Celo Community
| Celo Community, Inc. | |
|---|---|
| Communal settlement | |
 Celo Community, Inc.
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| Coordinates: 35°54′N 82°19′W / 35.9°N 82.31°WCoordinates: 35°54′N 82°19′W / 35.9°N 82.31°W | |
| County | Yancey County |
| State | North Carolina |
| Country | United States |
| Established | 1937 |
| Founded by | Arthur Ernest Morgan |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.9 km2 (1.9 sq mi) |
Celo (/siloʊ/ SEE-loh) Community is a communal settlement in the Western mountains of North Carolina, located in Yancey County. It was founded in 1937 by Arthur Ernest Morgan. Celo is a land trust with its own rules of taxation and land tenure that runs its internal government by consensus. The community does not require its members to accept any religion or ideology, but is based on ideals of cooperation between residents and care for the natural environment. Today, Celo is at maximum capacity with 40 families living on its 1,200 acres (4.9 km2).
The Celo Community Constitution states as its overriding purpose “to provide an opportunity for its members to enjoy a life that includes personal expression, neighborly friendship and cooperation, and appreciative care of the natural environment.”
In 1959, the community restated its goals. Among these were “to pay allegiance to our common humanity overshadowing religious, racial, economic or political differences.” Members are expected to work “at a calling that will provide simple but adequate living…to raise some of their own food and in doing so to conserve rather than deplete the land.” The community also stated as a central goal “to rear our children in a wholesome environment where they can become acquainted with nature and be stimulated by intellectual freedom.”
Historically and today, cooperation has been at the forefront of the community’s mission. Founder Arthur Morgan explained the cooperative element of Celo by employing a metaphor, which he named “human uranium.” Morgan explained that although a cubic yard of granite contains enough uranium to blow up a mountain, the particles have no effect when separated. Only when brought together, in what is called a “critical mass,” can they exercise power. Morgan saw people in the same way: when brought together with common goals and ideals they have great power.
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