness. Most of us fall somewhere in between.

If you’ve found a happy life, filled with connection and meaning, while existing within the prevailing framework, I am sincerely happy for you. For many though, even those who have found “success” within the system, there remains a certain disconnect, a sense that something fundamental is missing from our modern way of life. But what is it? Well, whole books could be written (and have) about this, but a few things come to mind:

A deep sense of belonging to a community, tribe, or family.
A life connected to the natural world and the changing seasons.
The ability to access land and interact with it in creative, sustainable, and nourishing ways. Maintaining this connection across generations.
A sense that the principal pursuits of our lives are contributing to a greater good, however defined.
The knowledge that we are restoring, not degrading, the foundation upon which all life, including our own, relies upon.

Bringing these elements back into our world will be the work of generations. Though a monumental task, it’s already begun; particularly in ecovillages and intentional communities (In indigenous communities, this work has never stopped). My home of six years, Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, is one such place.

“Life feels different [at Dancing Rabbit]. There is a connection to the natural world and other people that is rarely present elsewhere.” –Randall Lux, visitor, 2023

Everyone deserves the chance to experience, and remember, that life can be different. Unfortunately, this remains notoriously inaccessible to a majority of people. Either folks aren’t aware that any alternatives exist, or they have fears, judgements, entanglements, or hardships that prevent them from taking the leap.

“My biggest fear was that it would be a bubble of people escaping the world. Instead, it’s people committing to being part of the world in the most active way possible.”

–Juji, visitor, 2021

Our mission is to bring the experience and skills of sustainable community living to all who seek it, while meeting people where they are. To do this, we welcome 100-200 people every year to experience and learn from our community through a variety of educational programs. In order to make these as accessible as possible we offer a sliding scale, a free work exchange program, and scholarships for all programs. Our goal is to try to never deny anyone because of money. This is only possible because of the generosity of those in our network.

Hence the reason why I am reaching out today: Thursday, May 7, is Give STL, a regional fundraiser to support changemakers around St. Louis and Missouri. This year 100% of donations will go towards our sliding scale and scholarship fund. Our goal is to raise $5,000. The first $2,000 will be fully matched!*

Ways to get involved:

Donate now and meaningfully reduce financial barriers to learning about regenerative living.
Mark your calendar for May 7, and donate on the big day!
Forward this email to friends and family and encourage them to donate as well.

*Thanks to our longtime friends, Ed Pultz and Wendy Soderland. We’re searching for more matching donations!

“…you will be hard-pressed to find a group of people so openly and honestly dedicated to pursuing creative ecologically sustainable living options AND emotionally sustainable processes of living in community together. The [visitor] program is well-structured and will give you a good idea of what is involved in Dancing Rabbit–how it works, who lives here, and some of its shortcomings. Plus, it’s hella fun!”

–River Abel, visitor, 2021

In community,

Eric Mease
Villager // Land Steward // Development Lead

The post The Journey Towards Community first appeared on Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.

Visitor Season is Here: A Dancing Rabbit Update

Connie Tao — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 21:21:06 +0000

Over the years I have considered renaming the little strawbale cottage I live in “bird house” because of all the birds that live in, on and around my home. And every spring, bird activity hits overdrive.

Liz here, sharing a snapshot of life in an ecovillage in Missouri.

Spring is the season of firsts: first tick spotted, first fledgling caught in the chimney, first fledgling caught in the greenhouse, first fruit trees in bloom, first daffodils, first comfrey leaves emerging, first tulips, first snakes spotted crossing the gravel road, first sightings of the two very large snakes that patrol the perimeter of my house. The first thrusts of green grass is a visual relief, and a joy; then comes the resignation that I’m going to be mowing that grass at my house and the Hub for the next six months. The prairie makes for a fierce neighbor and over the nine years I’ve lived at DR I’ve learned not to fight it too much.

This year, after idly wondering for years about mourning doves and their life cycle, I noticed a mated pair built a nest within view of my kitchen window. Watching the larger of the pair sitting for days on the small nest, I was reminded of my own pregnancies. Gestation is a lot about biding one’s time. But this burgeoning family diverged from my own past; for during every thunderstorm (and we have had quite a few in the last three weeks), those parents were nowhere to be seen. At first I thought they had abandoned their nest, but as soon as the wind calmed down and the sun came out, they were back on sitting duty. I don’t have a good feeling about the outcome; but I’ll watch this story play out and I’ll probably learn something.

Starting in March until June, each time I open my door to leave my cottage, there is a burst of fluttering wings and bird squeaks as starlings dive out from a tiny space in my roof ridge where they nest, to the “safety” of the trees next to my house. Walking home on the gravel road, I can see them, keeping watch, with a few in the back and a few in the front of my house, their bodies waving high on branches of trees.

The first visitor program of the year has started. And it’s almost all hands on deck for village Rabbits. Visitor activities range from a Q&A evening, dance parties at Casa, karaoke nights, to bonfires by the pond, with two classes a day about life at DR, and daily check-ins, which often becomes a visitor’s favorite part of each day. Each visitor session I teach a class about natural building, using my own strawbale building project as the site for the class and as a living example. Visitors can also join work parties to help with gardening and other projects around the village. After a long winter, it’s nice to see new faces around here, and I enjoy meeting people from all over the country, usually at coffee group at the Mercantile in the morning.

Work exchangers (or wexers, as we call them) are also beginning to arrive. A month or so spent exchanging work on various projects around the village for a tent spot and meals, plus all the social events in the village, and opportunities to sit in on some of the visitor classes, provides an affordable way to slip into village life and get to know many Rabbits.

A few weeks ago Rabbits gathered to do our twice a year Land Clean Day. After a brief circle up with announcements and a song, we scattered to do various tasks for village beautification. There are big tasks, such as pruning tree limbs and then hauling them in the truck to a burning pile for making bio char, or spreading mulch along paths that are extra muddy from all the storms we’ve been having. This year I elected to clean up the recycling area that resides inside a large metal building we call the Machine Shop. For weeks I had been stepping over sharp objects (screws, can lids, nails, etc.) scattered on the floor in that area, so I decided to start with picking up those items. Then I consolidated materials in like categories and picked up lots of recycling items off the floor and put them into their proper bins. I broke down cardboard boxes and stacked them. In the afternoon, Rabbits concentrate on cleaning up their own warrens. Land Clean Day is one of the ways we get ready for the visitor season.

Liz Hackney is editor and a contributing writer to this publication. Any day now, she will start the 2026 building season on her strawbale building project called the Hub. To learn more about this project, see thehubcollective.substack.com.

The post Visitor Season is Here: A Dancing Rabbit Update first appeared on Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.