Reaching for Resilience

When the rain finally comes to Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, Papa Bear worries that his half-built cistern will cave in.  It's a muddy pile of bricks at the moment that will eventually provide water for two family households.  Ali, sitting next to him on a sofa in the Common House, looks gratefully through the window at the half-mist of spring droplets, thinking of a thirsty patch of vegetables outside her miniature house. In the hall, another resident adjusts the color on the energy board from green to yellow–a code that limits electricity use in the solar-powered Common House during days of foggy rain.

There's little cushioning from the rhythms of nature in this Northeastern Missouri intentional community, where more than 50 residents share 280 acres of forest, meadows, and lakes.

Founded in 1997 on the principles of respect for the land and one another, what was once a fledgling group of eco-pioneers, encamped on land that hummed with wildlife but little else, has grown into an eclectic mash-up of architecture– and people–that takes advantage of what that land provides. 

Though the community has proven its resilience for 13 years, residents recognize the need to fortify already existing social, economic, and ecological systems so that they can continue to stand when times get stormy.

Take a tour through 10 ways that "Rabbits" reach for resilience: View the slideshow.

Photos by DéSha Metschke and Brian Liloia

Interested?

• Photos, videos, articles, and more from A Resilient Community, the Fall 2010 issue of YES! Magazine.

• A Hand-Built House
  No fortune? No skills? No problem. How a Dancing Rabbit novice builder used mud–and teamwork–to make a house from scratch.
• Crash Course in Resilience
  We can strengthen our communities and ourselves to prepare for the uncertain world of failing economies, climate change, and oil depletion.
• Visit Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage's website.