Yuansu Consensus Community（原宿共识社区）, formerly known as Yuansu Natural Eco-Farm（原宿自然环保农场）, was founded in 2015. Its early construction drew on Permaculture design principles, focusing on the practice and promotion of natural building, nature education, and natural farming.
Yuansu is located in the coastal area of eastern Dongtai, Jiangsu Province, covering an area of 160 mu (approximately 10.7 hectares), which includes about 70 mu (approximately 4.7 hectares) of a wild pond. The pond is isolated from external water sources and is primarily filled by rainwater collection. The pond is rich with wild waterfowl, ducks, reeds, various wild species, and nutrients, serving as the water source for irrigating the rice fields.
Yuansu’s cultivation does not use genetically modified seeds and prohibits pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and herbicides. Grain storage does not use chemical fumigation for pest control. In planning and construction, we maximize the use of local natural materials, second-hand items, and discarded traditional building materials. We operate in an environmentally friendly, low-carbon manner, simulating nature’s ecological balance, striving to achieve internal conversion and cycling of various elements to minimize resource waste and meet the living needs of members.
Courses & Workshops
Since its inception, Yuansu has consistently focused on hosting and developing workshops (courses) related to natural living and sustainability. In 2015, we first introduced practical natural building workshops to China and have hosted at least one Permaculture design and practice course annually since then.
Current regular courses/workshops include: Permaculture Courses (PDC, Introductory Workshops, Permaculture Art Camps), Natural Building Workshops, and Nature Camps with themes like Building/Farming/Family/Handicraft/Healing. We are also developing more diverse and rich activity formats, inviting people to integrate into rural natural life in an unforced and natural way.
Yuansu has run volunteer programs since 2015, with international volunteering launching in early 2025.
We seek international volunteers who are:
– Proficient in English and willing to learn Chinese;
– Preferably with permaculture experience;
– Familiar with rural/farming life;
– Open to challenges and diligent in work.
Our Low-Consumption & Sustainable Lifestyle:
We live collectively, exploring sustainable and natural ways of life. Our space balances shared communal areas with private personal spaces.
Daily Rhythm: Early rising is encouraged. Mornings focus on work, evenings on learning or social time. Volunteers work together in mornings and individually in afternoons.
Simple Living: We cook on firewood stoves, eat mostly vegetarian using local, seasonal ingredients. We use compost toilets, grow vegetables with compost, meticulously sort trash, reuse second-hand items, and repurpose kitchen waste and greywater (see Yuansu Living Guide).
Community Consensus: Two daily meals; everyone rotates cooking. All share cleaning and maintenance of communal spaces. There’s no “out of sight, out of mind”—public chores are frequent and standards are high (see Yuansu Living Guide).
We share a love for nature and freedom. Each of us explores personal interests while balancing financial/emotional sustainability with an organic lifestyle. We prioritize self-care and personal responsibilities before taking on additional tasks.
A residential project: people live here as their primary home.
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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