Welcome to the Milkweed Mercantile!
Our little inn was built by Alline and Kurt, two of the very earliest members of Dancing Rabbit. After setting up their own home, they began work on the Milkweed Mercantile as a way of providing comfortable and familiar accommodation to families and other visitors, a source of income work for Rabbits, and a bridge for interacting with people in the surrounding communities.
Over time, the Mercantile became a hotspot for socializing, working, and interacting including pizza night and a public bar with limited hours. In 2020 with the challenges of COVID, Kurt and Alline decided to retire from innkeeping and in 2021 our nonprofit reopened the guest house portion, although the restaurant and bar remain closed.
The building was designed and built with the leadership of Kurt and Alline and help from dozens of Rabbits, work exchangers, and neighbors. It is a strawbale structure with natural earth and lime plasters. Rain water is harvested from the roof of the building and stored in a cistern before being filtered and used. Our power comes from a combination of solar panels on the building as well as the local microgrid when the sun is not shining. Graywater is treated on-site and we use a composting toilet system that minimizes energy inputs and eliminates harmful chemicals while creating a fully hygienic output.
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The Wallace Stegner Room is located on our first floor with an accessible entry. The room offers two twin beds and access to our fully accessible downstairs shower and toilet. Dogs are allowed in this room only. |
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The Rachel Carson Room is ideal for families and groups. It includes a queen bed and a twin daybed. An additional trundle is available upon request. |
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The Aldo Leopold Room is ideal for a romantic getaway. It includes a king size bed as well as a sitting chair and a desk. |
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The David Brower Room offers space to stretch out and a view of the main courtyard at Dancing Rabbit. It includes a queen bed, a twin bed, and a side chair. |
Please plan ahead for your food needs while staying at the Milkweed Mercantile. We can offer you breakfast with sufficient notice. The cost is $20 for one person and an additional $5 for each person after that. Please give us 48 hours notice if you would like breakfast and let us know about any dietary needs or preferences. You can select breakfast as an option at checkout.
If you would like other meals, please get in touch with us right away so that we can find out if there is a cook available and what they would charge.
All Mercantile guests have access to our snack station, which includes a mini-fridge and microwave. A hot water kettle is available in the upstairs lounge along with some tea. Program guests will have meals provided and some small packaged bites are available at the snack station for non-program guests.
Dancing Rabbit Residents often host coffee hour in the Mercantile Dining room in the morning. Guests are welcome to join when that is happening, the coffee is sold by our dairy cooperative and supports their operations.
Other food options are rather limited, including:
Rutledge (just two miles away) has a grocery store and small cafe, both of which close at 5:00 PM and are not open on Sundays.
Memphis (13 miles away) has grocery stores, a drug store, local diners, and 24 hour gas station mini marts as well as a Pizza Hut.
If you are bringing your own food, please keep it tightly sealed and do not leave food waste in room trash cans. We work hard to maintain an organic standard, which means not spraying any pesticides, so our best defense against unwanted visitors is to not leave out enticements.
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Baby Goat ExperienceIt’s baby goat season at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage and the kids just can’t get enough of socializing with people. The new kids are very friendly and curious and it is helpful for them to socialize with people. One of the members of our dairy cooperative will introduce you to the kids where you can play with them while your guide answers your questions about goats, regenerative agriculture, cooperative dairy production, and life in an ecovillage. The goat experience usually lasts around one to two hours. |
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ToursIf you would like a tour of Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, let us know before you arrive and we will arrange it. Tours are offered free and if you would like to show your gratitude, you can make a donation to our nonprofit organization, the Center for Sustainable and Cooperative Culture. |
The Milkweed Mercantile is a proud part of Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. Dancing Rabbit is an intentional community of around 50 people committed to cooperation as a way to live more harmoniously with one another and the planet. The village includes what is probably the largest collection of natural buildings anywhere in the Midwest as well as 280 acres of conservation area, regenerative agriculture, woods, ponds, and wildlife.
Mercantile guests are free to explore public parts of the village and we can arrange a tour for you. If there are things that particularly interest you about our way of life, let us know!
While Rabbits (as we call the people who live here) tend to be very friendly and outgoing, we are also very busy. Feel free to approach people you see in the village, but please understand that they may not have the time or energy to answer your questions. Ask if it’s a good time to interact with someone, and if you receive a “no” then please respect that answer. The person may be right in the middle of something or not want to engage further. This is our home and not everyone is up for guest questions at all times. Always ask if it’s OK before touching or hugging someone.
If you would like to get a closer look at how we live and work at Dancing Rabbit, consider signing up for one of our programs or taking a tour.
The Milkweed Mercantile is located at 1 Dancing Rabbit Ln, Rutledge, MO 63563. This is just off Woehrle Rd (a gravel road) north of Rutledge.
This is a very rural area and mobile phone reception is spotty. Therefore we strongly advise people to travel with printed maps and directions or a downloaded map.
When you get to Dancing Rabbit, you can park in the lot on the east end of our driveway, by the community garden. The Mercantile is the first white building on the right as you enter the village. We are a pedestrian community and ask guests to leave their cars in the parking lot. If you have mobility issues or need to pull up to the Mercantile for loading and unloading, just talk with one of us and we can arrange it.