Community garden with pathways, plants, and outdoor seating at Canticle Farm.

Canticle Farm

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Ecological
  • Urban

Founding year

  • 1982

What we do

Canticle Farm is an urban garden, educational center and community of intention, experimenting at the intersections of faith-based, social-justice-based, and Earth-based nonviolent activism.
We live in ten houses around a large garden in the Fruitvale District of Oakland, California. We are working to heal and transform historical and present-day trauma across difference, especially that of race, gender, class, religion and age.

Our Mission

We act as a platform for The Great Turning – the planetary shift from an industrial-growth society to a life-sustaining society – which is served by Canticle Farm through our local work and support of national and international movements for social and environmental justice.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Coliving
  • Ecovillage
  • Activities
  • Education
  • Experiences
  • Networking

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1982
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2009
  • Started living together
  • 35 Total members
  • Not open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
42

Basic expectations or agreements for members

We welcome people to visit and serve on the land, either in the garden, with programs or on construction. We also welcome visitors who just wish to learn about our community, and inspire us with your own stories or gifts. Please email us at canticlefarmers@gmail.com, sharing when and why you would like to visit, as well as how you heard about us. We have limited capacity to host guests, but if it is a great mutual fit, we will work to make it happen.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

A few people (not elected by the broader community) make the major decisions.

Decision-making process

  • Modified Consensus

Generally seek agreement, but have backup methods when consensus isn’t reached.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Conflict resolution approach

Our decision making happens in all-community weekly meetings, and on teams, e.g. garden team, food distribution team, residents team.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Labor: Encouraged or suggested

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Large Scale Kitchen, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • About once a week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Dietary restriction

  • People can cook and eat what they want in their own residence

Community activities and engagement

  • School, Educational Institute or Experience
  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • Organization, Resource, or Network

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies
  • Religions
  • Christian
  • Buddhist
  • Jewish
  • Muslim
  • Native
  • Wiccan, Paganism, or Earth Religions

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Family-focused (many children and parents)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a single individual, couple, or Family Trust

Setting

  • Urban

Within city limits with access to urban amenities and infrastructure.

Community type

  • Cohousing

    Private homes with shared common facilities, designed for neighborly
    interaction while maintaining independence.

  • Coliving

    Shared living spaces with private bedrooms/bathrooms and communal
    kitchens, dining, and social areas.

  • Ecovillage

    Integrated communities designed around ecological principles with sustainable living practices.

  • Intentional Neighborhoods

    Geographically close groups of independently-owned homes whose residents actively cultivate community relationships and shared values.

  • Spiritual Retreat Centers

    Residential communities focused on providing space for meditation, spiritual practice, and personal growth retreats.

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Up to 33%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Greenhouse / aquaponics
  • Land area size
    2 acres

Guest Book

Written reviews are available for plus members. Click here to upgrade.

Location

  • California, United States

Promoted Needs and Offers

Offer
  • Communities with Openings
5 months ago

Do you feel called to help co-create a small, newly forming eco-spiritual community?

Old structures are crumbling. New ways of living are calling. We are answering that call. Wild Grace is an eco-spiritual community located in the Sierra foothills 30 minutes from Grass Valley, California. We recently completed new homes for those who feel called to our vision. Currently there are four of us living on this sacred 80 acres of land although we are a hub for an expanded neighborhood community. Many join us weekly for potlucks, expressive dance, Qi Gong, monthly musical gatherings, and seasonal celebrations in our temple, as well as tending to our orchard. We are excited to welcome others to join us on the land who are dedicating their lives to spiritual growth and ready to live in a more focused and intimate heart-centered lifestyle. Might that be you or someone you know? The fundamentals are simple. Spirit. We listen personally and collectively together most mornings, usually starting with a musical offering, a prayer, or a short reading, followed by about 40 minutes of what we call “sacred silence.” Heart Circles. About once a week we gather to share and listen. We are informed by authentic and compassionate communication practices. Nature. The land itself—an 80-acre oasis of field and forest perched above the wild and scenic South Yuba River—calls for our stewardship in the gardens, orchard, greenhouses, and general care. In turn, nature feeds us abundantly, both literally and spiritually. Interbeing. We join with others to share inspiration and connection as we host monthly gatherings of song, story and prayer that draws from the larger community in addition to other events we share with our closer neighbors. As we attend to these fundamentals, Grace flows to and through us—often in “Wild” or unexpected ways. Grace catalyzes through us, but is not something we possess. Because we all are connected, we feel that Grace actively transforms n
Offer

Information

Communities

A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

Organizations

An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).

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