We are currently seeking new members for a three bedroom house that will be available Summer 2024 at the earliest. Let us know if you would like more information!
Current Members
Jess Watson
Jess is a passionate advocate for community living after spending 5 years in Mariposa Grove, an intentional community with an ecological and social justice mission in Oakland, California. Originally from University City, MO, Jess returned to her hometown in 2012 and co-founded the St. Louis Ecovillage Network in order to support forming intentional community projects in the St Louis area. Jess served on the Board of Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in Rutledge, MO and is the Executive Director of earthday 365. She enjoys foraging expeditions with her husband, Aaron, and two young boys, Maddox & Atticus.
Aaron Michels
Since small, Aaron has been involved in work around environmental sustainability. He works in energy efficiency consulting, but has also worked with sustainable agricultural training programs (in the US and Latin America), in waste reduction (large scale composting), and in a host of small DIY level projects like greywater systems for cohousing, vegoil/diesel substitution, permaculture, and native plantings. Besides organizing around intentional community he has been involved with equity and inclusion efforts in the St. Louis Public Schools. He enjoys building stuff, tackle/tickle with Maddox and Atticus, thinking about the state of the mind and the world, and sitting next to streams. Some day he will make light sculptures again.
Lou Vinarcsik
While living in cooperative housing in Ithaca, New York, Lou and her pup Moxie learned to love community living with every fiber of their beings. Lou is working through an MD/PhD dual-degree here in St. Louis. The aim of Lou’s research is to lay out the framework for an ethical system of care that defies capitalist constraints. Her vision of such care overlaps with her ideas about community and reciprocity that come to fruition in cooperative living. Lou enjoys building alley-trash trellises, playing outside with little ones, marveling at the plant life that grows in Missouri, and engaging in creative projects of mutual aid.
Troy Sherman
Troy learned to love living cooperatively in Ithaca, NY, where they lived in an 80 year old co-op that Eleanor Roosevelt (apocryphally) once said was pretty cool. Troy is a transplant from New England, where they’ve spent most of their life doing stuff like reading about art, playing in the snow, organizing fresh concerts in moldy places, scooping ice cream, and trying to learn about politics. Troy works in the arts, and likes to talk and think about lame stuff like the history of computing and less lame stuff like pop music. They’re an avid builder, fermenter, and collector of things — but their favorite activity of all is spending time with Lou (human) and Moxie (dog).
Maddox Michels
Maddox is a keen observer of the natural world, loves word-play, building, drawing, soccer, and cats. You can find him curled up with a good book for hours on end, searching for mushrooms in the garden, or deep in his rich inner world. Initially quiet, he is a thoughtful fellow. He is also the preferred general contractor in the garden’s fairy village.
Atticus Michels
Atticus can be heard coming from fair distance. He is a whirlwind, a story-teller, a climber, and a bundle of good cheer. Atticus loves to chew ice, go barefoot, tumble, bike, sit with cats, taste the dirt, and tell you about it. When he falls, he bounces. You can find him swinging on swings and vines, climbing fences, and chatting with passers-by.