Is there a community...

[be_thou_my_vision]

A friend was talking to me and I was wondering if you all knew of an order who:

-Lives very simply

-was mostly contemplative

-does a lot of their own gardening

Just wondering if someone had some ideas. Thanks!

And by "does their own gardening" I mean a community that is close to the Earth... although that sounds weird and vague. She LOVES nature and is always barefoot if that gives you an idea.

Also, it's important to her that they wear at least a simple habit.

[Luigi]

Some monastery or another of Poor Clares. They'd probably be fine with barefoot - LOTS of monasteries grow most of their own vegetables.

[Kayte Postle]

My first thought was also of Poor Clare monasteries. A Cloistered Life is a good resource for looking at different monasteries, the page I linked has a ton of communities to look at!

I also thought of the Abbey of Regina Laudis, and the Our Lady of the Rock Monastery. Both are contemplative Benedictine communities, with a rich tradition of stewardship of the earth and agriculture.

[Nunsuch]

A lot of communities have gardens and farms these days. Look at the book "Green Sisters" for some of them. This website also notes a number: http://www.sisterfarm.org/eco-spirituality-centers.html

And don't forget this one: http://www.greenmountainmonastery.org/

[Lou]

Cistercian Trappists (ocso.org)! They live acc. the rule of St Benedict, are vegetarians and often grow their own vege and are cloistered. Also the Dominican nuns in New Jersey if you're in the States- they grow vege!

[JHFamily]

The first order to come to my mind was the Poor Clares as well.

 

[NadaTeTurbe]

Cistercian nuns lives very simply, are totally contemplative, works the land, and most of them have a simple modified habit. She should totally look them up.

[shieldmaiden19]

She might look into the Colettine Poor Clares, I think they'd suit her very well. God bless her in her discernment anyway, wherever her journey leads.

[maar]

Dear be_thou_my_vision,

Has your friend made any progress in finding a simple, garden-loving community? The Dominican nuns at Queen of Peace monastery are quite "earthy" and harvest vegetables, fruit, as well as flowers. They just put out this blog post today featuring some of their flora: https://www.dominicannunsbc.ca/news-2/

Their main gallery also gives nice highlights of their simplicity and communion with nature: https://www.dominicannunsbc.ca/gallery/

Bless!

[Antigonos]

The photos are certainly impressive!

[beatitude]

I would second the recommendation to look at Poor Clare and Franciscan communities. Care for creation is part of the charism they inherited from St Francis.

[miserere55]

Poor clare colletines is an excellent fit.  they grow much of their own food and go barefoot from a novice onward.  and they are cloistered.