Elk RidgeA wellness community in the Cowichan Valley. Get in first and help shape it.
Imagine a place where you can trust the food, the water and your neighbours. Elk Ridge is a 301-acre wellness community taking shape in historic Paldi, about 10 minutes from Duncan. It's planned around food, water and energy security, nature and wellness, and families who look out for each other.
The water licence is approved. Zoning is in place. Subdivision is in its final stages. Now we're inviting founding members to help shape the community, starting with a 2-minute survey.
Take the 2-Minute Survey →Get in first. Help shape it.
Most communities are finished before anyone moves in. Elk Ridge is different. Our founding members get a real seat at the table while the plan is still taking shape.
Tell us what matters to your family, from the gardens and gathering places to the wellness spaces and how the kids learn. Your answers feed straight into the design of Founder Village, a separate neighbourhood of 35 homes, and into the wider community plan.
This is a chance to build a future, not just buy into one.
A voice in the design
Founding members help shape Founder Village through the survey and group design sessions.
Early access
Hear about Founder Village and Phase 1 first, before wider release.
Neighbours you build with
Meet other like-minded, family-oriented founding members from the start.
True security, designed in.
When we care for the land, the land cares for us. When our food, water and energy are secure, families have more say over how they live, what they eat and how they raise their children. That's the cycle Elk Ridge is built around.
Food security
A permaculture food forest with a goal of 500+ plant species, plus orchards and community gardens. A 5-acre trout lake is planned and paid for by the developer. The food forest is designed to need little upkeep once established, and the gardens are volunteer-run and optional.
A licensed water source
A provincially approved water licence is already in place. Water and sewer are planned to be run by the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD), which has given first-stage takeover approval.
Energy security
A community solar microgrid is under development, for cleaner, more resilient power for homes and shared spaces. Kai can tell you where it stands.
Safety for our families
Real security starts with neighbours who know each other and look out for each other's kids. Kai leads community development and security, and preparedness is part of the plan from day one.
Wellness, built into everyday life.
At Elk Ridge, wellness isn't a gym membership. It's clean water, real food, fresh air, time outside and people you trust. Here's what's planned, and when.
- A community sauna and lounge
- A 4-acre meditation park
- Interconnected walking trails along the creeks
- First plantings of the permaculture food forest
- A school
- Sports fields
- A wellness resort hotel (subject to approvals)
- A wellness centre with state-of-the-art biohacking and recovery technology available to residents
- Private and holistic health practitioners (we're seeking partners)
- Four community parks and a village square
All amenities are planned or envisioned and are not built yet. Timing, features and phases may change. Wellness services will be offered by independent practitioners and are not medical advice or treatment claims.
Room to roam, in the warm land.
Elk Ridge sits in historic Paldi, surrounded by forest, creeks, farmland and mountains. Cowichan is known as "the warm land", with one of the warmest, mildest climates in Canada and a long growing season. It's a place of real abundance.
Step out your door onto trails for walking, hiking and biking, with ATV-friendly routes nearby. Roosevelt elk are often seen at the west end of the property, and the plan protects their migration path.
About 10 minutes to Duncan · about 15 to Lake Cowichan · 45 to Nanaimo · about 50 to Victoria
Everything the Cowichan Valley has to offer.
10 minutes to Duncan
Shops, services and everyday needs. Nanaimo is 45 minutes away and Victoria about 50.
Lake Cowichan
About 15 minutes away. Swim, paddle, fish and float the Cowichan River, a Canadian Heritage River.
Hiking and biking
The Cowichan Valley Trail, part of the Trans Canada Trail, runs through the valley. Add mountain-bike trails, waterfalls and the Kinsol Trestle.
Sunfest
BC's biggest country music festival, every BC Day long weekend at Laketown Ranch near Lake Cowichan.
Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit
Minutes away off Highway 18. A 2.3 km circuit designed by Tilke, the firm behind many Formula 1 tracks, billed as Canada's only year-round motorsport facility.
Wineries and farms
In 2020 the Cowichan Valley became BC's first official wine sub-region outside the Okanagan. Farm stands, cideries and markets all around.
Golf
Nearby courses include Cowichan Golf & Country Club, Duncan Meadows and Arbutus Ridge.
A new regional hospital
The new Quw'utsun Valley Hospital in North Cowichan, replacing Cowichan District Hospital, is expected to open to patients in mid-2027.
Schools, public and private
School District 79 public schools, plus Shawnigan Lake School, Brentwood College School, Queen Margaret's School, Sunrise Waldorf School and Montessori options.
Healing the land. Being part of the solution.
We're not just building on this land. We're caring for it, so it can keep providing for our children, our grandchildren and the generations after them.
A living food system
The food forest is planned in layers: fruit and nut trees, berries, vines, perennial vegetables, herbs and mushrooms. Our goal is more than 500 species. Each year, as it matures, it should become more abundant and need less work.
Healthy, non-toxic homes
Our design goal is homes built with non-toxic, natural materials wherever practical, planned for clean air and healthy living. Every home plan is reviewed and approved by Elk Ridge under the building scheme.
In collaboration with Cowichan Tribes
Elk Ridge has been shaped in collaboration with Cowichan Tribes, guided by respect for their traditions of land and water stewardship.
"The first multicultural community in Canada, carried forward, a century on."
Raising kids with real-life skills.
Many of us want more for our children than tests and screens. At Elk Ridge, families will have room to take their children's education into their own hands, if they choose. We envision community-led learning programs where kids learn by doing, outdoors and together.
The plan includes support for a Montessori-inspired homeschool program. And if you prefer a classroom, public and private schools are close by. It's your choice.
An adventure zone for kids. We're planning places to play right across the property: a treehouse forest, play centres, climbing areas and water play for hot summer days, all connected by trails so kids can explore safely close to home.
Learning programs are envisioned and community-led. The adventure zone is planned and subject to approvals. A school is planned for Phase 2.
- Bushcraft and outdoor skills
- Growing food, permaculture and caring for animals
- Martial arts
- Entrepreneurship: starting and running something real
- Hands-on life skills, taught by parents, elders and mentors
- Adventure play: treehouses, climbing and water play
Community by design, not by rules.
Picture community bonfires on a summer night. Outdoor movies in the park. Kids biking to a friend's place down the trail. Neighbours trading eggs, skills and stories.
Elk Ridge is a like-minded, family-oriented community, open to people of all backgrounds and beliefs. There are no lifestyle rules and no required participation. Join the gardens, events and projects as much or as little as you like.
You own your own home on your own titled lot. The one design rule is the building scheme: every home plan is reviewed and approved by Elk Ridge, whether it's one of our modular designs, a custom home by Elk Ridge, or your own design and builder. That keeps the neighbourhood feeling like it belongs together.
Ten years of groundwork, already in place.
Most dream communities never get past the idea. We spent more than ten years on the hard parts first: water, zoning and approvals, working in collaboration with Cowichan Tribes.
- Provincially approved water licence in place
- Water and sewer collaboration with Cowichan Tribes
- Zoning in place
- First-stage approval for the regional district (CVRD) to take over water and sewer
- Phase 1 (103 serviced lots): first-stage development permit approved; subdivision in its final stages
- Phase 1 tender process underway
Building a future, one phase at a time.
103 serviced lots
Serviced lots of roughly 9,000 to 12,000 sq ft, with room for a main home plus a suite. Five mixed-use parcels, parks, trails, the food forest and a planned community sauna and lounge. Completion currently estimated for mid-2028.
Founder Village
A separate neighbourhood of 35 homes for founding members, designed with their input.
School, resort & sports fields
A planned school, sports fields and a wellness resort hotel (subject to approvals).
Across the community
Four parks, a village square with local shops, cafés and wellness services, interconnected walking trails, the 5-acre trout lake and the food forest. Planned in stages.
Homes for every stage and budget.
Elk Ridge is planned for families at all income levels, side by side. Choose from multiple designs, or bring your own. Every home is reviewed under the Elk Ridge building scheme, with a non-toxic, healthy-home design goal.
Compact homes
Entry-level compact homes from $500,000.
Modular homes
Multiple modular designs available. Designs and final pricing coming soon.
Custom homes
Custom homes provided by Elk Ridge, or bring your own design and builder for our approval.
Creative pathways to ownership. Vendor financing and rent-to-own are planned for select families at a stage of Phase 1. Kai can share the details on the call. We aren't mortgage brokers, and we can't promise financing, approvals or rates.
Bring your skills. Build something here.
A community is only as strong as the people in it. We're looking for people who want to run a business or offer a service in the community: cafés and a market in the village square, wellness and holistic health practices, food growing and aquaculture, trades, childcare and teaching. If that's you, tell us in the survey.
This is about running a business or offering a service in the community. It is not an invitation to invest in Elk Ridge.
Three simple steps. No obligation.
Here's exactly what happens after you click.
Take the 2-minute survey
Tell us what you want for your family and your community. Your answers help shape Founder Village.
A call with Kai
Kai will book a call to walk you through the vision, the phases, the homes and your questions.
Walk the land, help shape it
If it feels right, join a small-group land tour and the founding member design sessions. If not, no hard feelings.
Elk Ridge may be for you if
- You want your family to live close to nature, real food and neighbours you trust.
- You want to be part of the solution: healing the land and building something that lasts.
- You'd like a say in how your future community is designed.
- You want your kids to grow up with real-life skills, room to roam and a strong community around them.
The people you'll meet.
David Salmon
David has spent more than ten years on the zoning, approvals and water licence behind Elk Ridge, working in collaboration with Cowichan Tribes. He started Elk Ridge to build the kind of community he wants for his own family.
Kai
Kai takes every founding member call. He leads community development and security at Elk Ridge and is helping design Founder Village with the people who will live there.
The honest answers.
What does it mean to be a founding member?
You get in first. Founding members help shape Founder Village, a separate neighbourhood of 35 homes, and the wider community plan through the survey and group design sessions. You'll also hear about homes and lots before wider release. It starts with a no-obligation survey.
Are there rules I have to follow?
There are no lifestyle rules and no required participation. Gardens are volunteer-run, and events are optional. Elk Ridge is open to people of all backgrounds and beliefs. To be clear, there is one design rule, the building scheme: every home plan is reviewed and approved by Elk Ridge. You can choose one of our modular designs, a custom home by Elk Ridge, or your own design and builder.
What's built now, and what's planned?
Zoning is in place, the provincial water licence is approved and the Phase 1 subdivision is in its final stages. The amenities on this page are planned or envisioned: the Phase 1 sauna and lounge, Phase 2 school, sports fields and resort, the wellness centre, four parks, village square, trails, food forest, trout lake, solar microgrid and learning programs.
How is Elk Ridge planning for safety and security?
It starts with neighbours who know each other. Kai leads community development and security, and the plan builds in resilience: local food, a licensed water source, a solar microgrid under development and preparedness planning as a community.
What do homes cost? Is it only for high-end buyers?
No. Elk Ridge is planned for all income levels. Entry-level compact homes start from $500,000, with multiple modular designs and custom homes by Elk Ridge too, or you can bring your own design and builder for our approval. Vendor financing and rent-to-own are planned for select families at a stage of Phase 1; details on the call. We aren't mortgage brokers and can't promise financing, approvals or rates.
Is there a school?
A school is planned for Phase 2. Until then, we envision community-led learning programs and support for a Montessori-inspired homeschool program, and public and private schools are nearby.
What will the wellness centre offer?
It's envisioned as a place for state-of-the-art biohacking and recovery technology, plus private and holistic health practitioners we're seeking as partners. Nothing here is a medical claim.
When could I build or move in?
Phase 1 completion is currently estimated for mid-2028. Founder Village timing will be shared on the call. Timelines are estimates and may change.
Is this a sales pitch?
No. It's a conversation about the community, the plan and your questions.
Is this an investment offering?
No. The survey and call are about joining the community, not investing. This page is informational only. Any investment in Elk Ridge is made solely to qualified parties through formal offering documents, in compliance with British Columbia and Canadian securities law. Nothing on this page is an offer to buy or sell a security.
Where exactly is Elk Ridge?
In historic Paldi, off Highway 18 in the Cowichan Valley on southern Vancouver Island.
What happens after the survey?
Kai will reach out to book a call at a time that suits you.
Get in first. Help shape Elk Ridge.
Food, water and energy security. Wellness and nature. Kids with real-life skills. Neighbours you trust. If that's the future you want for your family, start with a 2-minute survey.
Take the 2-Minute Survey →