Carya Grove is an emerging off-grid intentional community in northeast Missouri. The project welcomes visitors, volunteers, seasonal collaborators and people interested in exploring longer-term community living, agroecology and the gradual development of shared infrastructure.

An evolving intentional community in Missouri 🌱

Carya Grove is located on an 11-acre leasehold within Bear Creek Community Land Trust, near La Plata in northeast Missouri.

The land is currently home to Tanner, Cera and their two children, together with occasional friends, visitors and volunteers. They would like to meet people interested in collaborating seasonally, visiting the project or gradually exploring the possibility of living and working together for a longer period.

This is an evolving community rather than a fully established volunteer programme. There is no fixed formula for participation or membership. The hosts are drawing on their previous community experiences while remaining open to new ideas and to developing practical agreements with the people involved.

Agroecology and off-grid development

The land includes clay hills, oak and hickory woodland, prairie and areas of cedar shrubland. Tanner runs Perennial Crops Nursery on the property and is particularly interested in perennial plants, hickories and long-term agroecological food systems.

Existing infrastructure includes gravel access roads, cleared areas, a pond, a compost toilet outhouse, a small cabin, camping spaces, a bus and a multipurpose shed with an outdoor kitchen that is still under construction.

Carya Grove is off-grid and does not have conventional grid water or electricity. Future plans may include a root cellar, greenhouse, workshop, food and seed-processing spaces, laundry and shower facilities, an office, an outdoor kitchen and additional four-season dwellings.

Possible collaborative activities may develop around the plant nursery, gardens, harvesting, land care, agroforestry, food production and the construction or maintenance of off-grid infrastructure. The precise activities, schedule and expectations should always be discussed directly with Tanner before arranging a visit.

Community life and shared resources

The long-term vision could eventually involve approximately ten community members, together with seasonal residents, visitors, work-traders and educational activities.

Carya Grove is interested in exploring cooperative or communal ways of sharing land, housing, gardens, tools, vehicles, livestock, meals, food production, child care and practical work. How these resources and responsibilities might be shared has not yet been permanently defined and will depend on the needs and consent of the people involved.

The project is also connected to a wider network of neighbouring communities. Nearby initiatives include Bear Creek Community Land Trust, White Rose Catholic Worker Farm and Emberfield HeArt Collective Ecovillage. Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, Sandhill Community Farm and Red Earth Farms Community Land Trust are located farther northeast.

Starting with a visit

For anyone interested in longer-term community life, the first step is to visit Carya Grove and build a relationship with the people already living there.

Possible future arrangements could be made directly with Tanner on an individual basis. Another route may be to complete the formal Bear Creek Community Land Trust residency process. Successful completion could eventually make a person eligible to become a co-leaseholder at Carya Grove or lease another available property within the Land Trust as a collaborating neighbour.

These possibilities should be regarded as gradual relationship-building processes, not as guaranteed outcomes of a short volunteer stay.

Food and everyday culture

The family currently follows a flexible diet and tries to make use of food that is abundant on the land, available locally or recovered through dumpster diving. Tanner says that different dietary preferences may be supported, but visitors should discuss their needs and how meals will be organised before travelling.

Alcohol is not permitted at Carya Grove. Bear Creek Community Land Trust also has specific expectations concerning substances and screens in shared spaces.

Tobacco and marijuana may only be used safely and respectfully, away from other people and outside sight and smell range. Visitors must be mindful of fire risks, avoid leaving waste and respect the substance-free and screen-free areas within Bear Creek Commons.

Economics and possible work-trade arrangements

The economic structure of Carya Grove is still being explored. Future possibilities mentioned by Tanner include voluntary contributions, consensual sharing of expenses, work-trade or rental arrangements for part-time residents, and potentially more cooperative or income-sharing systems.

These are ideas under consideration rather than fixed conditions currently offered to every visitor. Anyone planning a stay should clarify in advance if money, food expenses, accommodation costs or a specific amount of work will be required.

Tanner earns his income through Perennial Crops Nursery LLC, a producer cooperative with members in different US states. He believes that other people might eventually participate in the nursery or develop individual and cooperative activities connected to the land.

Possible areas of development include livestock integration, coppice agroforestry, basketry, pottery, natural building, green woodworking, food production and educational events. Participation in a business, cooperative or income-generating activity should not be assumed or considered guaranteed.

Location and transport

Carya Grove is situated in a rural area near La Plata. The town is approximately 6.5 miles away and has an Amtrak station, basic services and a farmers’ market.

Kirksville is approximately 15 miles away and has a small airport, a farmers’ market and the services of a university town. Columbia is around a 90-minute drive south and offers a larger airport and additional transport connections.

Visitors should arrange directly with Tanner how they will reach the property from the nearest town or station. Transport or collection should never be assumed without prior confirmation.

Who may appreciate this experience?

This opportunity may suit independent adults who are comfortable with rural life, basic facilities and a developing off-grid environment. It may be particularly interesting for people curious about perennial crops, agroecology, community living, cooperatives, alternative economic systems and the patient construction of shared infrastructure.

Flexibility and clear communication are especially important. The experience may be less suitable for people expecting a conventional volunteering programme with predetermined tasks, guaranteed accommodation and a fully organised daily schedule.

How to learn more and contact Carya Grove 📧

For current information, photographs and contact details, interested people should read the complete official Carya Grove profile. Please contact Tanner directly through the information provided on the official page rather than requesting participation in the Voluntouring.org comments.

Visit the official Carya Grove page and contact Tanner →

Voluntouring.org helps share this independent announcement but does not organise or supervise the experience. Hosts and visitors are responsible for discussing expectations, facilities, costs, travel documents, insurance and safety arrangements directly before confirming a stay.

This opportunity may interest adults looking for an off-grid community experience in northeast Missouri, with a focus on agroecology, cooperative living, perennial crops and the gradual development of shared infrastructure.

The following text was copied directly from Tanner Radig’s Facebook post:

Carya Grove is looking for new members, visitors, and volunteers.

Carya Grove is an intentional off-grid sub-community within Bear Creek Community Land Trust (https://bearcreekcommunitylandtrust.org/) on current Bear Creek Community Land Trust member Tanner Radig’s 11 acre leasehold consisting of a mix of clay hills with oak + hickory woodland, prairie, and cedar shrub land. We are located in northeast Missouri; 31166 Ferrier Lane, La Plata, Missouri 63549.

Right now it is just me and my family (Tanner (30), Cera (27), one boy (9), and one girl (6)) along with occasional visitors, friends, and volunteers but we would like to find other folks to collaborate, live, and work with longer term and or seasonally. We do not have strong set in stone ways on how to go about this, but do have some vague ideas, are informed from past community experiences, and are open to ideas and figuring it out along the way.

Tanner runs a plant nursery (Perennial Crops Nursery) on the land and is slowly building off-grid infrastructure. So far there are two access gravel roads installed, selective tree/brush clearing, a pond for swimming/fishing/habitat/gravity fed water to the plant nursery, compost toilet outhouse, small cabin, camping spots, bus, and an in-progress multi-purpose shed/outdoor kitchen being built. It is off-grid in the sense of not having grid water or electricity. A future root-cellar, greenhouse, workshop, outdoor kitchen, seed/food processing building, laundry and shower house, office and other 4 season dwellings are envisioned being built eventually.

We could imagine sharing space with up to 10 or so long-term communards as well as visitors, work-traders, education events, and part-timers. In this intentional sub-community we are interested in possibly sharing a homestead (land, housing, infrastructure, gardens, equipment, vehicles, livestock, work, etc) communally/cooperatively. We currently have a shared coop truck and try to carpool when possible. Ideally meals, cooking, gardens, harvest, land projects, child care, and infrastructure can be shared in ways that make sense for everybody.

We have really good neighbors at Bear Creek Community Land Trust, The White Rose Catholic Worker Farm, and Emberfield HeArt Collective Ecovillage. A 45 minute drive northeast is Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, Sandhill Community Farm, and Red Earth Farms Community Land Trust. La Plata is 6.5 miles away with an Amtrak Station and all the basic businesses and farmers market. Kirksville is 15 miles away with a small airport you can fly to Chicago or St. Louis at, a farmers market, and is a small university town with all the things towns have. Columbia is 1.5 hours south with a huge city and large airport.

The name Carya Grove, like everything, is open to change. I had to decide on a name to make a listing so I took a shot at it. Carya means nut. In botany it is the genus of hickory, which I feel very connected to, am passionate about growing, and shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) grows here well naturally. A grove is “a small wood, an orchard, a group of trees.” Due to my current passion/focus being on developing long-term agroecological systems, the name seemed fitting for the time being.

Membership Process –

Starting with a visit and building a relationship is where to start. From there we can figure things out depending on the situation and eventually ideally figure out more of a system once more are involved. There are multiple opportunities for long term membership;

1. Making a personal agreement on a person to person basis about living/working on the land together.

2. Alternatively somebody could go thru the formal Bear Creek Community Land Trust Residency Process outlined on the website (https://bearcreekcommunitylandtrust.org/mission/) to then become eligible to legally be either a co-leaseholder to Carya Grove, or able to lease another available Bear Creek Community Land Trust Leasehold as a collaborating neighbor.

Diet and Substance Use –

Currently we eat about anything, ideally focusing on what is abundant/available on the land, locally, and dumpster diving but am open to eating and supporting multiple dietary preferences. At Bear Creek Community Land Trust substances and screens are treated the same; they are not allowed in commons/shared spaces without specific notice and approval. Alcohol is not allowed at Carya Grove. We are trying to co-iterate a more healthy culture than we are surrounded by in midwest America. Tobacco and Marijuana may be used if done out of site/smell range in a safe (there are high fire risks often) and respectful way not leaving trash and being mindful of areas here that are considered Bear Creek Commons and thus no-substance + no-screen zones.

Mission –

Everything can change/evolve. Some main interests of Tanner’s are experimenting with and developing intensive agroecological food systems for sustenance, off-grid systems to meet needs with the land and each other, and co-iterating a land-based egalitarian culture embracing commoning, cooperatives, and non-monetary modes of economic transactions within the community, aspiring interdependence. To aid in this, Tanner is planning large plantings to trial many species + varieties + selections and maintain a germplasm repository for further propagation and slowly working on off-grid infrastructure. The mission can be eventually collaboratively honed and co-iterated. The Bear Creek Community Land Trust mission statement is: “to uplift the health of people and the earth by weaving our lives together as an inclusive, interdependent community. We are co-creating a culture that keeps us rooted in place, wild at heart, and connected to all that is sacred. We come together to responsibly grow food and build homes; dismantle systems of oppression within and without; reimagine and recreate the Commons; and explore traditional crafts and technologies of human and animal power: We choose to live more simply, creating a sanctuary from ways of life that undermine health and wholeness. We offer to the world what we know and create through cottage industries, education and immersion opportunities.”

Economics –

This can work many ways. I could imagine transitioning to be totally income-sharing, voluntary contributions, consensual expense sharing on a case by case basis, rent/work-trade for part-timers/residents etc. I’d like to figure out what makes sense based on the situation and strategize moving away from the monetary economy.

I am a member of Perennial Crops Nursery LLC that functions as a producer cooperative with two other members (one in Lafayette, TN at TheGarden community, and one in Rock Island, IL) and that is how I make income. It’s possible for others to become members of this plant nursery business as well as other individual and or cooperative business ventures from the land. There is lots of opportunity for animal/livestock integration, coppice agroforestry products, basketry, clay pottery, animal/fur/leather goods, natural building, green woodworking, and food production as well as educational events.

More info: https://www.ic.org/directory/carya-grove/

Contact Tanner Radig about visiting or if you have any questions 563-676-1736

— a La Plata, Stati Uniti d’America.

How to learn more or contact Carya Grove

Interested people should first read the complete official profile, consider whether the basic off-grid conditions are appropriate for them, and contact Tanner directly through the information provided on that page.

Visit the official Carya Grove page and contact Tanner →

Voluntouring.org only helps share this announcement. Visitors and hosts are responsible for discussing expectations, facilities, travel requirements, insurance, safety and all practical arrangements directly before confirming a stay.

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