About Ahimsa Acres

Our owner-built homestead is situated on a south-facing slope on a largely forested 8-acre site about 5 miles east of Cottage Grove (the closest town, pop. about 9,000) and 20 miles south of Eugene, Oregon with one acre devoted to the house, veganic gardens and orchards. The other 7 acres are oak and fir forest. Swimming, hiking and camping is available reasonably close by and a bus to Eugene is available in Cottage Grove.

The house is a passive solar design and solar panels provide almost all of the electricity used on site. The system is both grid-tied and stand-alone All roofs on main residence and out-buildings are metal and all rain water is captured and guided through gravity-powered systems for use in garden beds and orchards. There is a seasonal stream and year-round pond.

We grow about 70% of the food eaten at Ahimsa. The rest is purchased in bulk form from local sources. Diet consists of whole (minimally processed) plant-source foods produced organically and locally. Our aim is to continually increase self-sufficiency, sustainability, and minimal environmental and climate change footprints in regard to food, water, energy production, housing, and personal needs. Our central intention is to live harming life as little possible, hence the name Ahimsa Acres. Ahimsa is a Sanskrit work meaning minimizing harm to life.

Fruit crops include apples, pears, figs, plums, raspberries, grapes, and thornless blackberries. Principal vegetable crops include broccoli, sweet potatoes, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, collards, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, garlic, onions, corn, summer and winter squashes, cucumbers, carrots, beets, celery, parsley, basil, Swiss chard, beans, peas, lettuces, various Asian leafy greens, a variety of herbs, and hazelnuts. Our efforts at food production are intended to provide us with food year-around through all-season gardening, drying and freezing and in-ground and geo-thermal and electrically powered cold storage.

People may visit Ahimsa Acres as part of an arranged tour, to take a class or workshop, or to work as an intern through the World Wide Opportunities On Organic Farms (WWOOF-USA) program. Internships can be as short as one day (for locals) and as long as one month as a live-in intern. Interns work with us about 4 hours a day on projects (hands-on learning) and also can choose to attend seminars and video showings. Vegan food and lodging are provided by Ahimsa Acres.

Interns gain first-hand knowledge working with on-site geothermal energy, solar water and space heating, solar electrical generation, gravity powered water catchment, organic small scale food production, bioregional sourcing of materials, sustainable food prep (and experience eating it!), sustainable building techniques minimizing use of materials, recruitment of resources from the waste stream, and ultra-efficient heat pump technology. Learning about building soil fertility, nontoxic disease control, and plant propagation are also part of the package.

Besides gardening and orcharding, there are frequently building projects of some kind going on--mostly small scale. All work is done to quality standards and the use of new materials is kept to a minimum in order to 1) keep things out of the landfill by removing them from the so-called ""waste stream"", and 2) to reduce the impact on the environment that is caused by constant creation of new materials.

Everything isn't work here. Although we really enjoy our work, we also find time to exercise regularly, to take walks and hikes, to swim, to play music, to visit with friends and neighbors, read, and enjoy lengthy discussions. Vipassana Buddhist meditation and discussion are available for those who are interested and ask about it. Cars and mechanical equipment play only a small part here; we are working to limit our petroleum usage.

We are looking for people committed to conserving the earth's resources--curious people who question the ability of the Western way of existing to satisfy them in any meaningful way--people who want to experience a more direct hands-on life and learn how to put their beliefs into action in their own lives. More information is available on our website at www.ahimsaacres.org or e-mail us at ahimsaacres@gmail.com.

Dale Lugenbehl

Dale Lugenbehl is Co-Director of Ahimsa Acres. Dale grew up in the Los Angeles area, and attended college for 11 years after graduation from high school. For 3 years he attended California State Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo and studied architecture. After that, he studied at California State University at Long Beach (BA in art, BA in philosophy, MA in philosophy) and then at the University of California at San Diego (MA in philosophy). His education also includes 18 years of Buddhist study, practice, meditation retreats, and sangha work, drawing on the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Eckhart Tolle, and others.

For more than 40 years Dale has been a college and university teacher, teaching western and eastern philosophy and meditation. In 1994, Dale moved to Oregon with wife Sandy Aldridge, and started construction on their homestead which would eventually become Ahimsa Acres. In 1994, as a result of living simply, Dale and Sandy were able to become job independent. Dale taught philosophy at Lane Community College in Eugene from 1995 to 2020. Dale does most of the design and construction work at Ahimsa, and also is primarily responsible for the orchards. Other activities and interests include, writing for academic as well as popular periodicals, and offering guest talks and classes in the local community: the ethics of personal food choices, voluntary simplicity/low consumption living, alternative energy systems and sustainable building methods, environmentally conscious home food production, living wisely in an era of ongoing resource depletion and climate change, understanding the processes of personal and societal change, nonviolent communication and compassionate living, and engaged Buddhism.

 

Sandy Aldridge

Sandy Aldridge is Co-Director of Ahimsa Acres. Sandy grew up in the San Francisco area, and attended college at California State University at Chico (BA Sociology) and Southern Oregon University (MA Social Sciences). Her education also includes 18 years of Buddhist study, practice, meditation retreats, and sangha work, drawing on the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Eckhart Tolle, and others.

Sandy taught sociology and women's studies for 5 years, and has also taught personal enrichment classes for seniors and worked as a college academic advisor. Sandy is a long time environmentalist and has found great inspiration in Gandhi's injunction to "live simply so that others may simply live." In 1994, Sandy moved to Oregon with husband Dale Lugenbehl, and started construction on their homestead which would eventually become Ahimsa Acres. In 1994, as a result of living simply, Sandy and Dale became job independent. Sandy does most of the vegetable gardening, food preparation and preservation, organization, and accounting work at Ahimsa, and also teaches gardening. Other activities and interests include giving presentations on living more lightly, the connections between one's food choices and the environment, and the connections between peace and sustainability.