Live at Big Calm
Big Calm is a premium permaculture-guided cohousing development in the heart of the Kootenays. Enjoy fresh air, mountain water, vibrant land, and gorgeous valley views within a hands-on community of resilient, eco-conscious neighbours.
Phase 2 - Reservations Open
Big Calm was founded in 2020 as a refuge, a reconnection to nature, and an antidote to isolation and helplessness.
Following various engineering and earthworks in 2021 and 2022, the vision of an ecologically sustainable, self-sufficient community is taking shape. In addition to a growing garden and greenhouse, there are currently three rental pads, the Pocket Getaway for guest stays, and a future common house called the Shangri-loft.
Join us as we expand Big Calm to include 9 new “tiny homesteads” arranged in a pocket neighbourhood on a beautiful 4-acre bench within a serene 37-acre property.
Modern Homesteading
Guided by the nature-based ethics of permaculture – Earth care, people care, and fair share.
Resilient Community
Focused on food sustainability, collective self-sufficiency, and cultivating camaraderie.
Long-term Lease
With the potential for future co-ownership on title as the community convenes and takes shape.
Slocan Valley
Encompassing a pristine lake, a rushing river, and a series of small towns, the Slocan Valley emphasizes quality of life, diverse lifestyles, and environmental stewardship. Let its natural beauty, warmth, and unique West Kootenay character charm you.
Super, Natural BC
The property is situated in an enchanting inland temperate rainforest in southeastern British Columbia. Big Calm is halfway between Winlaw and Slocan, and approximately 45 minutes north of both Nelson and Castlegar.
Nestled between the gentle Selkirk and Monashee mountain ranges, and located along BC Highway 6, it is served by BC Transit, within 100 km of two regional airports (YCG and YZZ), and close to popular ski resorts, golf courses, hot springs, mountain-biking trails, and tranquil wildlife/bird sanctuaries.
Pocket Neighbourhood
A clustered group of neighbouring houses, each with a clear sense of personal space and shared stewardship, gathered around a common open area, this non-grid layout provides an excellent balance of space and privacy with cohesion and connection.
Just Right
From extended family clusters and off-grid cooperatives to wellness retreats and golf-course villages, there’s a “community” project for all lifestyles. But when it comes to Tiny Houses on Wheels, the choice unfortunately tends to be between lonely backyard driveways or crowded campground parking lots.
For those interested in balancing a tiny home and a big homestead, Big Calm is in a rare Goldilocks zone – a couple dozen variously aged and skilled people at 12 sites on 37 acres. Big and tiny at the same time – human scale – without the hassle of having to find, buy, permit, service, and market the land yourself.
And whether it’s southern skies or shady hillsides, each of the nine Phase 2 spots has a unique essence to fit your preference.
Edge Space
Tiny houses are, well, tiny, and so edge space is a big deal. In hundreds of conversations, we’ve learned that everybody needs skirting and everybody wants decking. So, as part of Foresight’s BuildNext cleantech accelerator, we invented DwellDock™ to level up the lowly pad. Ask any permie: the edge is where it’s at!
What’s Included
At Big Calm, the basic campsite pedestal is replaced with a low-rise insulated utility cabinet that geothermally keeps water lines warm in the winter and backup batteries cool in the summer.
DwellDock is modular and, at your option, can be extended to include extra storage along the back for seasonal items, a floating deck up front for an awning or pet enclosure, and all-around skirting for energy efficiency and protection from the elements.
More than that, each DwellDock comes with an Ecoflow Delta Pro Ultra power station ($8500 value). That’s 7.2kWh (expandable to 21.6kWh) of backup electricity, plus plug-and-play solar and EV charging ports.
And all of this sits atop ~20’x40’ of carefully levelled CORE 50-35 Heavy-Duty water-permeable honeycomb grids with washed gravel. The little things matter.
Turnkey Tiny
We’re focused on hosting pro-built Tiny Houses on Wheels, a popular yet underserved housing class. Western Canada boasts some of the best professional builders of well-designed and robust CSA Z240/Z241 certified manufactured homes anywhere.
Home + Homestead
The default and codified approach to housing in Canada is to build oversized “stick buildings” from scratch, on-site, and using subtractive methods that generate a lot of waste (more than 40% of landfill is construction waste!). Modular and prefab housing structures are the future, and the variety, quality, and affordability of these modern builds is impressive.
There are several trends pushing towards smaller prefab dwellings:
- Cost – Less to buy, less to maintain.
- Minimalism – A small home is optimized for living, and to contain only the items we need or are meaningful to us.
- Lifestyle – Especially for empty-nesters, a too-large house is alienating.
- Footprint – Prefab houses tend to have a relatively small physical footprint and a disproportionately tiny environmental one.
Communitas Now
The world is changing and it’s increasingly apparent: community is the best investment you can make. With intention to build up skills, tools, food security, energy systems, and conviviality, Big Calm aims to be both an oasis from the commotion and an ark for the storm.
Living in the Gift
“We in the richest societies have too many calories even as we starve for beautiful, fresh food; we have overlarge houses but lack spaces that truly embody our individuality and connectedness; media surrounds us everywhere while we starve for authentic communication. We are offered entertainment every second of the day but lack the chance to play.
“Let us stop resisting the revolution in human beingness. If we want to outlast the multiple crises unfolding today, let us not seek to survive them; that is the mindset of separation. That is resistance, a clinging to a dying past. Instead, let us shift our perspective toward reunion and think in terms of what we can give. What can we each contribute to a more beautiful world. That is our only responsibility and our only security.”
––Charles Eisenstein, Sacred Economics
Homestead Instead
Permaculture wisdom encourages us to do what we can; to acknowledge the forces we can’t control and recognize the trends we can harness – build something special; create resilient systems that mimic natural ecosystems; and have fun doing it.
Now's the Time - Trade Up
Only nine spots available.
Each 99-year-term pad lease, which includes one voting share in the community, is $150,000 – payable in three equal instalments (or in full for a 5% discount).
The first three reservations enjoy discounts of $15,000, $10,000, and $5,000, respectively.
There will be a $400 monthly community fee to cover general operating expenses – including a contingency fund.
Are you ready to escape the noise, live tiny, reconnect with nature, and share your gifts with community?
Join us at Big Calm.
1. EoI
To lease a Phase 2 pad at Big Calm, first complete this Expression of Interest form.
2. Meet
Next, we’ll schedule an e-meeting, send you our full prospectus, and welcome you for a tour.
3. Reserve
Then, when ready, pay a non-refundable $3000 fee to officially reserve your favourite spot.
4. Lease
Exercise your reservation by signing the lease agreement and paying at least the first instalment.
5. Arrive
Follow our construction updates and schedule tow-in dates and logistics.