How it works
Work-to-own is intended to be a genuine path to a residential membership, not unpaid labour disguised as community participation.
The simple path
Contribute approved work, skills or capital to building and running the settlement.
Approved work is time-tracked and valued under a published schedule in your own member ledger.
When your capital account reaches the target, a full residential membership is issued, subject to admission.
Durable occupancy rights to a private dwelling, use of the shared systems and an equal vote.
Pathways
Cash, credited work and a mix of the two lead to the same residential membership and the same vote. Work is credited at a lower rate than cash.3
| Pathway | Illustrative cash | Credited work | Membership value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital | US$25,000 | None | US$25,0001 |
| Hybrid | US$12,500 | About 834 hours at US$152 | US$25,0001 |
| Builder | US$5,000 | About 1,334 hours at US$152 | US$25,0001 |
| Work-to-own | US$0 | About 1,667 hours at US$152 | US$25,0001 |
Three kinds of work
Different work is rewarded differently. Keeping them apart keeps the model fair and keeps the ledgers honest.
Every adult member, including those who pay cash, takes one shift a week (about 4 hours) keeping vital operations running: kitchen, cleaning, sanitation, water checks, basic maintenance and safety. It is part of membership and earns no credit.5
Building the community's lasting assets and running its food systems: huts, greenhouses, water and energy systems, gardens and animals. Approved hours earn membership credit: US$15 an hour for general work, about US$20 for skilled trades and about US$25–30 for licensed and professional work.2
Work in anything that earns outside income, such as build weeks, restaurant produce or digital products, is paid a proper wage.6 As member-shareholders, members also share in the profit.6
The member lifecycle
Stage 1
Join the Founding Circle and share your skills, availability and preferred pathway.
Stage 2
Orientation, safety, community expectations and written terms before work begins.
Stage 3
Approved accommodation and basic services while approved work is recorded and valued.
Stage 4
Earned value becomes progressively non-forfeitable under the governing agreement.
Stage 5
The residential membership and occupancy rights are issued.
Stage 6
Members pay transparent common charges and take part in governance.
Stage 7
The membership is redeemed under a published formula and returns to the Common Share Pool.
Partial vesting
Someone who contributes hundreds of hours should not lose everything because they leave before an arbitrary finish line. The vesting schedule will be set with counsel; the principles are fixed.
You can see every hour, credit, deduction and vesting event in your ledger.
Partial vesting, departure and incapacity rules are written down before work begins.
Credit rates and categories can change for future work, never retroactively.
The Common Share Pool
When a member leaves, the cooperative redeems their membership under a published formula and the residential opportunity becomes available to the next person, through work, cash or a mix.
They give notice under the agreed process.
Value is calculated with the published formula, subject to reserves.
The residential opportunity goes back into the Common Share Pool.
A share of returned memberships is reserved for work-to-own and hybrid pathways.
Equal standing
People who earn their membership through work receive the same ordinary residential vote as people who pay cash. Capital does not buy extra political power, and because every adult member takes the same weekly community shift, cash members cannot buy their way out of shared responsibilities.
Questions
That is the objective of the work-to-own pathway, subject to legal, tax and economic design.
A cash pathway is contemplated, but final terms do not exist yet. Cash would not buy extra voting power.
Probably not under the current concept. The project is exploring cooperative membership plus durable occupancy rights; counsel will decide the final structure.
No. The model deliberately restricts speculative resale. A departing member receives value under a defined redemption formula.
Yes. Members pay transparent common charges for taxes, insurance, water, roads, shared energy, community buildings and reserves.
Next
The first cohort helps turn raw land into a working settlement. See what that might involve.