Montbel Arbre is first and foremost a place where people live: a space where individuals choose to live together, share daily life, responsibilities, and a common vision, while respecting each person’s uniqueness.
The project was born from an initial impulse, but today it is part of a collective, living, and evolving dynamic. It is being built over time, at the pace of the people who inhabit it and the land that welcomes them.
The collective
Today, there are 8 of us living at Montbel Arbre: Delphine, Claire, Gaëtan, Gaïa, Yin, Jean-Marc, Florian, and Florane. Other households are on their way and will gradually settle in.
We have chosen to expand the collective slowly and mindfully. Taking the time to meet, build strong connections, establish common foundations, and preserve the human balance of the place is essential.
Living together
Daily life at Montbel Arbre is built on sharing, mutual support, and a constant focus on relationships. Living together means learning to make collective decisions, cooperate, and support one another, while respecting each person’s need for privacy, silence, and autonomy.
We practice participatory governance, inspired by a culture of care and the transformation of tensions. Disagreements are not avoided but embraced as opportunities for dialogue and collective growth.
Living here means committing to a shared learning journey : one of adjustments, patience, and trust.
Living spaces
The site is organized around several spaces, which will evolve with the project:
- A large common building currently forms the heart of the place. It hosts those interested in long-term settlement, passing volunteers, and collective living moments, meetings, and sharing.
- A space dedicated to training and collective practices welcomes workshops, circles, knowledge-sharing, and bonding activities.
- At the same time, eight wooden chalets are currently under construction:
- Another stone building will also be renovated soon, opening up new possibilities for housing and hosting.
These transformations are happening gradually, with a focus on simplicity, respect for the place and its resources, and at the pace of the collective.
Living here means actively contributing to this living construction, trusting in the power of collective intelligence. This is not a finished project—it’s a place in the making, shaped season by season, through arrivals, departures, collective choices, and lessons learned…
Oasis Montbel Arbre 