Abundance Farm

Center for Ecology and Humanity

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Goals and Mission of Abundance Farm

What do we mean by self-sufficiency?

We seek to provide a major portion of our diet, energy consumption, and cash through work on site. But we don't anticipate ever being totally self-sufficient in any of these categories.

We currently use a small amount of electricity at the farm. Part of this comes from a small solar panel, part from a bicycle generator, and part comes from the Nicaraguan power grid. We do our cooking with a low-medium-efficiency wood cookstove using scrap wood we collect.

Our diet at the farm consists of our own eggs, chicken, beans, and root crops. Sometimes we also have fruits and vegetables. Other than that, we buy food from the local market.

We have several sources of income. We have a small charcoal-making business and charcoal-selling business. We also occasionally sell agricultural products, sometimes our own and sometimes products we buy from other producers. We have a small income from our guest program. Part of our minimal cash flow also comes from Peter's savings and outside work.

Although we do have our own sugar cane plantings, we still occasionally buy candies from the store.

ORIGINAL MISSION STATEMENT

and GOALS

of ABUNDANCE FARM

Over the past several years, Abundance Farm has gone through an evolution. It began as a large-scale, visionary project, on a huge piece of land. Both the land and the scope of the project have been reduced. See the page "More About Abundance Farm" for more of the history. Here are the original mission statements and economic goals for reference. They still represent our values.

2004-2005 Mission Statement

1. To develop a place where work and play are in balance and enjoyed; where basic needs are met with local resources when reasonable; where democratic education is practiced to develop curiosity, engagement with the world, and a life-long learning habit; where international exchanges occur for the goal of global harmony; and where honesty and kindness are supremely valued.

2. To research and develop psychology, knowledge, and practices that are necessary to socially and ecologically sustainable lifestyles.

2004-2005 Social, Economic and Ecological Goals

• Conserve some land in its natural state

• Give investors (some or all of whom may be residents) a way to invest that supports the values of sustainability, human unity, and happiness

• Give investors return on investment and procedures for liquidity that match their investment criteria

• Allow visitors and new residents to visit and stay without paying money

• Have Abundance Farm businesses cover the operating expenses, as opposed to jobs or investments outside the farm

• Have capital available either from the Abundance Farm operating budget or from external sources for starting businesses, building facilities/dwellings, and making other land improvements such as planting trees and installing irrigation

• Ensure that residents cover operating budget through the Daily Minimum Work Requirement (DMWR), which should not total more than 40 hours per week (preferably 20 hours per week)

• Reward residents in relation to their contributions, allowing personal income from overtime labor above the DMWR on an hourly or profit-sharing basis

• Make use of the efficiency of shared resources when reasonable, including physical resources such as libraries, personal time such as group meals, and cost sharing such as medical emergencies

• Administer so that expenses incurred for the pleasure of individuals or a subset of the residents shall be born by those making the choice (e.g. having children, travel, luxuries not provided by the operating budget)

• Allow for a diversity of lifestyles (including work and consumption levels and amount of personal space) but focus the main project on an environmental and social lifestyle that is fair and responsible

• Produce 75% or more of food, materials for housing, and energy on site