| The communities of Evergreen Land Trust
are self-governing, cooperative stewardship associations.
Each community is unique, but all of them operate by consensus
decision-making of the residents, and all share a common
commitment to the principles of ELT. The communities range
in size from six members up to 15 members. |
Prag House, located on Capitol Hill in Seattle, was originally
purchased in 1972 by a collective of University of Washington
graduate students and professors in sociology. They put the
property into Trust in 1976 to maintain it as a cooperative
house in perpetuity. The purposes of Prag House are to encourage
communal living as a viable alternative and to advance the
growth of cooperating communities and non-polluting technologies.
Pragtree Farm also came into ELT in 1976, with the vision
of being the rural counterpart to Prag House. Pragtree is
a twenty-acre organic farm, located in Snohomish County near
Arlington. The purposes of Pragtree include advancing the
methods of organic farming and providing education on agriculture
and low-impact technologies. Pragtree was the birthplace of
Washington Tilth.
Sunset House was donated to the Trust in 1978, and is located
in the Central District of Seattle. Sunset was established
to provide affordable, resident maintained cooperative housing,
and to demonstrate the value of cooperative ownership. The
community of Sunset House is committed to supporting positive
social change in the Seattle area and providing ongoing education
about land trusts as an alternative to renting or private
home ownership.
Walker Creek, a twenty-acre rural community near Mount
Vernon, was established in 1979 to practice and promote organic
farming, food self-reliance, energy efficiency, and non-polluting
technologies. The stated purposes of Walker Creek include
“assisting the growth of a new culture and society which
incorporates the principles of human cooperation, personal
growth, ecological awareness and the preservation of the natural
beauty of this earth...”
River Farm is an 85-acre homestead on the South Fork of the
Nooksack River in Whatcom County which was donated to ELT
in 1983. The purposes of River Farm are to treat the land,
water, and forest in an ecologically sensitive manner and
to maintain wildlife habitat in balance with a working farm.
The Farm serves as an educational resource for organic agriculture,
ecoforestry, practical homesteading, and renewable energy.
[more]
Sherwood Coop is the most recent addition to ELT. A student
cooperative in the University District of Seattle, Sherwood
has roots in the University of Washington student coops of
the 1930’s. The house provides affordable housing for
students so they can focus on their studies and be active,
creative community members. Additionally, Sherwood aims to
raise awareness about sustainability, introduce cooperative
living as a choice beyond school, and support the development
of other coops.
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Pragtree
Farm 
Sunset
House
Walker
Creek
River
Farm
Sherwood
Coop