Homesteading Village

Very interesting movie!

we want to in some ways return to the older ways....and values.

I used to think quite a bit about intentional communities. My wife still talks about them often enough.

But I've decided that there is one large problem that is very hard to surmount. It is not the gummint. It is not purchasing land, growing food or anything of that nature.

The problem is people!

You guys come to a random message board (I'm speaking to you live free) asking folks to come and join your community. Do you not realize what sort of a disaster you are setting yourself up for?

Morialla, you say you want to return to "old values." All fine and dandy. But how do you know that the folks going into this community have the exact same values that you are striving for? What happens in five years when one of the charter members decides to change their values?

People are stupid. What was that movie? Men in Black? "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."

Unless you are super stringent with your selection process, and as long as everyone is totally honest with you and also sticks to the purpose; you're going to have people problems.

What happens when a situation arises that hadn't previously thought out (and they will happen)? Are you going to take a vote? If so, sooner or later you're going to get one group of people backing one idea and another backing another and they're going to be at each other's throats.

Or are you going to just be a dictatorship and your decision is final? If that's the case, keep dreaming ... you'll find a few followers but most folks are turned off by that.

In an ideal world, intentional communities are an excellent idea. Unfortunately, we live in a very far from ideal world. If you get into this and make it work, then I applaud you. You've done something that I almost deem impossible.

As for me and mine I have my "community" right here where I live now. I own my home, my friends have their's. We help each other whenever possible and we go about our daily lives. We don't tell each other what to do or how to do it, and that's just the way things were mean't to be. The whole embodiment of the phrase "Don't Tread On Me!"

If anyone thinks this is a personal attack, you're wrong. I'm just stating the facts as they appear to me.

LOL....ENOUGh with The Village....I have seen it....all three Wilderness Family Robinsons.....grew up on Dr Quinn, Medican Woman....loved the old black and white Zorro's.....and would watch Little House on the Prarie every afternoon on PBS. LOL.....this is BORN into me.

I studied historical western life....have two credits in high school for History of Native America and one for History of Celtic Ireland.

I built from scratch an Celtic hunting hut out of broken ceder limbs....and wove it together so it was water proff....did that February 2001....lasted until autumn 2004 when a bad wind storm tore it down.

LOL....

honestly though....each member will have their own land unless they opt for the appartments....most likely 1/2 acer or soo each....just depends...

just because we live in the SAME village does not mean we all agree 100%.....that is called being human....and is part of what makes us who we are.....and when we said return to old values.....I was speaking for the GROUP...lol...and the old values we already agree on....others....well those we will come to later.

Sure there will be events where we work together....and we will work annally doing matmance and stuff...keeping the commans clean.....but we will have our own home and own lives too..... I am too much a free spirit for anything else....LOL....even if I am a leader....a good leader is the SERVENT to their people.

Okay, that's some resumé there morriagiallo ... two high school credits in Native American History, impressive ... uh ...

I'm trying very hard not to sound harsh here.

The first thing that strikes me is the fact that "good" leaders don't declare themselves leaders.

The second thing that strikes me is that you want what almost every small rural town/village in the United States already has.

Correct me if I'm way off base here. But you want plain and simple community. You want to make your own town filled with people that (you think) believe in the same things as you. You want to have a town square, etc, etc, etc.

The only thing that's different is that you want to get a group of folks together move to a place and *poof* have your community, instead of joining one that already exists. I know it's hard to get your foot in the door of existing communities (I'm talking about everyday rural communities available everywhere right now), but if you work at it and don't try to take the place over -- you'll get in sooner or later.

You all think that you're going to magically make a community out of nothing in a short amount of time. I believe that you have a surprise coming. Communities take years, decades and more to become viable working entities...

Ah well, you don't want to hear this so I'm just gonna shut up.

Have fun, I wish you all the best. Be well.

The village nearby consists of:

General Store with courier pick up and send out service'

Animal Feeds

Official Post Office

Convenience Store with Gas Pumps

Renewable Energy (Solar/Windpower) Dealer

Small Engine Repair (recently left the business)

Further up the road, but part of the municipality and 'village' are:

Heavy Equipment Repair (tractors, farm equipment, etc.)

Race Car engine rebuilds

Specialty Tackle Store

2 Fishing Lodges on the lake further up

Plant Nursery

Pretty much that's the 'Village' or ventures that service the area
Clinic, small hospital, large hardware store, large grocery store, and sporting goods store, hairdresser, more gas stations, larger feed store, etc. are 10 minute drive west.

__________________
The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man.

LOL...we dont think were going to start this in a small amount of time....we know it will take alot of work to get this started.....and nor am I declaring myself leader.....they all agreed that I have a better head for researching this stuff.....and more passion.....then I turn my findings over the the "Round Table" (our councle). Here is a list of our planed building.....noteing that were starting with the homes....

1. Criosta an Ri Chapel (denomonation unclear at this point)

A small church with gothic arches, and a youth center in the “bell tower”. The center of village worship.

2. Didean Village Hall

Home of the Library, Village Records, and Village Council.
Village Council is set up “Camelot” style around the round table.

3. Criosta Acdemy

A K-12th grade school…designed for villagers and ranchers children.
Possibley a college satilite point.

4. Shadow Tara (the safe house)

A part of Shadow of the Cross, Inc.
Also to serves as the village resterant every eve.

5. Morria's Herbal Shop and Photography Studio


Morria’s stores, and a coffee/tea shop.

6. Didean Appartments

For those who wish to not to have a whole home to care for.

7. Deb's Clothing Designs

Basic clothing and Deb’s personal designs for Didean’s settlers enjoyment.


8. Clinics (Medical and Vet) and Market Square

9. Village Homes (Victorian, Southwest, and Irish Country Style)

10. Villlage Gardens
Providing food and money for the whole community

11. Graveyard

12. Barns, Ranching and Farming
Surrounds the village on all sides. Offers meat, milk, and grain for the whole community.

13. Bath Houses/Restrooms

Located out in the feilds, for use during and after a hard days work.

14. Mill

For the grinding of our own grains.

15. Metal Shop

Were we will make and repair our metal items.



There might be more we add with time....the market square will inclued the general store and the dry goods store....along with other shops of great importance.

That sounds neat. Not putting it down.

The part I don't understand - don't we already have all this in towns all across America? I don't get why your group or to-live-free's people need to build such a thing from scratch. There are 10+ towns within 50 miles of me that already have this. Seems like a lot of effort to build all this, when it already exists?

What am I missing?

--->Paul

They want it their way, right away. And there ain't a problem with that. I just hate to see folks trying to make a go at such a thing so big right off the bat. Morria has said that the only garden she has now is a few herbs.

The way I see it, folks that are trying to go full-tilt like this (apprently without much, if any, real experience) are setting themselves up for a giant fall. Now I'm not saying that you can't make this work, I'm saying that it's going to be a hell of a lot harder than you think it is.

My wife and I have been going at this one tiny step at a time for ... well, since we got married really more than 8 years ago. We've gotten off the path a couple times but we always come back to it and now we're on it to stay.

We've just taken one little step at a time. One year was learning to conserve water. One reducing dependence upon electricity. One was making our own clothing and such. Last year was our first real forays into making our own food, this summer is the first time that we'll be providing nine-tenths of our food and is the first where we've been really seriously preseving our own. One winter a couple years back was learning to heat with the woodstove, this winter it will be full-time woodstove only.

Anyways, like I said before, you don't want to hear this, I don't know why I keep replying.

And I really do wish you all the best.

And what about all the sexual deviants of the world that prey on these convenient villages????? Background checks only implicate those who have been caught...
Or maybe there are already sicko's abutting or nearby to your property and that's why its so cheap.

Paranoid? ABSOLUTELY!!!

Please do your homework on all the (stupid) people who are more than eager to join...to me it would be a huge RED FLAG!!!!

All good points an questions....

we do a screening....dont worry about that.....and as well.....500 acers....will give plunty of room away from neighbors....

ozarksnick.....you have good points and questions.....dont stop replying..... my garden is NOT small....it is just my mom, dad and I share it....in fact we have two LARGE gardens....and I have been growing friut, vegitables, and wheat off and on since I was 4 years old. Both of my parents and both sets of grandparents (and many farther back) were farmers/ranchers....so I have that knowledge and skill passed down.

rambler your not missing anything we are tired of extremly liberal ways, can't do this can't do that. i am tired of see racisim thrown arround by certain groups who say they are not racist when in reality they are. i intend to keep those bigots out of my area.

all People in Maine have any of you ever read our state Constitution?

The Farm is near Summertown, TN. Originally it was started by followers of Steven Gaskin. They had a fairly large caravan of old busses, etc. which followed him around the country while he did speaking engagements at colleges, etc. Sort of a hippy caravan. I don't want to use the word cult, but it may apply to some extent.

A purchase was made of a quite large tract of land near Summertown. At one time The Farm population was a couple of thousand, centered around the teachings/personality of Gaskin. If you wanted to join, you turned over all of your worldly goods to go into the community.

Today the population is down to a couple of hundred in very much of a gated community. You cannot get on the property except through a manned checkpoint. I believe they are now a state recognized town with a mayor/city council type of government.

I believe they have only three basic businesses out of The Farm, The Mushroom People, a small soy product plant (and, when I was there, I saw no crop production so wondered where they purchased the beans) and a birthing center out of The Clinic. A small, The Store, carries some foods and supplies. They do have a small school on a homeschooled concept.

I also saw almost no community activities, such as a market garden to feed the community. Some of the residences did have gardens, which were usually well fenced in from the deer, who are free to roam whereever.

As far as I could tell they used Summertown for their basic needs, such as vehicle repair, shopping and whatever The Clinic can't handle. The Clinic does not have a doctor on staff, but rather something more on the line of a Nurse Practicioner (sp?).

Personally I know of no intentional community which has lasted more than a couple of years in its original concept. Sooner or later they fall part large through religion, politics or sex.

As noted above, consider purchasing land outside of an already established small town with a good infrastructure.

intresting....still....it takes alot of dedication....and all.....so we will see.

And don't leave out A LOT OF MONEY. Building anything, such as your church, community center, school, outbuildings, etc. is expensive in itself. Then you are also planning on using alternative energy, which itself is very, very expensive for the electricity provided. Unless you are able to get your roads into the county system, you are not only responsible for the cost of constuction, but also maintenance and snow removal. If you plan to have large livestock, find out how many acres it may require to run a single cow/calf pair there on pasture, plus the extra required to provide winter feed for them.

My SWAG is your initial group would have to be prepared to sink at least about $1M into the project to get it started.

we have found a couple of lots of land for around 500,000 each (for about 500 acers each)....so we know kinda what amount we are looking for.... Then we will build the Shadow Tara as a comman house until other buildings are built.

Please keep us posted on your progress once you begin the endeavor.

well.... we have 70 (was 110 but needed some earily supplize)....and our own web-site www.dideanvill.com ^_^ That is my current update.

Gee, from your website you only have another $499,910 to go to buy the land (at its current price).

I recommend you seriously consider downscaling your plans. Perhaps look for about 40 acres with a large old rambling farmhouse and some outbuildings for rent. Something big enough to accommodate a couple of family groupings. 40 acres is certainly enough to have a very large garden and livestock. This will allow you to work out many of the details if it is successful enough to justify a larger venture. The house can also be your church and school.

I would also recommend it be located close enough to a larger small town so there are at least some part-time employment opportunities.

You might also want to refine your vision statement. For example, if you leave the land farrow every seven years, how do you expect to feed the group and livestock?

LOL....we have two areas run one year appart from eachother on that plan. So there will ALWAYS be graising land..... ^_^

Just out of curiousity, have you every been in MT or WY? Are you familiar with the four seasons there.

Don't give up your day job.