Co-ops at Dancing Rabbit
We have quite a few co-ops here at DR. Co-ops help us meet our personal needs in a more efficient way because of the “economy of scale” we can achieve through co-operation and because sharing cuts down on the resources required to meet each person’s needs. Read below to find out about some of Dancing Rabbit’s co-ops.
Dancing Rabbit Land Trust owns DR’s land. Therefore members pay lease fees for the warren (lot) where their house is and for garden spaces. This is based on the size of the warren and how the land is used. We also pay to park cars in the parking lot for more than a week.
Dancing Rabbit’s ownership is based on the Community Land Trust model. The land is owned by a 501(c)2 non-profit that is partnered with our 501(c)3 non-profit. Our non-profits have a board of directors made up of members and non-members who steward the land and finances of the organizations while leaving the day-to-day decisions about operation of the community to the membership.
The land trust model takes land out of the speculative market while still providing an ownership-like option for our members. Each individual or household can lease a small plot of land for a monthly fee. Since we have no buy-in fee or purchase price for land, Dancing Rabbit can be an affordable option for people with a wide range of financial situations.
Leaseholders do not own their land, but do own any improvements on their land including any buildings, orchards, gardens, etc. These can be sold to another member if someone leaves the community or moves to a different leasehold. Since members can’t sell their land, there is no ability to speculate and land can be a permanently affordable resource at Dancing Rabbit.
Residential leaseholds are small, generally about a sixteenth of an acre (2500 sq-ft) per person. Homes are small and often surrounded by gardens and edible landscaping as well as outdoor social spaces. Such a leasehold costs a member about $25 per month.
For those wanting to do more extensive food production, Dancing Rabbit offers special garden and agricultural leases at a significant discount compared to its residential leases. Such leases are in designated spaces on the edge of the village, or in areas set aside to protect waterways and green spaces from building.
Each new leasehold must go through a community approval process. The community attempts to guide new members through an ecological design process to make sure they are taking into account both the needs of their household or garden and the effects it will have on their neighbors and our land. Our goal is to allow great flexibility for each member to realize their vision of a sustainable dwelling or garden while also fitting their goals into the larger design goals of the village.
Cattail Co-op is an umbrella co-op and is the billing entity for 6 other co-ops:
VCC (Village Commons Co-op)
- All members and residents are part of the VCC. The VCC exists to bill village residents for services that benefit everyone generally and which are hard to split out by person: village governance, recycling costs, path maintenance, access to the common house, fence maintenance, and so forth.
Water Co-op
- Again all members and residents are part of this co-op.
Humey Co-op
- Co-op rates for humey depend on a person’s use of the Common House poopers, humey bins, and sawdust. Some people have their own composting toilets and are not part of this co-op.
- The Humanure Co-op provides composting toilets for use by members, guests, and visitors to the community. Two toilets are located in the Common House and four seats are provided in the outhouse. Co-op users pay a fee and are required to participate in the rotating chore of dumping and cleaning the buckets. Some folks use their own toilets and only use the co-op’s sawdust and composting bins. The charge for this type of use is $54/year and they don’t participate in the dumping and cleaning rotation.
Shower Co-op
- This is a co-op for those who do not have their own showers and use either the Common House showers or the outdoor solar showers.
- If someone wants to use the Common House internet or the Common House computer, they sign up for this co-op.
- This is the phone co-op in the Common House. This allows a person access to a phone and message system (phone calls are made with a phone card).
- People who want to use La Casa more regularly or sponsor events there join this co-op.
The Dancing Rabbit Vehicle Cooperative, DRVC, is the means of transportation for all Dancing Rabbit members and long-term residents. Dancing Rabbit members can have the flexibility and convenience of an automobile without having to own a private car. The DRVC, along with the few other carsharing groups operating in North America, is a model for how our culture can greatly reduce our consumption of resources devoted to automobiles without sacrificing the benefits they provide.
Currently, we have over 60 members and 4 vehicles. DRVC membership is open to all, although the group is formed primarily for the use of residents of Dancing Rabbit ecovillage. Vehicles are signed out on a per-use basis and DRVC members are charged according to the mileage they actually use.
The cooperative is incorporated as a Missouri nonprofit corporation. All titles, registrations, insurance policies, and so forth are held in the name of DRVC. We do some of our own auto repair for DRVC vehicles, and also use the trained mechanics in nearby Rutledge.
Our vehicles (at present) are: a 2003 Dodge Ram 350 diesel truck, one Volkswagen TDI Jetta, a Volkswagen Passat, and an all-electric Nissan LEAF. Along with the ecological benefits of sharing cars among many people, we are running the vehicles on solar electricity and biodiesel, a low emissions renewable nonpetroleum fuel that can be made from used fryer oil from fast food restaurants (ours is currently from new vegetable oil). Biodiesel gives the same mileage and power results as regular diesel and from time to time we even make it ourselves!
See also our page on sustainable transportation options.
Happy sharing!
BEDR (pronounced like “better”) runs a power co-op internal to DR that provides electricity to any homes or businesses that wish to connect to its network. There is a monthly fee ($8-10) and a charge per kWh hour used ($0.35/kWh), as well as an initial connection fee.
BEDR has 25 kW of solar panels connected to the local utility grid. Our covenants allow for net-metering of renewable energy as long as we export twice as much as we import. BEDR handles all aspects of this net metering relationship.
BEDR should prove more affordable for most people desiring electricity at DR, but people are always welcome to be electric free or set up their own off-grid system if they prefer.