Patricia Mikkelson

Room for a Village: An Intentional Community at the Living Springs Log House

By Patricia Mikkelson, a resident of the Living Springs Log House since 2017

I’ve loved the idea of intentional community for over fifty years, ever since I first held a copy of the Intentional Communities Directory. People choosing to live near each other on purpose, sharing meals, work and decisions, has always felt to me like one of the most hopeful ways to live. After nine years on this land, I can picture it happening here.

A place that’s already started

Most groups that dream of community have to begin with bare ground. Here, a lot of the groundwork is already done. The log house can be the heart of the community, with a big kitchen and shared rooms on the main floor where people can cook together and gather in the evenings. The bedrooms are roomy, and some could fit more than one person.

Illustration of five people, including a child, sharing a plant-based meal at a long table inside a log home, with a window looking out on green hills
An illustration of five people, one of them a child, gathered around a long table inside a log home to share a plant-based meal, with a window looking out on green hills. This is the kind of evening I picture when I imagine a community here. The big kitchen has room for several people to cook side by side, and the long table can seat a crowd. Neighbors drift in at the end of a work day, someone stirs a pot of soup, someone else slices bread, and everyone sits down together to share the day.

The basement suite has its own entrance. It’s semi-private, so whoever lives there can greet neighbors walking by on the path and still close the door for quiet. It reminds me of Sam Walter Foss’s poem “The House by the Side of the Road,” about living close to others and being a friend to everyone who passes.

Room to work and gather

The insulated metal building is 40 by 60 feet and already has a bathroom. With some work, it could become a meeting hall, a workshop, a classroom or a space for celebrations. The 40 by 55 foot garden is a natural place for shared work days, and the cave spring has kept our cisterns full enough for everyday use since I came here.

Illustration of a garden work day: people tending long raised beds inside a wooden-post fence, with a wheelbarrow and a child waving
An illustration of a garden work day, with people tending long raised beds inside a wooden-post fence, a wheelbarrow close at hand and a child waving hello. Some of my happiest days here have been spent in the fenced organic garden with other people, pulling weeds, tending the beds and talking as we worked. Shared work like this is where a community really gets to know each other, and the harvest ends up on the table that evening.

Room to grow

The property has 14.75 acres, with room for more homes nearby. The 40 acres next door is also for sale, so a growing community would have somewhere to expand.

Deciding together

A community lasts when people know how to make decisions and work through disagreements. Sociocracy 3.0 offers a clear, fair way to do that, where everyone’s voice counts and decisions are made by consent. Regular meetings, shared agreements and a commitment to listening can keep a circle healthy for years.

Your vision, your values

Every community is built around what its members care about. This one could be faith-based, centered on the garden, focused on healing or service, or just a group of good neighbors sharing land and costs. Of course, it could also be plant-based or vegan, or not. That’s up to the people who come next.

If you can picture your community here, or you know someone who might, see more at www.livingspringsloghouse.com.

The Living Springs Log House Is for Sale

Offered at $475,000 for 14.75 acres near Huntsville, Arkansas. Listed with Lori Hawkins of Viridian Real Estate. See the Zillow listing. To ask questions or arrange a visit, text Patricia at (479) 313-0414. Calls are welcome too.

A few insights

  • Starting with buildings, water and gardens already in place takes years off a community’s beginning.
  • Quiet places around the land, like the spring with its cave and big rock, give everyone somewhere to be alone, even in a shared life.
  • Clear ways of making decisions matter as much as the land.

How We Wrote This Together

Patricia, a resident of the Living Springs Log House since 2017, brought her fifty years of love for intentional community, her ideas and her knowledge of the land. Claude.ai, an AI assistant made by Anthropic, helped write and shape the article.

One comment

Leave a Reply