Well Yokodai

Global Ecovillage Network logo with a flower and leaf design in purple and blue.
  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Forming
  • Japanese
  • Home-sharing
  • Urban

Founding year

  • 2007

What we do

Well Yokodai is a communal living space, run by and for housemates. About 35 people live here, including families with children, and everyone shares the kitchen, living room, and bathrooms. The basic idea is similar to that of a collective house, but with a higher focus on sharing, gift economy, and an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Members are not required to abide by any strict rules, and are encouraged to contribute in whatever way they think is best for them. The house offers many things to make a stay here comfortable and exciting, including donated food and goodsthat are a good example of our gift economy. For instance, one housemate might cook extra soup and leave leftovers for other housemates to enjoy, and there is usually leftover food on the kitchen table. The pantry has donated/shared itemssuch as teas, flour, and baking goods. Other goods can be bought from the small house shop, such as rice, beer, stationary,or toiletries. The small house shop is self-service, and money for purchases goes into a jar with a housemate’s name written on it.
On weekends there are often parties and workshops. These activities bring housemates together and strengthen our ties with our neighborhood. This communal spirit is a great way to enrich our lives.
Our utility bills are half the average in Japan because we gather in common areas rather than in private rooms, and so heating and cooling costs are reduced. The shared kitchen and bathrooms are another environmentally friendly aspect of Well Yokodai, as our plumbing fixtures are only 20% of the per capita average since we share these facilities.
We enjoy a slow approach to life. We have a large garden and a spacious, sunny kitchen, both of which invite relaxation as well as hands-on work. Our amazing collection of tools for gardening, handicrafts, and cooking might seem almost extravagant, but they are shared among us and contribute to our natural and eco-friendly way of life.

  • Purpose
  • Home-sharing
  • Languages
  • Japanese
  • English
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Intentional Neighborhoods

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2007
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2013
  • Started living together

Video

  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
35

How to join

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Promoted Needs and Offers

  • Events
10 years ago

Gaia Ashram Internship

The Gaia Ashram Internship is a one month program on Ecovillage Design, Permaculture and Deep Ecology. The internship will be a holistic participatory learning experience & process. Interns will experience being part of the Gaia Ashram Community and we will live together for one month at– Gaia Ashram-. At Gaia Ashram we belief in holistic learning that balances the head, hands & heart. Gaia Ashram encourages participatory learning & values the power of community in holding the learning space. We design the daily & weekly structure of the internship and of our lives here based on these values and principles. Theoretical learning (Head) The theoretical sessions will be participatory and interactive. It will cover the 4 keys of Ecovillage Design Education (Social, Economical, Ecological and Worldview inspired by Gaia Education). Each week will cover one of the Ecovillage Design Keys and integrated into this we will be introduced to Permaculture Design & Deep Ecology in terms of philosophy, movement and personal experiences. Overall, We will have a maximum of 2-3 hours of theory per day on the session days, to also create lots of space for practical experiential learning. See more details of the key content below. Practical learning (Hands – on) For the hands – on practical learning we will be developing the Gaia Ashram’s farm and restoring nature on the Gaia Ashram land using permaculture strategies & techniques that are appropriate for the Rainy Season & the land and its local context. The hands-on work will focus on Gardening work i.e. developing the vegetable gardens, planting seeds & seedlings, transplanting, propagation of plants, making composts, growing and maintaining a Food Forest, planting green manures, planting lots of trees, planting seasonal crops. Apart from the Gardening we will also will be doing some natural building which mostly will focus on creating natural finishes using mud plasters and art works on
  • Events
10 years ago

Deep Ecology and Mindful Gardening

Deepen our connection with nature through our head, heart, hands and spirit. Join us for this two weeks contemplative learning where we will learn together What is Deep Ecology as a philosophy, as a way to see and interpret life, as an approach to deepen our connection with nature and as a way of living. This two weeks program is designed to have balance of the learning through different channel of our being: Head: Theoretical learning, critical thinking, debate, discussion, deep reflection & deep questioning. The learning through the head help us to understand deeply of what is happening around us and in the world. Understanding and deeply questioning the reality presented to us is a way to liberate ourselves from it. Heart: listening to what we are feeling when we engage ourselves in nature and her stories. Allowing the heart to feel the love, joy, compassion or the feeling of sadness & fear allowing ourselves to feel the pain ourselves, the world & Mother Earth. We will use the activities of The Work That Reconnect of Joanna Macy and other practices to help our heart to learn deeply. We need the learning through our heart to bring about transformation at a deep level. Hand: Mindfully working with nature in the garden. When we are mindful we love, respect and connect as we are physically engaged. Practical work help us to ground our believes, philosophy and vision. It empowers us and assures us that the new reality we wish for is possible. It makes what’s in our head and heart become real and tangible. Spirit : Spirituality, Meaning & purpose. Learning at this level is about being conscious of our values and purpose, seeing ourselves as part of a greater universe and realizing our connection, relationship and responsibility in that picture. a learning at this level helps us to stay connected with our core and bring meaning to life.

Information

Communities

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

Organizations

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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