What we're building
Mother Tree at Parker Hollow is an ecovillage under development on 98 acres in the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia — approximately two hours from Washington, DC. Over the next ten years, it will grow into an intergenerational cooperative community of twenty-four small permanent homes, six short-term rental cabins, a working farm, a common house, a tiny-house production workshop, an educational program, and shared amenities.
The project rests on four commitments — Sustainable, Affordable, Civic, and Intergenerational — and draws on proven cooperative housing and ecovillage models, adapted for one specific place in West Virginia.
Four commitments
Sustainable
Ecological regeneration is a design standard, not a marketing claim. Homes are built with strawbale, hempcrete, and local timber, designed for passive solar performance and low embodied carbon. Climate resilience is built in from Year 1: Firewise landscaping, flood-conscious siting, off-grid capacity, water and food storage, neighbor networks that hold when external infrastructure fails.
Affordable
Affordability is built into the legal and financial structure of the community, not treated as a temporary concession. Long-term rent is pegged to net income. When the Housing Cooperative forms, membership equity shares are pegged to income, with restrictions on appreciation that preserve affordability for future members.
Civic
Mother Tree at Parker Hollow is a working cooperative institution. Decisions are made together by consent. Meals are shared in the common house three times a week. Farm work, fire-tending, and property care are shared. The Education 501(c)(3) hosts retreats and workshops, connecting the community to Hardy County civic life and the wider network of cooperative and ecological communities.
Intergenerational
Twenty-four permanent homes for people of every life stage — young families raising children, working adults, artists in mid-career, retirees, and elders in their eighties. Common house programming supports all ages. Recruitment is deliberately balanced across generations. A community where a child grows up knowing an elder who isn't related to them, and an elder grows old knowing children who visit because they want to.
The community at full build-out
Housing
- Twenty-four permanent homes for long-term residents
- Six short-term rental cabins for visitors, retreat guests, and prospective members
Common buildings
- A common house — kitchen, dining, meeting space, guest accommodations
- A tiny-house production workshop for training and small-scale manufacturing
- A dedicated education space for 501(c)(3) programs
Land, farm, and shared amenities
- A working farm producing food for the community
- Gardens, orchards, pollinator habitat, and preserved forest
- Rainwater harvesting
- Sauna, hot tub, outdoor kitchen, pickleball court, trails and gathering spaces
Where we are now
The 98-acre property has been secured. The interior road is being improved, and site utilities — well, septic, and electricity — are being installed.
Short-term rental cabins will be built first, providing initial revenue and a way for prospective members to experience life at Parker Hollow before committing. Official founding member recruitment for permanent homes will follow. Housing Cooperative formation is targeted for Years 3–5, with continued build-out over the ten-year horizon.
