EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Expressions Of Interest In Permanent Residency

If you would like to explore the idea of residency at Anam Cara then we ask that you please send us an email as a part of this process. This may happen before your first visit, during your stay, or in between visits.

If English is not your first language or you find writing challenging, please do not worry that this will affect your residency application. We are not interested in perfect spelling, grammar or literacy! Simply write in your own voice so we can get to know you a little.

Following is a list of things to include in the email. We are asking for a lot of information about you, and your honesty in answering these questions is much appreciated, as it helps us to best support you on your residency journey. There are no right or wrong answers to any of these questions. Community life can be hard as well as rewarding and it is normal to have some fears or concerns about it, so please feel free to express these here too without judgement.

A short paragraph per question is the level of detail we are looking for.

Personal details including DOB & contact details

How did you hear about Anam Cara?

What is your motivation for exploring residency at Anam Cara?

What does your life look like right now? Are you working, traveling, studying? Do you have dependant children? Adult children? Grandchildren? Pets?

Do you have a tiny house, campervan or caravan that you would bring to the homestead to live in?

How do you feel about the idea of living in community? Please detail any previous experiences you have of intentional community.

Please describe skills you may have in the following areas:

-building

-vehicle maintenance

-cooking (do you have a kitchen hygiene certificate?)

-food preservation

-hunting and fishing

-foraging

- childcare and education (do you have a current Working With Children check?)

-wilding

-plumbing

-electrical

-homecare and the domestic arts

-handwork and craft

-art

-improvisation

-music

-singing

-healing modalities including first aid (do you have a current first aid certificate?)

-gardening

-farming

-animal husbandry

-wood cutting and splitting (have you attended a basic chainsaw safety course?)

-bookkeeping, accounting, administration

-experience with horses

-sociocracy

-the concept of eldering

-conflict resolution

-non-violent communication

-digital technology

Please list any other skills that you have that you believe may be helpful for homestead and community living.

Do you have your own vehicle? Do you have a driving license?

Have you had any experience with the Findhorn Foundation?

Have you had any experience in the Yoga traditions?

Have you had any experience with Indigenous wisdoms?

What are your thoughts on the concepts of spiritual and personal growth?

What are your perspectives on living off-grid?

How do you feel about living and working with a small group of people?

What are your thoughts on having strangers continuously moving through your life and sharing your home?

What ideas or thoughts do you have about conflict in community?

How do you think you would cope with times of physical hardship on the homestead? (for example during drought you may not be able to take a shower for weeks, and toilets would be the outdoors composting variety)

What would your ideal timing for residency be? (i.e. are you ready to begin the process now, or is this something that you would need to explore over time and work in with other commitments?)

Anam Cara seeks to be an inclusive community. It's important living so closely together that we have an understanding of any recent challenges you may have faced. Answering this question is optional, but part of being effective in community is the ability to be vulnerable with one another. Perhaps you would prefer to share these kind of personal details at a later day once you have gotten to know us better, which is absolutely fine. Most residents at Anam Cara have experienced their own challenges at different times including mental health issues, trauma, physical illnesses and disabilities, and we understand that given the world we live in it is more likely than not that people spending time at Anam Cara will have journeyed some personal challenges. That being said, if you feel like sharing in your email any recent personal health challenges you have faced, we would welcome that information and treat it confidentially.

Once you have completed these questions, please send on to anamcarahomestead@proton.me

We really appreciate you sharing and the vulnerability this takes. For every application email we receive, we also offer to answer your own similar questions about ourselves. This can either be over a cup of tea at the homestead, or if you are not yet staying with us, we can organise a zoom chat online.