Clearwater Commons

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  • Communities

About the Communities

  • English
  • Ecological
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 2005

What we do

Clearwater Commons is an intergenerational residential community, ranging from small children to grandparents. Members share an intention of living a lifestyle that sustains a balance between individual and community needs and the natural ecosystem.
Clearwater Commons began forming in June 2006 when a group of families purchased a 7.4 acre site on North Creek, 11 miles north of Seattle, WA city limits. The site includes wetlands, wooded spaces, and a salmon stream. As of May 2012 there are five completed and occupied homes, a common shop and a 300sf passive guest house.
When complete the community will have 16 residences (a mix of two and three-bedroom town homes and single family residences) plus a common house. Five families currently reside here; eleven home sites are available for sale.
The physical design of the community represents our underlying values of community and low-impact development. Pedestrian walkways, community gardens, benches, shared shop, tool and storage sheds, and play spaces reflect our desire to interact with neighbors through the natural course of our days.
The inspiration for this community grew from founding members’ involvement in The Clearwater School, located across the street. Our shared experience with the school encourages us to allow the structures for community meetings, gatherings, and events to evolve through our daily interactions, rather than follow a preset or mandated framework.
We take on a responsibility to act as stewards of our land-restoring and enhancing the natural environment including the stream, wetlands, habitat and wildlife. We value relationships between individuals, families, and our environment, and promote a lifestyle that will promote and sustain these relationships. We trust each family to make decisions that are aligned with our intent of sustainability and that balance individual autonomy and community needs. We expect the specific commitments of our community will change over time and we wish to avoid hard and fast rules. We value communication and discussion and take the time needed to voice, discuss, and understand diverse perspectives in order to reach informed and conscious decisions.

  • Purpose
  • Ecological
  • Languages
  • English
  • Community type
  • Ecovillage
  • Intentional Neighborhoods

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2005
  • Started living together
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
49

How to join

Non-working Guests welcome, Volunteers welcome,

Guest Book

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Location

  • United States

Clearwater Commons

Promoted Needs and Offers

Offer
  • Events
2 months ago

IERI (International Ecovillage Research Institute) Research Lab

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The Research Lab is a new space for connection, exchange, and inspiration, bringing together researchers, practitioners, and students interested in ecovillages and regenerative communities. Our intention is to create a vibrant laboratory where we can learn from one another, strengthen collaborations, and advance collective knowledge. 📅 Date: Wednesday September 23rd🕓 Time: 10:30 Brazil / 13:30 UTC / 15:30 CEST (1.5 hour) Zoom link: https://unibas.zoom.us/j/61404061682   Register Here: https://unibas.zoom.us/meeting/register/io_jg3SJQGqRAaIi0eXazw Transitions towards the pluriverse: Place, difference, alliances and autonomy in two Latin American ecovillages Presented by Dr. Rebeca Roysen Professor at the Graduate Program in Tourism and Hospitality, Co-leader of the Sustainability Transitions and the Pluriverse of Alternatives (TranS-PlurAL) research group, Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (UNIVALI), Brazil This study proposes an alternative analytical framework for sustainability transitions research by drawing on critical scholarship on grassroots innovations and post-development studies. Rather than focusing on scalable innovations and socio-technical regime change, it introduces the concept of Transitions Towards the Pluriverse (TTP)—a bottom-up, decolonial, and context-sensitive approach that recognizes the diversity of transition pathways and places local communities and grassroots innovations at the center of transformations. Through two case studies of Latin American ecovillages, Dr. Roysen explores four key analytical dimensions—place, difference, alliances, and autonomy—to examine how ecovillages promote (or sometimes fail to promote) transitions towards the pluriverse. Whether you are an experienced researcher, a practitioner, or a student beginning your journey, you are warmly welcome to join us. We look forward to learning, exchanging ideas, and building this community together. Recent publications by Dr. Rebeca Roysen Roysen, R., Pereira Prado, M. M., Bruehwiler, N., Kos, L., & Koehrsen, J. (2026). Transitions towards the pluriverse: Place, difference, alliances and autonomy in two Latin American ecovillages. Sustainability Science. Roysen, R., Ayala, D. H. F., Ramos-Mejía, M., Kos, L., Bruehwiler, N., & Koehrsen, J. (2026). Replicating grassroots innovations in the Global South: A case study of ecovillages for marginalized groups in Colombia. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. Roysen, R., Fagundes, G. M., Kos, L., Bruehwiler, N., & Koehrsen, J. (2025). Building a World-Ship: A decolonial approach to just energy transitions. Human Geography. More information: Ecovillage Research Global Ecovillage Network 

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A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

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An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).

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