Thank you for your interest in visiting the Los Angeles Eco-Village. People interested in visiting the community for more than 2 weeks are required to complete this questionnaire and submit it to our Visitor Committee at urbansoil-visitor@googlegroups.com Please note that all requests for visits longer than 2 weeks must be approved by the community. Visitor requests are time-limited and cannot under any circumstances be extended once they have been approved.
USTU strives to create a culture of participation, stewardship and skill-sharing, interdependence and cooperation. USTU members regularly participate in activities that contribute to the ongoing functioning of the community. Visitors are also expected to participate in the community during their stay. The visitor committee will assign you a liaison that will help you identify participation commitments that can be reasonably completed during your stay.
USTU offers two types of visits:
Visitor
This category is for requests:
- Longer than 2 weeks and up to 3 months;
- Interest in the USTU community; and
- Ability and willingness to meet community participation expectations
Residency / Internship.
This category is for requests related to a specific purpose for being in LA or at the USTU community that is directly connected to furthering cooperative and sustainable living.
The residency/internship category is for requests:
- Longer than 2 weeks and up to 1 year;
- Interest in the USTU community;
- Secured work, internship or a specific project in collaboration with the USTU community or if the work, internship or project is focused in the broader community then it must be aligned with USTU values (Please describe the project below); and
- Ability and willingness to meet community participation expectations
1. Which type of visit are you interested in?
[ ] Visitor
[ ] Residency/Internship
2. What is the ideal timeline/dates for your visit with USTU (please note that all requests are subject to unit availability and approval by the community)?:
3. Who is interested in visiting the community?:
[ ] Me
[ ] Me and a partner, friend or family member (submit one questionnaire per adult){1}
Please specify:
4. Briefly and specifically describe your experience and/or interest in living in intentional community:
5. Briefly and specifically describe your current practices/activities/interests in sustainability and co-operation:
6. What languages do you speak, and at what level (Conversational? Fluent? A little bit?)
7. The community has several ongoing areas for participation. Briefly describe (one) how you would participate in the community during your visit and (two) how much time you would have to commit to these activities {2}:
8. Residency/Internship Visitor ONLY: Include a description of your residency/internship project request
a. What is the focus of the project?:
b. What is the timeframe of the project?:
c. How does the project relate to sustainability, intentional community or the USTU values {3}?:
9. Will you be retaining a permanent residence elsewhere during your visit at USTU? If not, what are your housing plans after your visit?:
10. LAEV seeks to be a community with a diversity of income levels; among our goals is providing housing that is both permanently affordable and ecologically sustainable.
Please indicate the range your annual income falls within:
[ ] Under $25,000
[ ] Between $25,000-$50,000
[ ] Over $50,000
Please describe your source(s) of income:
{1} Sorry, we cannot accommodate pet visitors.
{2} Learn more about participation expectations for visitors at our wiki page here: http://urbansoil.net/wiki.cgi?community_participation_expectations.
Example: I would like to commit to setting up and cleaning up before and after 2 potlucks per month (2 hours per month), and spending 1 hour per week maintaining and improving common areas. I would also like to spend about 4 hours per month supporting skill-sharing around bicycles and bicycle activism, for a total of 10 hours per month of participation. I work a regular, 9-5 job but have no further demands on my time.
{3} The USTU values are:
- Celebrate and include joy in all our endeavors.
- Take responsibility for each other and the planet through local environmental and social action.
- Learn from nature and live ecologically.
- Build a dynamic community through diversity and cooperation.
- Inspire compassionate, nurturing, and respectful relationships.
- Create balanced opportunities for individual participation and collective stewardship.
- Engage our neighbors and broader communities in mutual dialogue to learn, teach, and act.