Pyrophytic plants are adapted to survive fire, and many depend on it. Their cones stay sealed until the heat comes, then open and seed the ground they stand on. It's the same idea behind my coaching work: the right kind of stress, met well, becomes the thing that lets something new grow.
Eco-village
A place where the path can be lived, not just taught.
Pyrophytic Pods Eco-village & Wellness Retreat is taking root on 28 acres of forest in Wahkiacus, Klickitat County, Washington. It's in development now: a slower, more intentional place to live, work, heal and look after the land, together. I co-founded it with Cameron Cartier.
Visit pyrophyticpods.org
Why "pyrophytic"
Community first. Infrastructure second.
Pyrophytic Pods is for builders, healers, educators and growers who want to experience living closer to nature. The common thread is shared purpose: people starting or growing earth-conscious businesses, who want to support each other's work and leave the land healthier each year. We're starting with the people and letting the buildings follow.
Regeneration
Permaculture design, a food forest, forest land set aside for regenerative farming, and a medicinal mushroom farm.
Healing and learning
Spaces for holistic healing practices, workshops and retreats, and community events with guest healers and speakers.
Community
Shared meals, skill sharing and work weekends. Decisions are made by consent, with responsibility shared across small working groups.
At a glance
28
acres of oak and conifer forest
3
pillars: regeneration, meaningful work, community
5
phases, built slowly and on purpose
How it will grow
Many communities build too much, too soon. This one grows in phases, and each phase should leave the land and the relationships stronger.
00
Spring 2026 — Getting to know the land: learning where the solar system, the campsites and the shared spaces should go. The solar site has been cleared and marked out.
01
From spring 2027 — Solar power, campsites, a community kitchen, a bathhouse and gatherings.
02
Workshops, wellness retreats, a coworking space, the food forest and volunteer programs.
03
Cabins, tiny homes and a café.
04
A mature, self-sustaining village.
The land is fully off-grid, and there's no shelter yet built for fall and winter, so work pauses over the colder months and picks up again in spring.
The land today
The forest is a mix of oaks, Douglas fir and Engelmann spruce, with lodgepole pine and ponderosa pine.
Ground cleared for the solar array, phase 0.
The solar site, marked out and ready for spring.
The way in, a track through pine and oak.
The communal kitchen, for now.
Camping under the pines.
The resident, keeping watch over the clearing.
An open meadow in the forest.
The forest that covers most of the land.
More photos to come as the seasons turn.
Looking for Founding Stewards
This isn't a timeshare, a resort or a land deal. We're gathering a small first group of Founding Stewards: people who would rather create value than consume it, and who want to help shape the village from the ground up. If that sounds like you, join the list at pyrophyticpods.org for occasional notes from the land as the village takes shape.