Richard Arzdorf

I'm a boy out on a good chunk of juniper woods by Williams/Grand Canyon. Best place on earth. 4 seasons, epic critters, diverse landscapes. Rad. Been slowly building structures and putting together better food production. County codes let us get away with tons. Looking for someone who wants to share the life. Start a conversation.

Everyone needs a home

I have been fighting the good fight with a non-profit organization I created, which is basically going to be giving away land for homesteading within a community setting. This is all well and good, but as a non-profit, I am finding it difficult to A) Get enough time to actually build and organize the non-profit and the actual infrastructure on our land, while still being able to pay bills and taxes, etc... and B) Get more than just the community-oriented crowd involved. A lot of sustainable, permaculture minded people are private, or simply prefer to control all aspects of their land and home personally.

That being said, besides our big, weird, non-profit homesteading project out in Navajo County  http://www.theedeninitiative.altervista.org , I have started a small land company! We finance everyone, and are entirely flexible. No fees, no useless properties. I believe everyone should have a good plot of land to call home, without it costing 30 years of pay just for the dirt. It's aimed at getting useable land into the hands of people who's dream it is to plant and build and grow. I wanted to post here, because I LOVE permies.com, and the forums here have lent MUCH inspiration and information to my own permaculture paradise . This is for all the people here who just want to be happy, and make happiness around them.


I hope we can get everyone off-grid, on their own land, utilizing sustainable energy and permaculture to flourish!

Off-Grid Land

Yes, actually. We have basically spread across the entire northern part of the state, with large acreages along I-40 from Yucca to Sun Valley. Getting our legal non-profit status nailed down is a big priority right now. Tweaking our designs, building backyard prototypes and gathering a following of interested and involved people has been the activities lately.. It's really down to getting paperwork squared away for permission to build, now.. Our first actual community site has changed to Sun Valley, because it's much flatter, more accessible to people (being just a couple miles off the interstate), and much larger at 20 acres. Check out our facebook page and our website.

www.facebook.com/TheEdenInitiative1

www.theedeninitiative.altervista.org

HA! very much so- actual construction will start this fall, when the monsoons settle down and it cools off a bit. Biggest thing this fall are planting the desert hedge and prepping a desert food garden, and building the fences. The first acre will not require any mechanical grading, so we will be building there first. But the hill will need an equipment operator to fix a bit. That will need to wait until we finish the lawyerly stuff.... Check us out on Facebook at "The Eden Initiative" for more info and updates. We would love to have the support!

I found all of that in Arizona! Having a great time. Cheap, fun, accessible, usable land. Good climate, good people. My county pretty much just wants to be informed about whats going on - not many restrictions at all! I think I need a permit to build towers over 30' tall, but that's about it (that will be important in my plans, why I mention it)... Plus I am fascinated with the geology of the area, and the wildlife is amazing. All around, its where I want to raise my family.
Now find your own state!

This is our spread so far.... its really unique. The hill is about 50'-60' above the surrounding desert.

The subdivision is in Graham County, AZ. No waiting period, no bidding, easy peasy. There are about 180 parcels in that subdivision alone, and I have a few others in other parts of Arizona I am working on as well. The Graham County area is such a gem because the 1+ acre parcels are on really neat hills, lots of terrain to them. I can find flat lots all over....
They're not for sale, the lots are mostly owned by one bankrupt company, and the taxes are owed back 10 years or more for some. Works out to between $850 for the flat (slightly flood zone) 1.07 acre parcels to $1200 for the big 1.5+ acre hill lots. We are looking at doing this in many places. Eventually we hope to subdivide a large agricultural tract and produce more food than before, while providing housing for many, many families.
We would love to have support! I am already a registered investor in the county, so I can just buy liens whenever I want. We could really use a real estate agent or someone who is better with buying out individuals who pay their taxes but will never use the land. Individuals have already successfully re-zoned their lots with the county, so our intentions of doing the same after acquiring the most we can easily and reasonably afford will be assured. I have lots more info.

Doing good so far- we own 10 acres on 6 legal parcels. Still hoping people might want to be involved, such an exciting time, wouldn't want to have it all to ourselves!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Eden-Initiative/428186137344036?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

We are going to operate as a non-profit corporation, with the organization owning and leasing the land (at nothing except the cost of property taxes, divided by # of households), and the ownership of the structures will be private. Seems like a good balance, especially since land "ownership" is an imaginary concept. We all just rent here anyway

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Eden-Initiative/428186137344036?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

Trying to keep the word circulating..... Extremely achievable and immensely potent Project to enhance and sustain the lives of many!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/128662422/the-eden-project-phase-1