OUR MISSION
"At Terra Futura, we begin with belonging. We recognize ourselves as part of—not separate from—the natural world. Guided by ancestral wisdom and shaped by the incremental choices we make today, we’re co-creating a thriving, values-aligned community built on mutual care, collective responsibility, and reverence for the land."
A NEXT STEP ON SACRED LAND
Terra Futura offers a “next step” model for fostering interdependence with one another and the planet. We see our community as the latest chapter in a millennia-long human story: a project of innovating how we live together—intentionally, beautifully, and wisely—on sacred land. This is an optimistic experiment in cooperative living. We exist to inspire a deep sense of place, relationship, and connection and to model what becomes possible when we live in the right relation to land, lineage, and each other.
We envision a community alive with regular, resident-led skill-sharing in the garden and common house—a community calendar peppered with health and wellness classes, permaculture farming, cooking, music making, trivia, and other practices that deepen connection and foster a sense of belonging.
JOYFUL, IMPERFECT, AND PLAYFUL BY DESIGN​
​We believe that laughter, play, and celebration are just as essential to community resilience as compost systems and shared decision-making. Terra Futura is alive with music, dancing, fire circles, spontaneous kid-led adventures, late-night kitchen conversations, and whole-community potlucks. Intergenerational connection and chosen families of belonging are not just welcome—they’re the heartbeat of this place.
Individually, we strive to cultivate emotional maturity—not as a badge of arrival but as a willingness to grow alongside others with humor and grace.
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We know that true community doesn’t mean agreeing on everything. In fact, we expect disagreement. What we do hold as sacred is the practice of staying engaged. We don’t ghost or cancel each other when things get tough—we lean in, get curious, and do the slow, sometimes messy work of repair. That’s what it means to grow something real.
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Ecological Stewardship
Our commitment to sustainability is practical, beautiful, and rooted in daily life.
Landscaping centers on native plants and permaculture-informed gardening, with composting, water conservation, and food production woven into our shared spaces. Led by Kelsey and other experienced practitioners, Terra Futura’s green spaces are designed to be both regenerative and welcoming.
INTENTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE
We design with nature—not against it. Rather than defaulting to high-tech stormwater infrastructure, we embrace rain gardens, swales, wetlands, and bio-retention ponds that work with the flow of the land. These systems reduce runoff and replenish groundwater while helping us build reverence for the living water systems that nourish our ecosystem.
Our built environment reflects our values. From Green Built certified homes and shared common infrastructure to renewable energy systems and walking-friendly design, Terra Futura designs physical space to support ecological integrity and social connection. Every design choice is rooted in the question: How can we live well without living large?
Asheville, NC—known in Cherokee as Un-ta-ki-a-sti-yi—sits within the heart of the Southern Appalachian region, a place shaped by both progressive ideals and deep rural traditions. This land carries a powerful legacy of grassroots organizing, from resistance to Indigenous Removal and the Trail of Tears, to civil rights movements and contemporary mutual aid networks. Terra Futura proudly contributes to this living history, grounded in shared values of equity, care, and ecological responsibility, while welcoming a wide diversity of voices.
There is a distinct energy in these ancient mountains that draws people from around the world. Beyond the beauty of its waterfalls and hiking trails, Asheville offers vibrant farm-to-table cuisine, a thriving arts and music scene, and a community of warm, eclectic people unlike any other. It doesn’t take long to feel at home here.