Interested to Know More?
Here are some answers to the questions we have received in the past. We are happy to speak more to each of these - just ask!
Why "Rah Rah"?
Like the wondering rabbit tribe in R. Adams' "Watership Down", we yearned for a new place and a way to live. We began to call each other” Rah”, like they honored the hero rabbit, Hazel, so we would honor each other. We decided we would leave the lives we had found so unsatisfying and strike out on our own in a Vermont forest that would become our homestead. In 1991 We began a search for our land, as we designed our dream home...
Do you have any bylaws or any formal documentation of guiding principles?
Yes, we call it "The Rules of Rah Rah". It is an ever-evolving document, as new members join and together we continue to progress it. We are a long way from the "Gift economy" but probably new members will usher that evolution into being. At this point taxes, tools, services are still mostly paid with money.
How big will Rah Rah be?
Our hope is to have a cross-generational group where the elders offer their resources of wisdom and financial strength and the younger offer their strength and stamina to help with the work loads of gardening, wood cutting and other essential tasks of off-grid living. We see 18 as an ideal, which would be 6 seniors (hopefully 3 of each gender) and 6 younger folks (in their 20s to under 55) hopefully couples, of whatever gender they show up as, and 6 children, hopefully from couples, but could also be adopted kids as well. Should we exceed that a little, it probably wouldn't make a huge difference, but our carrying capacity as far as natural resources is estimated best to be sustainable at 18. We also feel that too many folks can lead to slowing down any decision making on policy issues, and sometimes leads to dysfunction and stress. We have plans to "Spin off" other Rah Rah Villages if we had a waiting list - and I am working on a fund, sort of like The Bailey Bros Building and Loan Fund (from "It's a Wonderful Life") that would pay socially concious folks an annual dividend of 5% while they help create affordable housing and better life conditions for those who would want it. But before all that, we need to prove the concept, and so flesh out this village first.
How can I help?
We really appreciate it when visitors would like to give back in some way. It is not an expectation by any means though. We have a living list of tasks that need to happen every season, and we welcome any assistance with that. If you have any other ideas, let us know.
What is the membership process?
Once we have a conversation, then the next step will be to arrange a visit for you to come see the land and for all of us to get a feel for each other. Beyond that, if we all agree and figure out a living situation that works for all of us, we will have a 6-months trial period. During that time, the guest in review is expected to pay $100 per month SEF (Shared Expenses Fee) and to contribute some effort to the labor required in this lifestyle: gardening, wood gathering, minor maintenance, etc. Upon approaching that timeline, we'll have a meeting altogether and decide if it is a good fit for all of us.
What is the financial investment?
The cost of “buy in” to the membership of Rah Rah is at present $15,000.00 That secures the right to a building lot, deemed for tax purposes at 1 acre. The infrastructure of water, power and communications-(Internet) are included with a monthly $100 per person shared expense fee (SEF), which covers whatever is needed to maintain and develop our water, wastewater and solar power utility resources. We own our property as an association. There is no mortgage on it. There is no landlord or “bankster” to kick us off. We pay our taxes with the same $100.00 per person shared expense fund that covers water, wastewater, maintenance, electricity and communications. We work together to keep maintenance costs low, and strive to have a natural, pleasant community. We share common areas like pond sites and workshop and greenhouse, but honor privacy. The cost for building a unit for living is estimated at $15,000.00 as well. Of course this may be higher or lower but in the only examples we have, we were able to build a 1400 SF house, with utilities for $50,000.00 and a 500 SF cottage for about $5,000 originally. That equates to as little as $10.00 per SF and as much as $35.00 per SF- We expect that a comfortable 500 sf cottage can be built for $30.00 to $33.00 per SF if indigenous materials are used from the property. A trailer, yurt or temporary dwelling is allowed while a member or members are planning on building their permanent home. We suggest the use of cordwood and native stones on the property to be the lowest cost and lowest impact materials for energy efficient and cost effective building. While the cordwood is harvested and drying, the rest of the services can be directed to the temporary structure. The cordwood homes we envision would use our native “Cabbage Pines”, poplar and other woods we have in abundance, and could “grow up” vertically in the forest on the land as the needs of the family would desire. Adding an optional second story would be part of the original design, and would be fairly easy to build.
What is the housing situation?
When you come for a visit, we can have you stay in our downstairs space for a few nights. It has its own bathroom as well. If you decide to stay on longer, we would need to figure out a transitional housing, unless you bring your own mobile house unit, which you would be welcome to park on the land. We do not have 'transitional housing' options for now, where you could stay longer than a few days. If you don't have a mobile living space and until we have some transitional housing, the idea of attracting new members is challenging. We could start looking for a decent Tiny house and at the same time a decent RV. There are some Tiny homes for sale in a business in Townshend called "Rolling Homes" or something like that. They at least are better insulated. Assuming all goes well and during the right season, we could start with an RV, while we continue to search for a Tiny. We could buy the Tiny and you could rent from us for a while, or you could buy the Tiny and only need to pay us the $100.00 per month SEF (Shared Expenses Fee). Should things not work out, you could take the Tiny out and find a new community, or even a spot of land for your own-or sell us the Tiny. You could also barter the Tiny for your infrastructure/lot fee if the numbers match up. There are lots of options. I am thinking of starting that building and loan fund for investors, (that I mentioned) and that could be a source of funding for these types of transactions. Numbers are easy. Getting along is the tricky part, but we do need infrastructure, and I think we could afford a RV without too much strain.
How do you make decisions?
We make decisions by "Modified Consensus", which we understand to be when a decision needs to be made by the group all members who have passed through the provisional stage are offered the chance to speak their minds on it and consideration is given to all points of view. Then we do vote, and it becomes majority rule. From my research into community governance, it was the policy making part that was the most difficult. Consensus has been described as the "Tyranny of the minority" while democracy is considered "tyranny of the majority." I guess as believers in the idea of "the greatest good for the greatest number", we settled on this modified consensus approach for the time being and it seems to work. When I am outnumbered someday, who knows what the group will decide to do, but that is a chance we must take as we have no control over what will be coming down the road. There are things that we do need to agree on especially as they impact autonomy and economy-such as paying taxes and maintaining a commons. We also believe in The Golden rule as our guiding principle and like you I wish people could just get back to that concept. The whole World would be so much better off!