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Frequently Asked Questions
I am interested in Manitou Arbor Ecovillage. How do I find out more? Go to www.manitouarbor.org, or come to our next orientation. The next Orientation date is posted on the HOME PAGE of the MAEV WEBSITE at www.manitouarbor.org We will give a history of this project, the vision that inspires it and where we are at in putting the Ecovillage on the ground. If the weather permits, we will visit the 270 acre farm where the Ecovillage will be located. This Orientation is for anyone interested in this Ecovillage effort and especially for those who might like to become part of this group effort. If you plan to come, please let us know by emailing us at mail@manitouarbor.org as soon as possible! Orientations are held at the Environmental Studies Office of Sr. Ginny Jones, at Nazareth, MI, 3427 Gull Road (M43) on the East side of Kalamazoo (1.5 miles East of Borgess Hospital, 1 mile West of the Gull Road & Sprinkle Road interchange) on the campus of the Sisters of St. Joseph and inside the “Transformations: SSJ Spirituality Center.” Come in the entrance off Gull Road. It is lined with large 100 year old conifers. The “Transformations” building will be on your left. What is Manitou Arbor Ecovillage? Manitou Arbor Ecovillage (MAEV) is an ecospiritual village in the process of forming. We are dedicated to caring for people and the Earth by living and demonstrating a sustainable culture appropriate to our bioregion. Our village of approximately 44 residences—some detached, some not—will be small enough for each of us relate and interact with one another (if we choose to) so that we can have an effective voice. WE ARE NOT A COMMUNE. MAEV will be sustainable; utilization of renewable sources of energy, recycling of "wastes" as resources, use of appropriate technologies and local builders, materials and suppliers will be standard. We plan to work with, rather than against nature, and keep human population and activities within the carrying capacity of our natural environment. As an intentional community, MAEV residents can expect to have greater social interaction compared to other groups of houses or apartments. We envision sharing of responsibilities and resources. MAEV promotes no particular religious tradition while respecting each individual's personal spirituality. We do hold a common spiritual vision, expressed in the Manitou Arbor Ecovillage Covenant, which can be accessed on from this website. When fully mature, we envision MAEV as a settlement that provides residences, food, commerce, leisure, social, and spiritual needs. However, we do expect that most of our residents (if not retired) will already have employment outside the village. Where will MAEV be located? The property, presently called "Nazareth Farms," is in Comstock, Michigan on East Main Street, between 28th and 30th streets. It is owned by the Sisters of St. Joseph (SSJ) of Nazareth, Michigan. The land has been properly re-zoned to meet our purposes. We are blessed with a beautiful site (270+ acres) that contain many acres of mature woods plus 20+ acres of young trees planted in 1993. We anticipate preserving this part of the property as a natural "re-creation" area in order to continue to support the existing diverse wildlife community (numerous deer, wild turkey, coyote, fox, pheasant, and many species of birds and wildflowers). Wooded paths lead to Schoonover Lake and take one through a mixture of hardwoods and conifer trees. Perhaps a "hermitage" or two might be hidden here to facilitate retreats and quiet communing with nature. There are also more than 100 acres of agricultural fields and 8 farm buildings in good condition. Our residential units, community center, community gardens and community commons will occupy some of this land, as well as some of our alternative energy generation, water treatment and "waste" recycling systems. However the majority of this part of the property will be dedicated to organic (and perhaps biodynamic) agricultural pursuits. Appropriate agricultural enterprises are now being researched—we are looking for activities which do not require excessive human or mechanical energy and fit within an overall permaculture design. So far, we anticipate establishing a community supported agriculture (CSA) program, raising organic and free-ranging chickens and a variety of other animals that will interact positively with each other and with the entire natural and human community. Our neighbors to the east include a series of greenhouse operations. The neighbors to the west include a family residence in the southwest and a new condominium development to the northwest. Across the lake from us (to the north) are individual residences but houses can't be seen from our property. Across the road, to the south, is a large field which is still farmed by a local farmer. When do you think MAEV will be built and ready for occupancy? We estimate ground-breaking within two years (2009). To date, we’ve accomplished the following:
NOTE: It is the experience of communities elsewhere that as new hopeful members flow in, the committed occupancy reaches critical economic mass. After that point, banks are ready to take us seriously and mortgages and construction quickly follow. How much would it cost to live in Manitou Arbor? This depends on what sort of home you would want to build and how you would build it – a self-built, modest straw bale house will cost less than a larger, builder-built structure. And a prospective resident could, on his own, make an estimate of the cost of his own home, so that could be a known element of their budget. Based on our current knowledge and designs, the VERY ROUGH ballpark figure is $150-200K +/- $15 to $20 per sq. ft. This estimate is the best we can come up with at the moment, as we still need to obtain bids for various aspects of the project. At this time we cannot estimate the amount of “fee” that will be required from each of the projected 44 resident-partners to pay their fair share of the community building and infrastructure mortgage. We can tell you that we are doing our best to plan for comfortable, sustainable, middle-class housing. It is the experience of communities elsewhere that as new hopeful members flow in, the committed occupancy reaches critical economic mass. After that point, banks are ready to take us seriously and mortgages and construction quickly follow. What is an ecospiritual community? This is a difficult definition, because a lot of people define ecospirituality in a lot of ways. But this is important to us, so let’s give it a try. Manitou Arbor promotes no particular religious tradition while at the same time respecting each individual's personal spirituality. We believe that people of different faiths can come together to live, to neighbor, and to celebrate. And we have the faith that despite our different beliefs, we can all recognize that nature offers opportunity for profound spiritual experiences, personal growth and healing, and an awareness of wholeness and holiness in all of existence. We likewise recognize that contemplation upon, prayer within, and simply experiencing nature opens oneself to a greater appreciation of our connection to all things, and an encouragement to right living. We desire that a significant characteristic of our village community will be the acknowledgement of this spiritual side of our world and ourselves, and the living application of that belief in our community's vision, decision-making, and celebrations. As members of an ecospiritual community, we aspire to honor the sacred in all that is, and live responsible lives of justice and compassion. Precisely where all this will take us, we don't yet know, but is the "right" path we believe - the path of right living. Please read our Covenant. Perhaps it will make these few words a little clearer. Why the name "Manitou Arbor?" The word "Manitou" expresses our desire to honor and recognize the native peoples whose land this once was. "Manitou" is the term for "Spirit" among the peoples of the Three Fires Confederacy (Anishanbe), which include the Odawa, Potawatomi and Ojibway nations who were rooted in this place for thousands of years. The concept "Manitou" involved the inter-relationship of humanity and nature, spirit and matter, the individual and the cosmos. The teaching involved wisdom, love, respect, bravery, honesty, humility and truth—as principles to guide the people in caring for the earth and each other. Arbor means "tree." The image of the tree of life is an archetypal symbol found in many cultures, with much rich symbolism and myth connected with it. In Native American tradition, the idea is that the Creator planted a Sacred Tree under which all people were to gather to find healing, power, wisdom and security. The roots of the tree spread deep into the body of Mother Earth (also a symbol of spiritual depth) and its branches reach upward like hands praying to Father Sky. The fruits of the tree are the good things the Creator had given to people: teaching the path to love, compassion, generosity, patience, wisdom, justice, courage, respect and humility. The life of the tree is the life of the people—if they destroy it or turn away from it they will lose their power and become sick, they will cease to dream dreams and see visions, they will be unable to tell the truth and deal with each other honestly, they will forget how to survive on their own land... these things would come to pass but the tree would never die because a day would come when the people would awaken and again would seek the tree.
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