Peaceful Village

Official temporary site of Peaceful Village. Last Updated July 25, 2018.
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MISSION
Building a world based on love, sharing, and compassion for all expressions of life. We do not kill any living creature and teach others the act of non-violence (ahimsa). We strive to minimize or cause no harm whenever possible and practicable.

ABOUT PEACEFUL VILLAGE
The concept and planning for the intentional vegan community started in 2014 when Michael Lanfield and a friend started planning for it. In October 2016, Brian Des Rochers acquired land and began growing more fruits and vegetables. In 2017, Michael and Brian came together and founded Peaceful Village with the common goal of a vegan, sustainable living-forest community to share with others. The physical Peaceful Village community is now disbanded and will be re-establish in the future. In 2018 Michael had the idea to create an online plan for the community so others could use it to build their own vegan/fruitarian communities.

There are currently two projects that Peaceful Village is working on. One which is the physical community of Peaceful Village and an online plan for others to be able to build their own vegan/fruitarian communities. The second project, which is similar, is an Advocacy Housing Community. Both projects are described in full detail below. In the future, Peaceful Village website will be based on a Wikipedia model of openly editable content where anyone is able to add/edit the information to help improve the concept and ideas of the projects.

OUR VALUES
1. No being is viewed as property, to be used or harmed in any way, whenever possible. We at the Peaceful Village cherish all life, therefore everyone who stays at the community is vegan. This is the principle of ahimsa or harmlessness where we refrain from injuring any living creature and cause the least harm whenever possible. This includes refraining from the consumption of animal foods and products that contain animal ingredients, as well as, animals used in entertainment, for testing, clothing, or other uses, as much as possible and practicable. We value all animal’s freedom; therefore, we do not participate in the keeping of companion animals “pets” or animals for “sanctuaries” at the Peaceful Village, but rather live harmoniously with naturally free roaming creatures in nature.

2. We treat every human animal equally and reject all forms of discrimination. We treat everyone as we want to be treated, with kindness, love, and respect.

3. Not to take what is not given, but to respect the property of others. At the Peaceful Village, we refrain from taking the property, life, time, or life-energy of others if not given freely directly to us.

4. Not to engage in sexual misconduct. This refers to any action of body, speech or mind that sees another as an object for our own self-gratification.

5. Not to lie but speak the truth. We avoid telling falsehoods or exaggerations, internally or externally, through any deceitful action, word or thought, with the intent to harm others.

6. Not to consume alcoholic beverages, (e)cigarettes, and cigars. We at the Peaceful Village believe in order to be spiritually at peace with ourselves, the universe, and everyone and everything that is a part of it, we need not consume any substances that negatively affect the heart and mind.

7. We respect nature and that is why we never use harmful chemicals on the land, minimizing as much harm as we possibly can. Therefore, we implement veganic permaculture gardening techniques in the community. We don’t use of nonhuman animal manure, urine, bone meal, feather meal, fish meal, blood meal, or anything else that comes from animals. Instead, at Peaceful Village we utilize plant compost, vegan humanure and urine, woodchips, and other vegan eco-friendly materials whenever possible.

GARDENING TECHNIQUES
There are many gardening and farming techniques, but we have found that one method works best. In the future, there will be video demonstrations of the farming method. When you go into nature into an untouched forest, you will see many things. As you look and dig into the Earth, you will notice that there is hardly any grass or “weeds” as people call them. In the heart of the tropics and also in colder temperate zones many characteristics are similar. In these forests, you will notice that the soil is different from the soil in other non-forested areas. You can see in these open fields that there are many kinds of grass, flowers, weeds, bushes, and other plants that grow there. You may also sometimes see wild fruits and edible plants growing as well. But in the old growth forests in Canada, tropical areas, and other places, the first few inches of topsoil, you will find twigs (small branches), leaves, wood chips, and other such matter that has accumulated over the eons of time through the trees, animals and insects working in harmony with one another. And even though in these forests you will not find conventionally grown produce that you buy in the supermarkets today, but one may discover wild fruits and other edible plants and mushrooms. This is the soil that is perfect for growing a variety of crops. As you also may witness, naturally free-roaming animals and insects work in symbiosis with one another.

Even though we try to replicate nature when it comes to gardening, it is not possible to reproduce the environment 100 percent. And, therefore, the methods described here are close to perfection when done correctly. There are just a few essential elements when reviving and adding nutrients back to any soil. Because that is what we want; to add nutrients back to the poor nutrient deficient soil. Let’s say you have a grassy area and you would like to use the space to plant some flowers, fruits, vegetables, and maybe even herbs. Instead of thinking conventionally, you have to use alternative methods. At Peaceful Village we implement veganic permaculture farming methods. We strictly forbid the use of any animal inputs such as manure, bloodmeal, feathermeal, fishmeal, bonemeal or have domesticated animals on the land or any other product that comes from nonhuman animals.

The basic four elements that are put back into the soil is as follows:

- Plant compost
- Vegan/fruitarian humanure
- Vegan/fruitarian human urine
- Wood chips, twigs, and leaves

What you will basically do is remove all grasses and weeds from the area you wish to add crops. Making sure you remove around four inches (approximately 10.16 cm) of soil. This is to be sure you have enough space to add all the four elements back. Before you can actually start to farm or garden you need to make sure you have sufficient amounts of compost, humanure and the rest of the elements so you can add it back into your garden. Compost and humanure usually take six to twelve months to fully decompose. Every so often you need to keep turning the pile of compost. The vegan humanure will be mixed in with the compost and is kept turning and decomposing for half a year to one year as mentioned before, or until the compost/humanure turns rich black in colour. You will again mix that in with the other elements such as wood chips, twigs and leaves and add that into the compost every so often within the six months to a year. Once the whole mixture is rich black in colour, you can begin to use it. Making sure of course you have two or three different compost piles so that when one is ready to use, the others are still in the process of becoming the same rich black soil. Once you have done at least one pile of compost, you are now ready to begin adding the mixture to the garden area. Remember once the plants and seeds are in the ground you need to still have at least two inches left to add to the topsoil a bit of compost mixture and the rest with woodchips, twigs, and leaves. This ensures that even if there is not much rain, the soil stays moist. After, you start sowing your seeds or transplanting the small plants, keep on adding a bit of soil at the same time, of course, depending on how deep the specific plant/seed needs to be.

When you start sowing seeds, do not plant them in rows or monoculture like most people do, but instead grow different plants all over the place. In nature, there are no rows or monocultures of edible plants. Plants just grow everywhere. That is essentially how you must grow your plants. I have found what works best is to create a small starter garden where you plant produce and later transplant them to a permanent location. Birds and other animals poop out seeds onto the Earth. This is precisely how we must grow most of our plants as well. Nature is fantastic, and there is not one thing she does wrong. So throw various seeds and pits into the starter area and also throw some plant food scraps as well, making sure you don’t destroy any of the seedlings. Once the plants grow large enough to transplant you do so in the area, you chose. Some plants may need to be put into the ground deeper than others. Some may need more shade or sun than others. This is a time for trial and error and also to find out from other gardeners what situation works best for each type of plant. After you have your garden completed and the plants start growing, you add in some vegan urine. This is especially true for plants that are very small or ones that are not growing very well. The reason you add this after, is so you make sure the urine goes directly to the root system of the plant. The ratio of urine to water is up to you, but I’ve found that at least 750 mL (about 198 US Gallons) urine to 250 mL (about 66 US Gallons) water is good. Once you have completed that, you just continue to monitor existing plants and planting new ones. I have found this is the secret to growing beautiful plants.

NATURAL FERTILIZER, INSECTICIDE, ETC.
As we have mentioned, vegan humanure, compost, and urine are used as the organic fertilizers. Nothing else is needed besides the wood chips, twigs, leaves, etc. As for repelling insects and other animals from eating away your plants, you would need to understand about companion planting. There are various types of plants that work in harmony when other plants are grown beside or close to them, which repel insects and other animals. You need to learn about this, and there is plenty of information available on the internet about this. There are also plants like tobacco which when grounded and put into a spray bottle with water can act as an insecticide. Learn about natural plant remedies instead of using chemical products which destroy the environment, our health, and the health of other beings.

ADVOCACY HOUSING COMMUNITY

ABOUT
The “Advocacy Housing Community” is also an intentional vegan community that was started as an idea to help support dedicated vegan and animal advocates trying to dedicate their time to share a positive and loving vegan message which also wanted to live in a community of like-minded individuals. We saw a need to help advocates that wanted to dedicate most or part of their lives to vegan advocacy by providing a loving community space that contained all the necessary facilities to be able to accomplish the goals and intention. We offer bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, internet, and other essential amenities to people for their volunteer time and dedication. Also, as community individuals, it is vital to assist through the co-op through the multitude of tasks:

- Growing and harvesting locally produced veganic food.
- Seeking other vegan food donations.
- Preparing meals.
- Assisting in organizing events.
- Weekly house chores.
- Other tasks such as sewing, internet and other technical jobs, etc.

EXAMPLES OF HOW IT WOULD WORK
An individual, family or group of vegans would acquire a house or apartment where they are able to house vegan advocates. There must be a dedicated vegan community in the area before they decide to purchase a dwelling. Purchase all the necessary tools and equipment for people to be able to live in a vegan community, such as the internet, bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen supplies and other amenities. Once the whole home is furnished (some bedrooms can be unfurnished if advocates have their own furniture). The shared kitchen, bathroom and living areas will be fully furnished and equipped with the proper tools for everyone to be able to live comfortably while pursuing vegan advocacy and living in the community. Search for vegan advocates who wish to live in an intentional vegan community who would also like to volunteer and/or organize vegan events (both online and physical outreaches and demonstrations, talks, film screenings, etc.). Note: This can be achieved at the time of looking for a residency. It would be more practical if live-ins stay for a longer term for a year or more. Some rooms can be for advocates who are temporarily volunteering in the locale for a short period of a few days or a couple of weeks and they too also contribute to helping out in the community. Once the community is fully up and running, each community member will be delegated specific tasks about running and maintaining the co-op. Vegan advocates will volunteer around 25 hours (or more, depending on the individual’s desire) of their time each week to vegan advocacy with one or two full days off, depending on how many hours one has worked. This is comparable to the amount of time that Workaway volunteers (www.workaway.info) are required to put in while they learn new skills and get free room and food. This way members also have time to themselves for personal and family life. Volunteers must also put in equally shared time to helping out in the community and will be delegated specific tasks as previously mentioned. It is also a good idea to have scheduling and dedicated member committee to appoint to resolving problems within the community.

FUNDING
The goal of the intentional vegan community is to strive eventually to become 100% or close to fully self-sustainable. Some or all food will be locally grown (veganically) and/or gathered from nature. The rest will come from food donations through caring individuals who wish to invest their time and money to help such a community. Expenses such as building upkeep, maintenance, and upgrades, and other household expenses will also be collected in a variety of ways, through online fundraisers and donations, and physical event fundraising, and more. Either, each participating member must see that the required allotment for the community is reached each month or there can be a person or group or people that are set up to undertake this task.

SELF-SUSTAINABILITY
In addition to the community growing and sourcing their own food, it is also crucial that they also strive to become self-sufficient with their energy and water. Water, for example, can be collected through rain barrels, for showering and washing dishes, and wells can be constructed in place of municipality water. Energy usage has to be calculated and implemented through solar, wind or other alternative energy sources. Calculate way more energy usage then you think you would need, because you may want to expand your energy needs in the future to the housing grid. The whole idea is to try to become as self-sufficient as possible and rely little on city/municipality sources.

VALUES
The values are the same as the Peaceful Village Intentional Vegan Community.

LIVE-INS AT THESE COMMUNITIES
At Peaceful Village we do not discriminate against anyone. Every vegan advocate regardless of colour, creed, ethnicity, sexual orientation, sexual preference, etc., is welcome to join. When joining a community of like-minded individuals, members understand that the co-op is not a place for a permanent vacation or to get free room and food. It is the job of every member to see that the work within the community and as a vegan advocate is equally shared. If an individual decides to dedicate more time to assisting the community and/or to advocacy, that is up to them.

WORK
Just to be totally clear, there are two essential tasks that live-ins must focus on. First, is to delegate around 25 hours to vegan advocacy and approximately 10 to 15 hours per week to building and maintaining the community as specified with the various tasks above. The rest of the time can be utilized for personal and family needs. Once the community is underway, and as more and more people become vegan, less time will be needed throughout the community and as vegan advocates. It is with the judgement of the community and board directors to continue working and assessing how much time and what tasks are required to accomplish the intention, which is to build an alternative community and vegan/fruitarian world.

TIME FOR RELAXATION
There will also be time for relaxation within the group and for a period when people wish to be alone. Group meditations, campfires, and potlucks/fruitlucks, sing-alongs, dancing, music, hiking, and other fun activities will be enjoyed.

NONHUMAN ANIMALS
However, because we value the freedom of every being, no pet is allowed to be kept at Peaceful Village or in the housing communities. The values state that we live with naturally free-roaming animals in nature and value their freedom to come and go as they please.

MICHAEL LANFIELD (FOUNDER)
Certified World Peace Diet Facilitator, vegan advocate, and author of five books, including two Amazon best-sellers; The Interconnectedness of Life and The Journey, Michael has garnished more than 15,000 YouTube subscribers, and millions of views through YouTube, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, and others. He has written the forward to Mango Wodzak’s newest book The Eden Fruitarian Guidebook.

HELP CONTRIBUTE
If anyone would like to donate, help build or contribute to the Peaceful Village and the various projects, contact us at either email.

info (at) weareinterconnected (dot) com
peacefulvillage (at) protonmail (dot) com

COMING SOON!
- Hosting Workaways
- Land and housing plans/designs
- Plans for retreats