DeeDee Anderson

Orion Tep wrote:Hey Everyone. We have 5 acres, nested up again My Rainier Natl. Forest. It would be great to connect with people who can see the gem in the rough!

Our lack of building infrastructure necessitates that anyone who visits the Sanctuary between October and March should have a van or bus that they can stay in comfortably. Spring

I see 4 ideal types on future community members.

1) Apprentices: people with enthusiasm and work ethic who are excited to learn and are comfortable living without a lot of modern luxuries.
We have growing businesses that really need more hands! There is an opportunity to learn a very wide set of skills here!

This person might not have much offgrid experience, community experience, or skills. Understanding that up front, I can offer guidance as you get oriented and comfortable.

2) A nomad/experienced offgrid/permaculture person looking for somewhere they could contribute their skills and time to and have a home base to return to for many years.

3) People who are ready to buy land but wants to learn a bit more first. This person is already financially established and can take care of themselves. They are looking for community and experience.

We might buy a piece of land together!

4) Finally, finding a romantic partner that can share this passion and help build this would really be a game changer. There is a lot of male energy here, and the Sanctuary is missing a balance of the feminine.

I believe the Sanctuary would bloom on a whole new level under the hand of a woman.

I do not see this place as a forever home for anyone, including myself. I see it as a place we come for periods of time on our journey. Maybe a month, maybe 6, maybe a year. It is possible that the right caretakers who really connect with the land could stay here a long time.

A little more information on the property:

We are 1 hour from Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia, with 300+acres bordering our Northeast.

We are 20 miles or so from the edge of civilization, yet also only 15 minute drive to a Walmart, Safeway, Fred Meyer, and public library!

The Sanctuary has been paid off and is protected in a private trust.

For many years, it was mainly just me, working away to create the foundation a community could grow on.

Now we are looking for a couple people that could really make the most out of this opportunity.

We have created several businesses that not only offer pay, but also an opportunity to learn valuable skills and options that let you do different kinds of work from day to day!

Feel free to check out my other posts for more information. I will try to condense what is most relevant here.

The Sanctuary is 100% off-grid. No running water or electricity. We are building a huge solar system right now for power! Showers and laundry are the biggest challenges. We currently use the houses of community friends.

We are getting ready to have a big metal building built which will be the community kitchen.

We have chickens, turkeys, and cats domestically and a very rich wildlife population. There are lakes and rivers within 10minut drive and 100+ ft waterfalls within an hour. The mountains and ocean are no more than 2 hours away.

I have the skills and tools to do everything from forestry/logging/milling wood, construction and building, electrical/solar systems, orchard/crop establishment and care, self-defense/martial arts, and I'm not bad with mechanics.

I offer full class tuition to employees and apprentices who want to practice martial arts.

So what I have to offer, in a nutshell is

-Land to stay in your bus, van, or camper

-Land to help grow an orchard, food forest, and homestead farm, that you might return to for many years and that will benefit the world for generations to come.

-Work and business opportunity. Not only do we have businesses and need more people. Employees usually start at 20$/he after a training period. There are also several opportunities to partner on new businesses! There is a lot of financial opportunity for people who are ready to WORK.

-Access to a huge tool set

-Educational opportunity and opportunity to gain real experience in many valuable trades, practices, and a way of life

-martial arts tuition

-an opportunity to help shape the future

What I cannot offer people:
-Housing. There are no available dwellings here for people to move into.

-A free ride. If you are not ready to work 4-6 hours 5-6 days a week, this is not for you.

-Equity in ownership. I can help you but land, but this land is not for sale in any way. However people who develop a relationship with the land and act responsibly are valued and welcome to stay.

There is A LOT of room for what's happening to expand here. This is a place where dreams manifest!

You can find  "The Sanctuary and It's Stewardship" on Facebook for more picture and information.

We as a permaculture community from Olympia, Tacoma, and Seattle are beginning to organize more and create more events locally, so come join the revolution!

We should talk. 😉👍🏽 www.carewellnesscenter.org

Mary Duncan wrote:I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has this commitment in their heart (see the Subject heading), and who is/are following through on this commitment. Also, I can't be the only BIPOC who is connected to the land. There have to be at least a few more folks like me, out there somewhere. If you know of them, please let them know of me! And as a female, I require the strong presence of at least 1 or 2 other females, of any color, in a land-based organic farm / permaculture community setting. Now that I've put this out there, I understand that the Universe will answer in the Affirmative. Maybe not through permies dot com, but somehow, it will come to pass! Peace, blessings & wise discernment.

Grand Rising and Good Morning! I am developing a nonprofit wellness center called Christlike AgroTourism for Racial Equality (C.A.R.E.) Wellness Center & Services in the PNW. I, like you, am seeking a safe and empowering space for BIPOC and allies to travel to, lodge, farm and participate in holistic therapies like yoga, meditation, martial arts, and other crafts to reconnect to Nature and God. Please visit www carewellnesscenter org for more details or contact me directly.

I arrived in Washington late 2019 for a permaculture apprenticeship with caucasians who offered a work-exchange but it turned out to be some weird dynamic of trying to exploit me, watching me work, baiting me with a promise of land to start my wellness center. Maybe some sadistic ideas of being Master even though they themselves did not earn the land they were on, I dunno. So I know the road to land ownership for BIPOC isn't easy and am more planted in communities who work to create just spaces for POC, not exploitation, egocentric privilege, or superiority complexes.

I currently work full-time for the state, volunteer with other local partners, and am fundraising for farmland to headquarter the wellness center and summer rehab program in Thurston county. I do follow and stay connected with Soul Fire Farm, GRuB, Holistic Health Farm and other small local farms and native communities, in order to broaden my knowledge base and work with other like-minded partners who focus on the growth and rehabilitation of the black community. As someone who also suffers disabilities, I've learned a lot about tools and techniques to overcome trauma and barriers in both my personal life and for the minority populations I work with in my profession. I've worked with foster youth, women in treatment, disabled elderly, inmates and disabled persons under community protection. My line of work is in behavioral health and wellness but I combine it with my love of hospitality and tourism.

Please feel free to stay connected with me. I'm currently looking for land owners who have the integrity to put agreements in writing, however creative that agreement is, and are not afraid of a person's faith in God and Enlightenment. I'm also open to board members, and grants to continue this work and try my best to create an intentional community that is inclusive, provides methods of recovery for Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, and does more work in therapy, sustainability, and community empowerment for BIPOC.

Michael Cox wrote:I'm immediately thinking about land levels. 20 acres is a large area to surround, and it is highly unlikely that you will have a level circumference to build you moat around. A series of connected pools and channels sounds better.

Have you seen the Geoff lawton video where he walks around a property he used to own in Australia. He built a series of lovely connected pools and water courses.

[EDIT: Unfortunately I can't find the video easily on youtube right now. Anyone got any clues?]

That sounds like a better description of what it is I'm thinking of trying to do. Moats seem to be just still waters anyway and I want it to be running in many places. Thanks for the insight!

BTW I dont intend to sell any of the fish directly but may cook some of the fish seasonally and sell plates. Not sure if that requires a separate license from the restaurant. I want as little gov involvement as possible but Im realizing how unrealistic that may be (SHIT!).

And by "deep enough to swim" I'm thinking 4-5 feet max. In my mind, its more like a stream with one pool section a bit deeper than the rest. Maybe if gravity is used to pull the stream down into the pool and have some system that carries the water upwards.

I realize it's one thing to have a vision of something working but another to consider what it actually takes to afford those things, which is why I'm asking for a reality check.

Dillon Nichols wrote:That article is amusing... but not meant for serious reading imo!


By far biggest worry for me would be the departments of sadness.

In my neck of the woods, I think that to avoid them it would need to NEVER be connected to fish bearing creeks, even in winter flood.

Stocking it with anything is another point that they involve themselves with... either to license or ban depending on the species.

Using the water it contains for any commercial purpose, ie a farm that sells anything, is another.

Dams are another, engineering and permits to make aure you don't build a shitty dam that washes away an elementary school when it fails...


If you are live somewhere where the cannibal hordes have consumed the office-weasels, things get simpler..


Retention is a big concern. I have clay, but it isnt bottomless, and isnt a very predictable thickness, so the larger the work the greater the risk of delving too greedily and too deep, and losing water retention as I bust through into sand or some such. More numerous smaller ponds seem safer from this perpective..

On the other hand for storage purposes a deeper pond is preferable for temp control, evap, space required, etc... going deeper becomes a calculated gamble..

Finally, it's not that hard, if you have an excavator, to dig a lot of holes/trenches. What is hard is disposing of all the stuff you dig up! For me to dig a 14ft deep pond from ground level I end up with lots more space occupied by spoil than by pond, and taking it anywhere at all will take much more time than digging it did. And in the summer that pond will only have maybe 5ft of water in it, so going shallower isn't much of an option..


All that said... a really good contour map would be a good place to start your planning, and more info would surely spark further discussion!

Thank you! That's a lot to consider and I will keep it in mind. I am trying to wrap my mind around everything included in such a process. I will start thinking about a contour map.

bernetta putnam wrote:found some good sounding instructions for this here:

https://gizmodo.com/how-to-build-a-moat-to-keep-out-the-mongol-horde-and-y-1576553570

be sure to share pictures of this adventure with us.

thank you...I also found this article and read a bit of it. 😊👍

I am gathering info about cultivating a moat/stream around 20 acres of land in Washington state and doing it as natural but efficient as possible. My hope is to farm fish there, use it for water power and make it possible to swim/play in some areas. What are some important factors to consider? What are some natural systems you can recommend using? What are some cost effective ways? What is a realistic timeframe? I welcome all ideas and experiences. Thank you!

Kyle Bob wrote:Howdy DeeDee!  It looks like your goals and ethics line up with mine and my partner's.  And our skills might be in line with your needs.  I'd like to know more about your group.

Cheers
Kyle

Howdy! 😋 Thank you for responding. I dont have a formal group yet. This ad was my first promotion and call to form such a group....testing the waters if you will. I have met many people who want to volunteer and visit and partner once the land is acquired and organized but what I'm looking for now is a team to help form the committee of investors. It is my hope that each committee member will invest a small deposit to go towards the acquisition of land and equipment, which is better than going in fully alone. I'm considering a package for each committee member: a seat on the committee managing your cohort, inclusive stay on the farm, and quarterly dividends after year 2. I can share more details with a signed NDA.

Erica Colmenares wrote:

DeeDee Anderson wrote: Tennessee is pretty cool! Will you be farming or working with bees there? Id love to have a network of friends from all over, working together.

I sure hope to have bees, though I'm trying to take things bit by bit. Right now, we're in an apartment, 40 minutes from our land. One of our awesome rural neighbors has bees, though, and is starting to figuring out the market side of that. I'm sure I can learn a lot from her!

I'm with you on networking. I want both IRL community and online community - and if they overlap, that'll be a treat!

Sounds like an adventure! Me too! I'm down for it. What are your goals/mission? When you're ready, please fill out the form at the link in the original post, that way I have your contact information.

I'm relatively new to a lot of these concepts. Though it was in my peripheral, I never was committed to participating. I'm learning so much this year! I have been backpacking/volunteering in Europe since March and am meeting so many incredible people I hope to partner with for the farm.

I've got a vision and I'm developing the business plan, but I'm hoping to connect with some good, loving souls and form a team of Eco-Avengers. Our weapon? LOVE. 😂 If we share in the costs and resources, we can realize an incredible opportunity here to link with other great partners and battle the degradation that continues to happen in our communities and our planet. I'm sure there are lots of wonderful communities out there doing great things also. What they're missing is ME! 😉😋😂