Over the past 25 years or so, old Vipassana meditation students purchased several different properties in the immediate vicinity of the Northwest Vipassana Meditation Center–Dhamma Kuñja–to help extend a buffer zone around the Center. Nature’s Grove Preserve was established to care for these properties in perpetuity.

These properties cannot simply be given to the Center because of the way water is allocated in Lewis County.

One of the principal ways that Washington State regulates growth in rural areas is through limiting water use. Dhamma Kuñja is only allowed to pull the same amount of water out of the ground each day no matter how big it gets through acquiring adjacent lands. That is, the acquired properties would lose their water rights if we combined them with Dhamma Kuñja. Since Dhamma Kuñja’s permitted maximum capacity maximizes the daily water use allowance, it is important to keep adjacent properties legally separate.

For a history of these properties, check out this video of a discussion with Rick Crutcher, a past center teacher for Dhamma Kuñja, and someone who has been involved with Center development from the beginning.