The mission of ant village from my perspective:
I wish to build the future of permaculture. My first thought is "entice the best people in permaculture to come here. They will influence each other and, in time, what they do will be better and better." But, of course, the reason they are the best is that they already have a rich history somewhere else. And rather than starting over, they would rather add to what they have already built.
My second thought is "then I will grow my own experts from scratch!" It might take, five, ten or even twenty years. But permaculture is about patience. People that are bonkers about permaculture could come and start to create their own patch of permaculture paradise. As the years pass, they have more and more skills. Maybe some will become natural builders, maybe some will grow the most amazing gardens, maybe some will set a new bar for animal care. And, of course, some will demonstrate a path of simplicity and peace. It is impossible to predict what will come of this project, but one can be certain that you will get nothing if you try nothing.
More about
the greater mission,
symboo,
re-husp,
gert, how a community like this might
cut a petroleum footprint 90%,
cut a carbon footprint 90% and
solve most of the world's problems.
I bought the land. I have tried hundreds of things, with the help of hundreds of people, systems have been dreamt up and polished. The ant village project runs in the red, but I do think this path will be the foundation for the future of permaculture and maybe, someday, a template for hundreds of other property owners when they choose replace petroleum and chem-ag systems with permacutlure.
The mission of ant village from the perspective of a potential ant:
Start with an acre of raw land. Build a fence, plant a garden, build a crappy shelter. Use your new skills to build a better shelter next year. In time, have a nice shelter, a magnificent garden. You have food and shelter. Optimize your permaculture systems. In time, can you feed more people? Do you have permaculture-based income streams? Is your plot so complete that there gets to be a point in time that six months have passed and you have not left ant village?
What have you learned about yourself? What skills have you built? Do you want to teach? Write? Experiment?
In aesop's fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper", the ant works hard in the summer to prepare for the winter. The grasshopper plays all summer and ends up dying come winter. The call for play is strong. And nature is rather unforgiving. We all have a bit of ant and a bit of grasshopper in us. For those that come to ant village, you learn a bit about how much ant and grasshopper is within you. And, with permaculture as a tool, perhaps the ant within you can give gifts to the grasshopper within you so that some day you can be more of a grasshopper.
A possible global perspective
Are we attempting to create something of global significance? Will this project eventually be a story for change? Natural structures, polyculture, the whole gert path. Can we, collectively, demonstrate something worth duplicating?
Pick a global issue: carbon footprint? Petroleum footprint? Toxic footprint? I think this project dramatically solves all three of these and so much more. We need to demonstrate and then document.
This official arrangement:
Each plot will be close to 1 acre (209 feet square) in size. First come, first serve. (for size reference, a typical urban plot is a quarter of an acre).
Rent is $800 for the first year, and then $800/$1600 per year after that ($1600 but there are discounts if certain conditions are met). There is a $1500 deposit.
This agreement can be terminated by either of us at any time. If either party terminates the agreement, then all improvements are owned by me (although we have made exceptions where people can sell their improvements). Typically, the improvements are passed on to future ants.
Before renting an ant village plot, a person must meet our
residency requirement. At the time of this writing, it is several months in the permaculture bootcamp. This gives you a chance to learn about us and our values and see if you like it here. This also give us a chance to learn about you.
There is a new well! Lotsa water!
There is access to a willow feeder.
Traffic on and off the lab is limited to twice per week. The ant village project is for people who strive for a lifestyle that will spend months on the land without leaving. This is not something for people that intend to be commuters. Nor for people that desire a lifestyle of frequent trips to town. During construction, it is understood to have vehicles bringing materials, but in time it is expected that access will be limited to foot traffic and non-petroleum vehicles. I like the idea of carpooling and if somebody is going into town for something, others will chip in five bucks for gas if they pick up some thus-and-such. I very much like the idea of moving to something that is pretty car-less.
I suspect that what an ant would do is:
1) build a perimeter fence to protect your growies from deer and wild turkeys. Maybe the perimeter could be a short fence on top of a hugelkultur or berm. Stacking functions!
2) build and plant a first hugelkultur bed.
3) build a winter shelter. Probably a wofati or oehler structure. Anything else would need approval from me.
4) preserve food for winter.
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