Overnight Stays, Work-Trade & Community Standards
The long-term vision of the Ozarks Church of Nature & Magical Food Forest is a self-sustaining community rooted in food, medicine, nature, stewardship, creativity, cooperation, privacy, and personal responsibility.
We are not actively recruiting residents.
This document exists for people who have already been invited to visit, participate in work trade, or explore a longer-term relationship with the property.
Reading or signing this document does not itself create an invitation, lease, employment relationship, business partnership, or right to remain on the property.
Any longer-term arrangement will be discussed individually and may require a separate written agreement.
This community is based on mutual aid, not transferred responsibility. We help one another when we can, but every adult remains responsible for their own life, dependents, animals, belongings, finances, and daily needs.
Self-Contained Living
There are currently no conventional RV or campsite utility hookups. Anyone staying overnight must arrive prepared for the actual conditions of the property. Water exists on the property but may not reach individual living sites.
Guests are responsible for their own:
- shelter
- power
- water storage
- cooking
- food
- refrigeration if needed
- transportation
- sanitation/waste system
- daily living needs
Any permanent or semi-permanent infrastructure requires prior written approval.
Personal Responsibility
Hosts are not personal caretakers. Guests must be capable of managing their own daily needs or arrive with whatever independent support system they require. We are happy to help each other occasionally because that is part of community. However, we are not able to assume ongoing responsibility for another adult’s meals, transportation, personal care, finances, schedule, paperwork, housekeeping, or daily functioning.
CHILDREN & DEPENDENT MINORS
Parents and guardians remain fully responsible for the care, feeding, supervision, transportation, entertainment, safety, behavior, education, and daily needs of any children or dependent minors they bring onto the property. The sanctuary and its hosts do not provide routine childcare or babysitting. Community members may occasionally choose to help one another, but voluntary help does not create an ongoing childcare obligation.
Children must be supervised appropriately around animals, gardens, tools, machinery, water, roads, fires, private areas, and other rural hazards. Bringing a child here does not transfer responsibility for that child to the community.
PERSONAL HOUSEHOLD RESPONSIBILITIES
Each person is responsible for maintaining their own living space and handling their own ordinary household needs.
This includes:
- Laundry
- Dishes
- Cleaning
- Bedding
- Food preparation
- Grocery shopping
- Trash
- Personal hygiene
- Organization of personal belongings
Shared spaces should be left reasonably clean after use. Nobody should assume that another resident, participant, or host will routinely cook, clean, wash laundry, organize belongings, or perform household chores for them. Community means helping one another sometimes. It does not mean assigning another adult the role of unpaid housekeeper.
WE ARE NOT AN EMERGENCY FINANCIAL SUPPORT SYSTEM
Staying here does not create an obligation for the hosts or other community members to provide personal financial support.
This includes:
- Money or loans
- Groceries
- Fuel
- Vehicle repairs
- Phone service
- Insurance
- Legal expenses
- Veterinary bills
- Medical expenses
- Debt payments
- Personal purchases
- Other ongoing financial needs
People may voluntarily help one another when they choose. Voluntary generosity should never become an expectation. A gift is a gift. It is not the beginning of a permanent obligation.
Work-Trade
Unless another arrangement is agreed upon, work-trade participants generally contribute approximately one hour per day on average. This is not intended to create a rigid time-clock environment. Some days may involve more. Some days may involve none. Emergencies and seasonal demands happen. Whenever practical, we encourage people to contribute through skills and activities they genuinely enjoy.
Possible contributions may include gardening, animal care, building, repairs, mowing, harvesting, preserving food, organizing, cleaning common areas, landscaping, maintenance, cooking, or other mutually agreed projects.
Any paid work is separate from ordinary work-trade and must be specifically discussed and agreed upon.
Food Forest & Harvest
The medicinal food forest is a shared resource built through shared labor. People who participate in growing and maintaining food are welcome to participate in the harvest according to whatever is available and appropriate. We are not interested in “harvest-time friends” who avoid planting, watering, maintaining, and caring for the land and arrive only when food is ripe. 😂
Community participates. Community shares.
Trash
Guests must pack out their own trash unless another arrangement has been specifically made. Leaving significant trash, abandoned belongings, or disposal costs behind may result in reimbursement being requested for actual cleanup or hauling expenses.
Septic, Soil & Water Protection
Do not intentionally dispose of medications, drugs, alcohol, chemicals, solvents, oils, pesticides, paint, toxic cleaners, commercial tobacco waste, or other contaminants into septic systems, composting systems, soil, gardens, springs, drains, or waterways.
Guests using self-contained waste systems are responsible for lawful and environmentally responsible disposal.
Privacy
Community does not mean mandatory socializing. Shared meals, gatherings, projects, conversations, and activities happen because people choose to participate. Everyone’s need for privacy and solitude must be respected.
GUESTS OF GUESTS
Permission for one person to visit or stay does not automatically extend to their friends, relatives, partners, children, customers, or other guests. Anyone wishing to bring another person onto the property should ask first. Overnight guests require prior approval. Participants may not give others permission to camp, move onto the property, use facilities, hold gatherings, or otherwise access private areas on behalf of the sanctuary.
BORROWING & USING OTHER PEOPLE’S THINGS
Do not assume that something is available simply because you can see it.
Ask before borrowing or using another person’s:
- Tools
- Vehicles
- Equipment
- Food
- Supplies
- Materials
- Personal belongings
- Animal supplies
- Garden harvest
- Business inventory
- Other property
Borrowed items should be returned promptly and in reasonable condition. If something breaks, gets lost, or is damaged, communicate honestly rather than quietly putting it back and hoping nobody notices.
Politics, Religion & Human Differences
People of different beliefs, generations, backgrounds, economic circumstances, lifestyles, religions, and political views may be present here. We are not interested in creating a community united by a common enemy. We are interested in creating one united by a common purpose.
Political campaigning, proselytizing, hate directed toward categories of people, intimidation, and repeated attempts to provoke ideological conflict are incompatible with this community.
Conflict & Peace
Everyone has disagreements. We expect adults to communicate, seek resolution, respect boundaries, and take responsibility for their own conduct. Threats, intimidation, violence, harassment, deliberate property damage, or behavior that repeatedly creates serious conflict or safety concerns may end the arrangement.
Needing police, fire, EMS, or other emergency assistance is obviously not itself a violation. The issue is behavior that repeatedly creates danger or serious disturbance.
Sexual Boundaries
An invitation to visit or stay here is not an invitation to pursue anyone sexually or romantically. No unwanted touching. No sexual pressure. No persistent advances after rejection. No retaliation for rejection. No means no without negotiation.
Mail & Official Address Use
Permission to stay here does not automatically include permission to use the property’s address. Do not use the property address for mail, driver’s licenses, vehicle registration, government benefits, court records, banking, business registration, voter registration, or other official purposes without express prior permission.
Pets & Companion Animals
All visiting animals require approval. They must remain safely controlled and may not threaten or interfere with livestock, working guardian dogs, wildlife, residents, or other guests.
Disability-related assistance-animal requests will be considered consistent with whatever law applies to the particular arrangement, while legitimate safety concerns remain applicable to all animals.
CARE OF YOUR ANIMALS WHEN YOU ARE AWAY
Bringing an animal onto the property means remaining responsible for that animal throughout your stay. If you leave the property for work, travel, appointments, overnight trips, or other activities, you must arrange appropriate care for your animal in advance. Do not assume that hosts or other community members will automatically feed, water, walk, contain, medicate, clean up after, or supervise your animal while you are away. Someone may voluntarily agree to help. Ask first. Do not assume.
Building Your Own Space
Long-term participants may eventually be invited to develop a personal living area. We will no longer build or finance someone’s home for them. Any structure, site work, utility installation, or permanent improvement requires prior approval and must comply with whatever laws or regulations apply.
ASK INSTEAD OF ASSUME
When something is unclear, please ask. Do not assume that because something was allowed once, offered as a kindness, or done during an emergency that it has become a permanent part of your arrangement. This includes meals, childcare, animal care, transportation, use of equipment, access to buildings, harvested food, financial assistance, additional guests, utilities, storage, or other resources. One act of kindness does not automatically become somebody else’s job.
Trial Period
All longer-term arrangements begin with a trial period. A trial period allows both sides to determine whether the arrangement actually works.
Compatibility matters.
An arrangement ending does not require either side to become the villain.