Apply for residency
eCOVILLAGE Residency
& Membership Process
Step 1: Determine if living at Lost Valley is right for you.
Learn about our community and non-profit.
Read and consider our Community Living Agreements.
Check out our Rental Criteria and our Lodging Options to get more information about our rentals here at Lost Valley.
Come for a short visit, by booking a tour. Virtual options are available if you live far away.
The majority of our new residents come from the Holistic Sustainability Semester or an Internship. This is a more relaxed way to get to know the community and find ways to plug in here. People consistently find that starting out this way gives them an easier path toward integration with the community.
Currently, for resident applications, we are giving priority to those with skills including, but not limited to carpentry, organic farming, animal husbandry, permaculture design, kitchen management / large group cooking skills, early childhood ed, and event coordinating. Those who are interested in becoming staff here will receive extra consideration. Thank you for understanding!
Step 2: FILL OUT OUR RESIDENCY APPLICATION QUESTIONNAIRE
Clicking the APPLY button at the bottom of this page leads you to our residency application questionnaire. This is where you tell us a bit about why you want to live at Lost Valley and how you see yourself contributing to the community. The Visitor Coordinator will review this questionnaire and schedule a phone interview. If we seem to have a good mutual fit, you will be invited to come for a trial stay. At this stage you also submit a rental application and “core questions”, which is a more extensive version of the residency application questionnaire that is shared with the community.
STEP 3: Rental Application and Core question REVIEW
Your rental application will be reviewed by relevant staff only, and is meant to determine if you meet the requirements to be a rental tenant here.
The core questions will be reviewed by the community, and is meant to determine whether you are aligned with our values as a community.
If any issues arise at this stage we will ask you not to continue with the application process.
Step 4: Come for a 1 - 3 week trial stay
We request that folks come out to spend some time with us for a bit so we can get to know each other better.
Please let us know if there are any reasons you might not be able to come for a trial stay, we sometimes make exceptions under unique circumstances.
Step 5: Schedule your applicant interview
Your applicant interview will be with the community—facilitated by one of our Residency Approval Process team members—at the end of your trial stay or at a time you coordinate with the community through the Visitor Coordinator.
Outcomes for your interview will either be accept or deny for provisional residency.