Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage

in the heart of midcoast Maine

A little back story…

The journey from conversations around a kitchen table in 2007 to the sale of the last unit in 2016 was a wild ride filled with times of clarity and times of doubt, times of solidarity and times of conflict, times of energizing enthusiasm and times of debilitating exhaustion. Careful planning, hard work, dogged persistence and a healthy dollop of dumb luck were all part of the formula for success.

At the end of the day the thing that really kept us afloat and delivered us to this point is simple: people. At every critical juncture, smart, capable, hard-working, good-hearted people stepped up and put their shoulders to the wheel. Still, as anyone who has ever built a house can tell you, the work is never truly finished. There’s always something to improve, maintain, repair, replace or tweak.

If you feel you have something to contribute and you’re interested in becoming part of this grand experiment, use our inquiry form to let us know.

Membership

Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage has no formal membership process. Simply put, you become a member by becoming a resident — either a unit owner or a renter. Our expectation is that the nature of the community is the reason why people want to be here. Our hope is that they will come with a community-oriented mindset and energy for becoming engaged and productive members of the community.

Sales & Rentals

Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage does not buy, sell, or rent homes. All purchases, sales and rentals are private transactions between the parties involved. We don’t have a waiting list but we do maintain a database of potential buyers/renters that we make available to owners who are looking to sell or rent. If you'd like to add your name to that list, please complete this inquiry form. To stay up-to-date on units for sale or rent, check out our Available Homes page.

Governance

Legally, Belfast Cohousing & Ecovillage is a condominium association subject to relevant Maine state law. We have a Board of Directors, a set of bylaws, and a set of community agreements we call the Book of Commons. Functionally, our organizational structure is based on the principles of Sociocracy, also known as Dynamic Governance. The Sociocracy for All website has an excellent outline of sociocratic principles.

Finances

All units are privately owned, and owners pay monthly condo fees to the association as well as annual property taxes to the City of Belfast. There are no dedicated low-income units, but renters who meet the state’s eligibility requirements may be able to take advantage of MaineHousing’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program.

Visiting

Thanks for your interest! The preferred and best time to visit is on our monthly work day, which takes place the second Sunday of every month from 1 to 5 pm. This isn’t an open house per se, but rather an internal time we’ve set aside to work on projects together. We invite and host visitors on this day as we are able. Work days provide opportunities to meet people who live here, have deep conversations, see the kinds of work we do together, ask your burning questions, potentially share a meal, and take a tour. If you’d like to arrange a visit, please complete our inquiry form.