Lafayette Morehouse

A free-love commune that focuses on sexual experimentation and pleasurable lifestyles

1968 - present

"We tell people that all the houses here are purple so that there is no mistake that one has changed realities should they wander onto our property."

Lafayette Morehouse is a community-based intentional living and learning center located in the Bay Area of California. It was founded in 1972 and is a place where people come together to live, work, and learn based on the principles of non-violence, equality, and mutual respect.

The Lafayette Morehouse community is structured around shared living, work, and educational programs and operates on a consensus-based decision-making model, which means residents are encouraged to participate in community life and contribute to the running of the center. There is a focus on sustainable living practices, and the community aims to create a supportive and fulfilling lifestyle for all members.
One of the most noteworthy aspects of the Lafayette Morehouse is their dedication to "responsible hedonism," through which members conduct sexual experimentation, embrace lives of pleasure, and teach courses about their research. They are best known for their sexual exploration and drug use, causing them to often get labeled as a "sex cult."

Religion: Non-Religious

Founder: Dr. Victor Baranco

Founded: 1968

Location: Lafayette, California, USA

Also called: The Purple People

Drug Use

The Lafayette Morehouse allegedly gives students LSD and other drugs (source)
In 1994, founder Dr. Victor Baranco was charged with LSD possession (source)

Unique Sexual Practices

Lafayette Morehouse members staged a public demonstration of a woman climaxing for three hours, based on the techniques she learned at the commune. Afterward, audience members had sexual relations with each other (source p. 240)
Members practice free love and polyamory (source, source)
The Lafayette Morehouse allegedly encourages prostitution (source)

Other info:

The Lafayette Morehouse community has purple houses and cars so that people know it is a unique place (source)
Members practice "responsible hedonism" (source)

Other tags:

Communal

Short documentary on the community

Description of their work/study program