These are some of the folks who live in the San Mateo Ecovillage community....
Brian and I are the primary vision holders for this community. You probably have already read a lot about us on my home page, the community home page, and the web page for our other communities in Washington and Italy. We are totally committed to a vision of living more sustainably in a suburban setting as described by the community charter. We have increased our knowledge in these areas over the years through a lot of reading, conferences, classes, and networking, including being trained as Permaculture Designers and Master Composters. I have worked most of my adult life aa a teacher and hope to retire from that employment in 2008. I will continue to be involved with social and political activism. Brian has just completed ten years working with United Airlines and hopes to retire later this year which will give us the life-time flight benefits we want for our mobile lifestyle. (I must admit that our participation in the consumption of jet fuel is the weakest part of our sustainable footprint...I have rationalized that since we only fly stand-by, the plane would be flying whether we were there or not.) Besides his social and political activism, he hopes to develop his Communi-tea business distributing compost tea. (By the way, we are seeking partners for this endeavor as well.)
Consequently, we were willing to put all of our savings and earnings and lots of work into this project to get it going. We hope that it is valued and that we can sell at least six of the eight apartments freeing up our resources for our other projects, particularly the one in Washington. We are working class people, but were able to purchase real estate in this very expensive market by our frugal lifestyle, which also emphasizes our values of Reduce and Reuse, allowing us to save about half of our earnings each month to purchase and then to maintain the buildings while waiting for others who share our dreams. We also hope that the project will continue past our lifetime.
Dorothy joined us during the summer of 2006, living in the community space apartment. She is here short term while completing a PhD in Psychology. Though quiet and studious, she has been an invaluable addition to the community and to the garden.
Dale Fitz-Randolph and his son David moved into the community in September of 2006. They rented 2 bedrooms in a 3BR apartment. Sometimes, instead of people contacting me about the community, I begin the communication with them after seeing something that they posted on Craigslist. This was the case with Dale and with two more men that moved into the community in October and November. This was Dale's posting to which I responded.
Subject: Single Father Looking for a family oriented shared housing
I work as a computer support person in the financial industry. My son will be attending seventh grade at Bayside Middle School. I am interested in housing between Millbrae and San Mateo but closer to
Bayside is preferable. I personally don't smoke, rarely drink and am considered clean and organized for a man. I like to garden to relax, do a like "real" cooking, am computer savvy and a highly co-operative person.
If sharing your space with myself and son, whom I have every other week, interests you, please email. Thanks
He wrote back:
Hello Sanda,
I can't say that I have been as active as you in living my principles but I share your values.
One or two bedrooms if possible? The more room the better, if possible, and affordable.
I am very interested in the new living that your websites propose and look forward to hear back from you.
Thanks,
Dale
Since Dale has been here, he has learned lots about gardening and now sees weed pulling as a meditation...or therapy. He shares with new comers that gardening here is just about the putting in the time to get through the learning curve. 
Freeman Murray began communicating with us early in 2006 and made a commitment to purchase a unit in September 2006. Below is his first email to us.
I am a software programmer by trade, but I have spent a decent amount of time living on a permaculture farm in Hawaii, and living out in nature. I also spent
some time at a large intentional community in Arizona called Arcosanti and another even larger intentional community in India called Auroville.
A couple years ago I set up a large shared workspace in a warehouse in los angeles.
For the past year and a half I've been living in India doing software development for an Internet company
setting up operations there, and practicing meditation at the Osho(.com) resort nearby.
I'm moving towards splitting my time between these two places as I feel there is alot to be gained from more communication between these two worlds.
Given that I earn my living over the Internet, my eventual goal is to be a part of an intentional community with a strong IT component somewhere outside the
traditional urban centers.
In the meantime I'm having fun in Pune and the Bay Area.
I have been to a number of rainbow gatherings and Burningman a bunch of times. At Burningman in 2003 & 2004 I set up very large structures for Monkey vs. Robot & Disorient.
Depending on a bunch of variables I could also be interested in investing into the community. Right now I have a house in Paso Robles which I will probably be selling, so I've been looking at different things
to do with that.
I don't updated it often, but on my blog http://wheresfreeman.blogspot.com you can see some of what I've been thinking. And on flickr http://flickr.com/photos/freeman - you can see some pictures.
peace,
Freeman Murray
During that summer, we also began hearing from Dan Albert. After an interesting series of emails beginning with the one below, we went out to New Jersey to visit him as part of an east coast trip in October 2006.
I am in the process of transplanting myself from New Jersey to California.
A bit about myself:
49 year old male. No drugs (but not I don't care if you do)
Usually one drink a day, whether I need it or not. 8>)
No red meat, no foul. I still eat fish from time to time.
Great cook.
I cycle a lot (bicycle).
I program computers for a living, but I am multitalented.
I can do electrical, plumbing, roofing, tile, hardwood floors, drywall...and
oh yea computer wiring.
Have all my own tools so I need a garage!.
I can fix cars. (but I don't really like gasoline powered engines).
Instrument rated pilot, but don't fly much any more.
Agnostic in my beliefs. But only lecture if I'm paid to. lol
Hetero but have lived with all colors and flavors of people.
Love animals but no longer have any.
Hate cruelty to animals in any form! HATE ANIMAL FARMING FOR MEAT!
Other than that I am pretty easy going.
I will be moving into the area towards the end of October.
It would be nice to have a place to prior to me bringing my few meager
possessions. Most of what I still own will fit in my purple camper bus that I will be
driving across country.
By then he had made a commitment to come out to the community. After he got here, he wished he could have bought the unit that Freeman had chosen, but being an agreeable kind of a guy, took the unit below him. He really does have that great variety of skills that he listed. He moved into the apartment with Dale until his 2R unit was available. Living with Dale increased Dale's knowledge of cooking and created an excellent working/sharing relationship that has added immensely to the community energy.
In October, Sahibu moved into a room in another 3BR apartment. He says,
My name is Sahibou Oumarou. My country of origin is Niger (West-Africa). I left Africa since 1987 to go to school in Kazakhstan (ex-Soviet state). I traveled abroad in Africa, Europe and Asia. I came to the US in 1993, lived in Iowa for 13 years before moving to California in August 2006. Here, I am also going to school to get a PhD in Transpersonal Psychology. I have a BA in Philosophy and literature, MA in Journalism, and another one in Mental Health Counseling.
I speak fluently French, Russian and English, and my Native African languages. My passions revolve around languages, cultures and traditions, Qigong, psycho-spirituality, and Healing modalities including psychotherapy, energy healing, distance healing, spiritual guidance and coaching. Do not hesitate if you need my service or want a consultation in any of the domains I mentioned above. I forgot to mention that I love nature and animals. I enjoy communing with nature spirits (water and earth spirits in particular). This is something I inherited from my family tradition. I've been also initiated, in a Sufi tradition, to work with Angels for healing and guidance of any kind.
I am looking forward to do some workshops and seminars as I did for years in Iowa. So, If you have any suggestion for me I will appreciate that a lot.
Peace, love and light for all ! :-) As-Salamu- Aleikum.
In January 2007, after a delay caused by a family pulling out at the last minute, both Freeman and Dan became co-owners in the ecovillage.
Before Freeman returned to India in Februay 2007, he had realized that he needed to make different arrangements for his unit and chose to make a year commitment to his good friends and video blogging compatriots Ryanne, Jay, and Michael.
Jay contributed this biographical information:
hey sanda--
attached is my personal bio.
you could also just use the bio that ryan and and I have together.
http://ryanishungry.com/about/
Im sure as time goes on...we'll be making videos about the garden and
community as we get more involved. you could deifnitely post these to
your site.
jay
Here I am....
http://jaydedman.com
Check out the latest project:
http://pixelodeonfest.com/
Webvideo festival this June!!!!
More on Ryanne
Ryanne Hodson (RyanEdit.com, RyanIsHungry.com) co-author of the first published vlogging book, The Secrets of Videoblogging on Peachpit Press, started her career as a video editor at WGBH PBS Boston and in Boston public access television. From Delhi to Amsterdam to New York to San Francisco, Ryanne has taught diverse audiences the hows and whys of videoblogging. With co-creator Michael Verdi, she founded Freevlog.org and Node101.org the essential resources for teaching videoblogging online and in the classroom. Current projects include Swajana.com, a distributed videoblogging production with a team of creators in Pune, India.
By the way, we first met Ryanne and Jay when they came over to intereview us about the ecovillage for their video blog. Chcck out their website, lots of videos on different green subjects. I liked the one on making a green move.
Around the time Freeman was getting ready to go to India, I started getting another series of interesting emails from Laura Stokes beginning with this one.
Dear San Mateo Ecovillage,
I am a young historian relocating to the bay/peninsula area. I have lived all of my adult life in cooperative housing by choice, tending toward environmentalist and social justice-oriented cooperatives where possible.
Right now I am living in an unitarian cooperative in Charlottesville, VA. As my own contribution to the house I created a small organic kitchen garden.
My ultimate housing goal is to find a cohousing situation where I can own and share living with a community of like-minded folks. I like the san mateo ecovillage idea because it seems to fit with my own ideal living community.
Over the years I have built too many gardens that I have had to leave behind! However, as I am beginning a "tenure-track" position at Stanford, I have hopes of being able to strike roots soon, should I find the right community.
A little bit about myself: Aside from teaching and writing history (my doctoral dissertation deals with fifteenth-century witch trials) I also like to write fiction, garden, paint, play music, and share long conversations with friends. I am passionate about cycling as alternative transportation, don't own a car or a television or a cell phone (and despite many well-intentioned friends' distress, don't want to!). I have a cat - a sedate, mostly indoor fellow. I'd be willing to keep him indoors for garden health as the ecovillage ad suggests.
I would like to visit the San Mateo ecovillage and learn more about the possibility of living there on a trial basis as a renter. I'm going to be in town on the weekend, two weeks from now. Any chance I might be able to stop by and visit? I will really only have one day to look at housing, Sunday, April 1st). I would be happy to chat on the phone or over email in the meanwhile, and answer any questions you might have.
Warm regards,
Laura
Laura Stokes
Lecturer in History
Corcoran Department of History
University of Virginia
Laura Stokes came out to visit us the last weekend in March and decided to rent a room to start with in an apartment occupied by Dale and his son. If things work out for her at Stanford and in the community, she hopes to become a co-owner in the future. We have been working on the remodel of the room for her for May....great new double paned window to replace the old drafty single paned one....bought on craigslist of course, cork flooring seemed like an ecological and comfy choice, and new paint. She will join us in July, and we have sublet her room for her for the month of June to another amazing woman.
The following week, I got another interesting email, with the potential of expanding the international quality of our community further.
My name is Norie Furuya
I am very interested in your room.
About me, I am an international student from Japan and very interested in sustainability and sustainable lifestyle. That is my agenda for my life. I care about what I eat and earth transformation, and that is one of my discipline I practice everyday.
I am currently enrolled in a MBA program at Holy Names University in Oakland, but starting this fall semester this year I am transferring to a Green MBA program in either San Rafael or Bainbridge University in Washington State.
My focus is to facilitate the transformation of corporation's awareness to creating a more sustainable lifestyle and that is why I am transferring to the program focusing on solutions that promote financial viability, ecological sustainability, and social justice.
I have never really lived in such a community of yours but I see myself enjoying the living with you because of the similar vision we share.
Because my application process is not done, I don't know how many more months I want to stay in the bay area, but my class is till the end of June and I still work both in San Francisco and South Bay.
So, San Mateo was where I was looking to find a place.
Sincerely,
Norie Furuya
It is now late May and we have been enjoying having Norie here....and she is loving it. This week we met Scott Wissen who has decided to join us and Norie and Sahibu are excited about having him as a roommate as he is also a meditator and body worker into a variety of esoteric traditions.....as well as being a cabinet maker.
Scott looks over the layout for rebuilding the labyrinth....consulting with Dan on the process.
It is now August, and Norie has just left for Michigan, and Dorothy has moved into her room temporarily. Amy and Malaki moved into the common space apartment today. Their first email said:
Dear Friends,
As I was combing the ic.org website for CA orgs., my intuition told me to go straight to your page. ( i think I was hooked last time, by all the nice photos and similiar ideals you posted!) Much to our surprise, I find it a bit more than a coincidence that you have an opening, because my husband and I are planning to move to the Bay area at the end of this month.
I found the San mateo Eco-village through ic.org over a year ago and became quite intrigued with the work you are doing. (we were not able to live in the area at the time, but were thinking about it).
I have never really pursued living in a commuity with a cold call, so let me try and express myself as naturally as possible. I hope that we could have a further opportunity to speak by phone or in person.
HISTORY
My husband and i have been married for 2 years, currently have no children, and are in our early 30s. last year we were living in Cambodia as I was completing field work for my master's Degree in Sustainable International Development. My husband is into IT and networking to pay for the bills.
My husband, Malaki, is from Kenya, where we met. He has lived his whole life in a community and I got the opportunity to appreciate it for the 4 years i spent there. He loves farming, specifically sustainably, and we worked in community development/ agricultural projects in Kenya. My husband is also a bee farmer and can pretty much farm anything, including multiple acres by hand. I also love gardening and love to be outdoors. I took the Perma Course with Penny L. in 2001 (lived in SF that year, before I went to Kenya).
After we got married, my husband and I moved to the USA in 2005 so i could pursue my studies. We found it hard adjusting to a non-communal way of life in Boston and now, as we plan to settle a bit more permanently in the USA, we hope to find a situation to live with others.
LIFESTYLE
We are 'eco-conscious' and would like to live with people of similiar values. We are very interested in sharing space with others, weekly group dinners, farming together, community projects and have tons of energy for it! We rarely eat out because it is healthier and I enjoy cooking (from scatch). We do not smoke, but drink alcohol occasionally. We like riding bikes as much as possible, I do not like plastic much, we compost all our food scaps, enjoy a clutter free lifestyle with simplicty. Social activism- lots of it! Have seen too many people who are suffering because of global injustices and inequality. One of our only concerns of living in a community is having the opportunity to experience diversity.
Laura has decided to move upstairs to the three bedroom above her. She will become the master tenant for that apartment and will work toward becoming a co-owner next year. So as I write, we are looking for folks to share 3 different apartments --with Laura, with Dale, and with Sahibu and Scott.
