Membership Overview
Rachel Carson EcoVillage builds on a tradition of established communities, both ecovillages and cohousing, which are based on the same principles. In the United States today, there are over 160 ecovillages and cohousing communities.
This outlines a three-stage path to membership in the Rachel Carson EcoVillage. Its purpose is to provide a guide to the process of introducing people to the ecovillage and forming the group that will develop it. This only applies to the process before occupancy. Once the ecovillage is under construction, this will be revised, as the process for joining will be different then, and there may be other categories of membership. The path to membership allows each household to move at their own pace.
I. RCE Inquirer
If you are interested in learning about our EcoVillage, this is the first step. We invite you to attend an introductory session by contacting us at rceintro@gmail.com or texting (412) 573-1927. In the session, we share information about our EcoVillage, give you a chance to ask questions and meet some community members. We also encourage you to explore our website to learn more about us. After attending our introductory session our Inquiry manager will be available to answer any additional questions.
II. RCE Explorer Membership
As an Explorer member, you’ll have the opportunity to see if Rachel Carson EcoVillage is a good fit for you by meeting other members in Zoom meetings and occasional in-person gatherings as well as exploring our very extensive collection of Google Drive documents. You can attend our members meetings, visit our planning groups, online social activities, and participate in any scheduled in person activities. We’ll also match you with a Founder-member buddy who can answer your questions, help you navigate Google Drive information and connect you more deeply to RCE.
As an Explorer, you are strongly encouraged to take our 4-session Sociocracy 101 class. Sociocracy is our method of decision making in the EcoVillage. The class is fun and a great way to meet other folks interested in RCE as well as the instructors who are Founding Members. When scheduling we always do our best to accommodate the schedules of all participants.
We encourage Explorers to visit. Our Hospitality Team can help you connect with local members, see the site and check out the McCandless area and the greater Pittsburgh region as makes sense.
Inquirers who want to become Explorer members can navigate to our Explorer membership page [link]. The cost of membership is $150 per individual for the first four months (If this presents a hardship for any individual, we also offer a $75 reduced cost membership.) After four months, the member may choose to extend Explorer membership at $75/quarter or move forward as a Founding member. Explorer fees are credited toward unit purchase price for those who decide to move forward as a Founder.
III. RCE Founder Membership
Founding members are individuals or households who have decided to purchase a dwelling in the ecovillage. An Explorer member who wants to advance to founder membership will have to fulfill the requirements listed below.
Founder Membership Responsibilities
Membership in the ecovillage means taking an active part in the life of the community. This includes volunteering and participating in community activities including common meals.
Volunteer time and effort (6-8 hours/month) is required from all adult members commensurate with their interests and capabilities. Volunteer work needed from community members can include governance (i.e. planning-group participation), computer and administrative tasks, helping with community events (including meals), community-related upkeep and maintenance and more. For example, for common meals in many communities, a rotating team of volunteers plans the menu, purchase supplies, prepares and serves the meal, and cleans up afterwards. Similarly, for community upkeep and maintenance, members assign tasks, plan the work schedule, and arrange for resources. Our experience is that people do best what they enjoy most. We ask that members make clear their areas of interest and skill, so their volunteer activities have the greatest benefit to the community and the greatest satisfaction for themselves.
We have chosen the sociocratic system of governance for making community decisions. In sociocracy, all members are given the opportunity to take part in determining what is best to do for the community. We do this respectfully even when there might be initial differences of opinion regarding the preferred decision. We practice compassionate communication to accomplish this. For more details regarding the sociocratic method of governance, see the Values and Governance page on this website.
To obtain Founder Membership:
- All adult members of the household must complete RCE’s Sociocracy 101 class. Once you have completed the class – get involved! Visit and ultimately join one or more of our working groups!
- A meeting with the Legal and Financial Planning Group (LFPG) is required for each Founding Household (one or more Founding Members) to review the Appendix of the Condominium Unit Reservation Agreement (found on the RCE Google Drive, available to Explorer members) and discuss any questions or concerns.
- All adult members planning to live in our community are required to provide a child safety certification, which is an online PA Act 33 Clearance: Pennsylvania Child Welfare Portal.
- We ask that all Founding Members provide a short biography and photograph so other members can learn about their interests and background, if they have not already done so as an Explorer member. If you consent, your bio and photo will be included in the “meet our members” section of our website.
- All Founding Households are required to make a Reservation Deposit of $10,000 at the time of submitting their signed Condominium Unit Reservation Agreement. Receiving the reservation deposit and the agreement reserves a Founding Household’s unit selection from remaining units.
- Upon receiving the Condominium Unit Reservation Agreement and unit selection by the new Founding Household, the Legal and Finance Planning Group will send that household a Sales Agreement for the unit. The Founding Household must sign and return the agreement with a 20% downpayment (less the previous $10,000 deposit) on the Unit Sales Price within 14 calendar days. This 20% deposit will be applied to the purchase of the unit.
- Within 1 month of signing the Sales Agreement, the Founding household will also make a Capital Commitment payment. If needed a payment plan can be devised for providing this Capital Commitment. Below find a table with Unit Sales Price and Capital Commitment for each unit type.
- All Founding Households are responsible for obtaining whatever financing they require for the purchase of their prospective unit upon completion of construction. Pre-qualification is required for Founding Households who intend to get a mortgage. We can provide a contact with Dollar Bank; Dollar Bank understands the project and will be providing our construction loan. And you are free to choose any bank for the pre-qualification.
The Founder Membership policy may be revised by future decisions of the RCE Legal and Finance Planning Group.