Three women in a farm with vegetables and a chicken, mountains in the background.

Reevis Mountain School

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Social
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 1979

What we do

Reevis Mountain School of Self-Reliance began as a New Age community thirty years ago, founded by Peter Bigfoot, herbologist and expert in desert wilderness survival. Today, RMS is a school for self-reliance and spiritual awareness, a producer of remedies made from desert plants, and a small community of individuals who value spiritual, emotional, and physical health and development. Our vision is to raise awareness of our eternal divinity by living what we love and seeking truth, love, and joy each day.
Our 13-acre home site is a remote, high desert, riparian valley in the Superstition Wilderness of eastern Arizona. Access is via an eight-mile hike or a 4×4 drive to the highway. It is six miles to the nearest neighbor and 10 miles to the nearest “civilization.”
Our lifestyle is rustic. We have no telephone, cell service, television, or cable. We do have ample solar power, limited satellite internet, hot showers, spring water to drink, and clean outhouses.
The land is owned by the PAAK Foundation (see www.PAAKfoundation.org). Peter Bigfoot is the only member who has resided here since the beginning. Other members, residents, and work-exchange interns typically stay between a couple months to a few years. We are always open to new long-term members and residents as well as shorter term interns.

Our Mission

Live what you love!

  • Purpose
  • Social
  • Sustainability practices
  • Renewable energy systems
  • Activities
  • Farming
  • Education
  • Experiences

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1979
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1980
  • Started living together
  • 0 Total member
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
6

How to join

The membership process is “organic”.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Please email to schedule a visit. Visitors are welcome for varying lengths of time at variable costs, depending on their level of participation (work) and whether room and board are desired while visiting (camping is free). We offer classes open to the public on wild edible and medicinal plants, Oriental touch healing, wilderness survival skills, meditation, homestead living, stone masonry, and carpentry. Please visit our website or email and request our newsletter for current information on classes and herbal remedies.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Single Leader or Founding Couple

One person or partnership has ultimate authority.

Decision-making process

  • Leadership Decides

A single person, couple, or small group makes most major decisions.

Governance structure

  • Founder/Leader-led

Primary authority rests with the community’s founder(s) or designated leader(s).

Conflict resolution approach

Peter Bigfoot, the founder, who has been here since 1980 is the on-farm leader.
Our trustees provide guidance.

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: Yes (36 hrs/week)
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed

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

Common House, Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Library, Workshop, Outdoor Kitchen, Large Scale Kitchen, Fire pit

Frequency of communal meals

  • Approximately all meals

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Community activities and engagement

  • School, Educational Institute or Experience
  • Volunteer, Internship, or Apprenticeship, or WWOOF’ing
  • WWOOF'ing, Guest Farming

Substance use culture

  • Substance use is prohibited in the community

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By several individuals through an LLC or a Tenancy In Common agreement

Setting

  • Rural

Countryside locations with significant distance from urban centers.

Sustainability approach

  • Renewable energy systems

Self-produced energy

  • Over 66%

Energy sources used

  • Wind
  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • 33 - 66%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Over 66%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Greenhouse / aquaponics
  • Livestock / poultry

Source of water

  • Spring water
  • Land area size
    13 acres

Guest Book

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Location

  • Arizona, United States

Promoted Needs and Offers

Offer
Offer
  • Communities with Openings
5 months ago

Community House in SE Portland Seeks Membership!

Ellis Street Community House is seeking kind, present, and engaged new housemates with experience in community living. We are currently 3 adults, one baby, and two cats living in a 6 bedroom, 3 bath house on ÂĽ acre of land near Powell Butte nature park and the Springwater Corridor bike trail. We expect to be joined by a shy and sweet 2 year old in the next few months. For us, living in community is a collaborative process, one that helps improve our quality of life. We’re able to eat great food, keep the place clean, maintain a garden, and hold a space large enough to host guests and events by working together. We have an extensive community library and art/craft material collection, as well as a great tea selection, stocked pantry, and functional kitchens ready for feast-making, canning, and fermentation dreams. We make kombucha, ginger beer, sauerkraut, bone broth, natto, and apple/pear butter on a rotating basis. With two fridges and two deep freezers we can save blueberries and blackberries we harvested from close by and get meat directly from farmers. We hold potlucks and other events like bonfires and game nights about once a month, and make a house dinner together weekly. We maintain a home free from artificial fragrances and voice-activated technology. The larger downstairs room is available for $740 per month. The smaller downstairs room will be available for $600 per month starting on September 1rst. The main kitchen is on the second floor. We also have private outdoor space for someone sleeping in their home on wheels available for $200-500 per month depending on the size of the vehicle. This would include membership in the community and use of the common spaces. Guest space is available for friends and relatives of residents – upstairs there is an office/guest room for longer visits, and the couches/pads in the common areas are available for shorter stays. The home has heating and cooling through an efficient heat pump, and we ju
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A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

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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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