Homesteading Village

Have YOU seen the movie? It is set in the 20th century not the 19th century. The village founders tried to decieve their childern, and apparently some viewers, into thinking it was the 19th century. I still think watching 'the village' is useless for homesteading information. There are a bunch of shows on HGTV that would be far more worth watching.

If you haven't found a link for a "successful homesteading community" it's only because you don't know how to find them. They DO exist. Here are a few:

http://www.altadore.com/
http://www.abundance-ecovillage.com/
http://www.ic.org/acorn/
http://www.adidam.org/
http://aliantha.org/
http://www.pioneer.net/~alpha/index.htm
http://www.anahata.org.nz/
http://www.ananda.org/
http://www.aprovecho.net/
http://www.arcosanti.org/
http://www.bhfarm.org/
http://www.blueberryhill.org/
http://www.breitenbush.com/
http://www.bryngweled.org/
http://www.cascadiacommons.com/
http://www.cerro-gordo.org/
http://www.champlainvalleycohousing.org/
http://www.cobbhill.org/
http://www.santafecohousing.org/
http://www.dacres.org/
http://dancingbones.thevardo.net/
http://www.dancingrabbit.org/
http://www.dreamtimevillage.org/
http://www.earthaven.org/
http://www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us/
http://www.emeraldearth.org/
http://www.enocommons.org/
http://www.farmshareacres.com/
http://www.cotaticohousing.org/
http://www.g0v.org/
http://www.patchadams.org/
http://www.gocoho.org/
http://www.harmonyvillage.org/
http://www.heartwoodcohousing.com/
http://www.heathcote.org/
http://www.highlinecrossing.org/


There were many homestead communities that didn't have web addresses, only mailing addresses. Most communities are small, less than 20 members, but still successful. Some of them have over 1,000 members. If you notice this listing is alphabetical and I got tired of posting links. I only listed only a few of the many larger communities that have a specific religious philosophy. I didn't list any of the "textile-free" communities. I also didn't list any of the hundreds of communities like dideanville that were in the forming stage.

There is enormous diversity among homesteading communities. Most communities share land or housing, but more importantly, their members share a common vision and work actively to carry out their common purpose.

However, their purposes vary widely. For example, communities have been formed to share resources, to create great family neighborhoods, to live ecologically sustainable lifestyles, or to live with others who hold similar values. Some communities are wholly secular; others are committed to a common spiritual practice; many are spiritually eclectic. Some are focused on egalitarian values and voluntary simplicity, or mutual interpersonal growth work, or rural homesteading and self-reliance. Some communities provide services, for example helping war refugees, the urban homeless, or developmentally disabled children or adults. Some communities operate rural conference and retreat centers, health and healing centers, or sustainable-living education centers.

Communities make a wide variety of choices regarding standard of living--some embrace voluntary simplicity, while others emphasize full access to the products and services of today's society. Communities tend to make careful choices about the accumulation and use of resources, deciding what best fits with their core values. Regardless of the choices made, nearly all communities take advantage of sharing and the opportunities of common ownership to allow individuals access to facilities and equipment they don't need to own privately (for example power tools, washing machines, pickup trucks, and in some cases, even swimming pools).

In terms of material wealth, communities evolve like families: starting off with limited resources, new communities tend to live simply. As they mature, they tend to create a stable economic base and enjoy a more comfortable life--according to their own standards. Many established communities (20 years and older) have built impressive facilities, some of which are quite innovative in design and materials. The dollars to finance these improvements have come from successful community businesses, ranging from light manufacturing to food products, from computer services to conference centers.

Many people choose to live in community because it offers a way of life which is different, in various ways, from that of the wider society. Since living in community does not eliminate everyday responsibilities, most community members raise families, maintain and repair their land and buildings, work for a living, pay taxes, etc.

At the same time, communitarians usually perceive their lifestyle as more caring and satisfying than that of mainstream culture, and because of this--and the increased free time which results from pooling resources and specialized skills--many community members feel they can engage more effectively with the wider society. In fact, many communitarians are deeply involved in their wider community of neighbors, and often provide staffing or even leadership for various local civic and social change organizations.

wow...thanks for the info

Yes I have seen the movie... Love stuff by M. Knight Sanalong (sp?)....as good entertainment. He always has such funny twists.

Thanks for the support.

__________________
Morria Giolla

Gothic Homesteader

"Riches I heed not, nor mans empty praise, Thou my inheiritance now and always!" ~ Be Thou My Vision

Here's a few to add:

1) LEARN CARPENTRY! LOTS OF IT. (Old style, without power tools is best, given what you'll be doing & where).

2) Learn basic masonry.

3) Learn basic plumbing.

4) Take a small motors class, LEARN to maintain & repair gas & diesel motors. Basic automotive & tractor repair is good also.

5) Take a half dozen courses in cultural anthropology.... try to get ones covering how societies are organized & function. Also take one on "cults" (no, I'm not being snide... it's an anthropological term rather than a judgemental religious cahracterization of the negative sort. Some "cults" have thrived & become mainstream.... the Mormons & even Christianity itself are examples, but most fail. Social interactions & the causes of many cult's failures will be INVALUABLE to you). You're starting out with a MAJOR handicap of trying to weld diverse individuals into a new type of community & culture.... if you simply let "nature take it's course" then natural selection WILL almost certainly weed your little social experiment out. If you're concious of the processes involved, you stand a far better chance of dodging fatal pitfalls.

6) Emergency first aid.... for rattlesnake bites, firearms accidents, "cabin fever" knifings, falling construction materials, axe injuries, broken bones, "mysterious" illnesses, and so on ad nauseum. You're going to be a goodly drive away from fancy medical care, & won't have much extra money to pay for it.

7) Economics & business financial skills. TAKE CLASSES! This is for paying your mortage & making a living PLUS helping to calculate how to budget/allocate your time & resources. Better to fix old fence or build new one? Better to hunt for meat or have a member mow yards in town one weekend for money to buy meat? (Right off the bat, unless you're lucky enough to HAVE a member with metalworking skills, forget about your own metalworking shop. And unless he's a trained blacksmith with 10 yrs experiance.... forget about an old fashioned forge & stick to a generator powered arc welder & basic machine shop. Heck, even if he IS a trained blacksmith, forget about the forge..... except for making items for external sale. You'd be wasting his skills making stuff you could buy for pocket change in any hardware store).

8) Look up & memorize ALL free social services in the state you'll be relocating to..... you're going to need them.

9) Look up & memorize ALL health code & human/social services regulations in that state.... stuff like what things will trigger social services coming out & taking any minors into custody "for their protection". Living at a 19th century level or NOT providing legal schooling (varies from state to state) are examples of what can trigger this. Disgruntled ex-members (or neighbors) filing complaints is another.

10) Look up a book called "The Samaka Guide to Homesite Farming" & read it. It's aimed at tropical climates, but much of it carries over here as well. (If you can't find a library with it, or an old second hand copy at an online bookseller, go to http://www.villageearth.org/Merchant...ory_Code=98675 & buy a CD containing it plus dozens of other similar books). The foxfire series might also help you somewhat.

11) Learn to set traps & snares.... it's less thrilling than shooting something, but oftimes a more dependable source of food & varmit control. It's also cheaper, the simplest version relies on a pocketknife & a spool of either monofilament fishing line or thin copper wire (you can salvage this from thrown away wiring, just strip the insulation & seperate the strands off a decent length piece). And you can't accidentally shoot yourself or somebody else while setting a wire snare.

12) Talk to a dozen odd lifelong gardeners up in the area you'll move to. Ask them what varieties they grow, & beg a start of seed if possible (unless hybrid).

13) Gain experience with poultry. It's often more efficient to raise poulty than livestock (can butcher out smaller poundages at a time, so don't have to worry about making time to preserve excess... can feed THEM bugs, or let them forage bugs on the side without using up graze.... can run them in what equates to a fractional unit of a larger animal, thus more closely approach maximal efficiency.... can get eggs on a daily basis, good for both food & trade, etc).

14) Learn sewing skills, a patch in time can save LOTS of money on clothes (& keep your appearance, wage potential, & public image higher). So can sewing new ones from scratch, or altering non-fits rather than buying something.

Being all Christian goths & punks MIGHT give you a little social glue to hang together (religious ties rarely last well enough to keep an intentional community going, but you'll at least have a common "counter-culture" & some common core values & psychological motivations to help make up for that), but you'll need to watch out for problems once Y'ALL become the "establishment"...... half or more of such identities are simply a quasi-anarchistic rebellion against the mainstream. If your community actually gets going, y'all will BE the mainstream in it, and start having members rebelling against the community itself. There's a fine line between descending into anarchy vs an "us against the outside world paranoia" in what you're trying to do. You need to find a middle ground.

Ummmm, those are cohousing communities. Not the same thing. I've been to Blueberry Hill and I can tell they are most definitely NOT homesteading there. The few others I looked at didn't look like they were either. Nice try though.

What in the world is a Christian Goth and punk??

Most every adventure should start with the first step, to the PEACE CORP. and pick a real distant place where the villagers where no shoes. Spend a few years, then rethink your adventure. But you have to ride a Donkey to get there.

I didn't read through the entire thread,not sure where that came from or what context it was in....but I think it's a Christian person that is into the gothic or punk scene. I know that there are goth/punk/metal Christian bands...so I just assume that's what it means

And...there are intentional communities that are up and running in the USA(not to mention the ones in other countries). I don't know if they fit the criteria for homesteading Most raise their own food and are reasonably self sufficient. They're becoming more and more rare,though. It's not easy for them and some fail. Due to alot of reasons...mainly unreasonable goals or lack of interest beyond the planning stage. Money also comes into play...

__________________
When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee ~ Isaiah 43:2

For me, I would never want to be under someone elses rules and regulations. I've got enough from our government (and you will still have to follow those rules too). For me, living rurally was to be more SELF sufficient.

I haven't read very much of the thread or your website but good luck to ya! You are going to need it!

I totally understand those of you who dont want to be part of something like this. The site will be supplied with out side work. And it is NOT totally 19th centery living standerd or 17th or Middle Age. We're post modern!!!

__________________
Morria Giolla

Gothic Homesteader

"Riches I heed not, nor mans empty praise, Thou my inheiritance now and always!" ~ Be Thou My Vision

How so?

I would also recommend that you also try to leaen everything that you can using solar, wind and geothermal. These are available almost everywhere in some form. If you do find a property with a stream of river, there are a variety of ways that you can generate hydroelectric power. Try for the goal of producing more power than your community uses.

With so many skills to learn, you should divide them amoung your group rather that trying to learn everything yourself. Many of the homesteading communities welcome visitors to give you a chance to see an actual homesteading community. Check out the dancing rabbits site. I think this may be a community that you might want to visit.

Hey thanx. Encourgagement is a help. We are going to devide up. My husband to be is studying the engery issues. ^_^ Wind will be a big one as we are in KS.

__________________
Morria Giolla

Gothic Homesteader

"Riches I heed not, nor mans empty praise, Thou my inheiritance now and always!" ~ Be Thou My Vision

They should double up on skills as well, making sure that every person learns several skills AND that every skill is learned by several people.

Otherwise, all it takes is one defection... or injury or illness..... to put the whole project at risk.

Another idea is to attend some of the seminars put on by groups like Real Goods (go to http://www.realgoods.com/ & follow the link to their spinoff "Solar living institute"), dealing with such topics as alternative construction (rammed earth, strawbale, wattle & daub, etc) & off the grid energy systems.

Assuming none of your members will want to take the time it takes to do a Peace Corps stint, as an alternative you might see if you could attract someone with Peace Corps experiance. They put most of them through a very useful training program.

Finally! I tried to quote this no less than 7 times unsuccessfully and this web site has been so slow last night and today about 5min for posts to register could not even get on the site completely and have it work at all with out googling it., It is my day off and normally I would have 100 posts in by now LOL... It hurts to laugh I played volly ball 4 hours yesterday at a battery barbecue first time I palyed in 2 years my team one 8 and lost 3 we would have won all but the other team had to get a 6ft3 replacement from another task force to beat us (I am pretty competitive!) I was diving for the ball and must have bruised my ribs today my fingers are sore and a few places ache I shoudl have stretched better first. Anyway I just watched the village a few weeks ago one of my battle buddies loaned it to me said it was right up my ally. Though I want my kids to experience what is out in the world they will get a good education and be grounded in the homesteading skills that are really important at home as their primary experience. As long as someone has the ability to feed their selves they are free. Well I was just looking at to live free's posts as garden ear suggested that we have alot in common and I came upon this old thread I Have not read it all but I was struck by similarities to recent discussions LOL it is like de jau vu? I guess history really does repeat it's self, I wonder if any of these people have started a community still moving toarwrds one or are in one now? I hope this site works it's slowness out to bad it had to happen on my day off now I will not hit 10,000 posts this year! LOL

__________________
marching to the beat of a different drummer

Check out the Centre for Alternative Living, in Wales. The 200 or so, that run the place, live there.

Or maybe it alternative technology...

Thanks everyone....were still working slowly towards.

__________________
Morria Giolla

Gothic Homesteader

"Riches I heed not, nor mans empty praise, Thou my inheiritance now and always!" ~ Be Thou My Vision

Just for your 'inspiration'..... this is a group of SERIOUS Christians. About 35 families that started this place 16 yrs. ago. (I remember 1989 they only had a pole barn! Just shows what you CAN do with the right folks and plan!

http://www.homesteadheritage.com/

It's now open to the public twice a year, and they have all kinds of displays, and a deli, meat business, and educational materials and crafts on sale all during the year. It makes you feel REALLY good to go there and be around these people. (They're the only For Real Christians, I've ever met!!! They're faces actually glow!!

(Two of them were my neighbors just before they moved out there in '91.)

__________________
"TIMSHEL"
Spoiler ALERT: For those of you who've never read Steinbeck's "East of Eden".... timshel means "thou mayest".

I would love to go there and visit, just goes to show it CAN be done!!! :baby04:

That looks like a really NEAT place! A lot of hard work has gone into that.

Kathleen