Hi, we don't post often but yall have been a constant source of wisdom for us this last decade. Thank you.
tl;dr: The wife and I run an increasingly
sustainable, 5 acre homestead, eventually open to a
intentional community of artists and hermits, but also campers and events. My brother, tired of succeeding in corporate culture, wants to join us but wants to greatly expand the scope of the
project. Looking for proof-of-concept testimonials, social contract must-have's, warnings in regards to scalability or hints that we might take advantage of. Eventually, come Spring, we'll be looking for on-site, long term assistance.
For the last 8 years, my wife and I (30's) has been working to convert our 5 acres into a sustainable homestead, centered around a pavilion available to rent for the multitudes of peoples who purchase our goats. We will eventually open it to homeschool groups, birthday party rentals, and nerd nights, dotted with tiny homes available to rent, and worked by us and whatever hermit or
permie that needs a place to get away that season. But now, my brother, a structural engineer thats been living in the heart of the
city for the last couple years, wants to get back to the country. He is in the process of acquiring 350 acres, including some mountain hollers, running creeks, a pair of peaks with great views and a back slope perfect for livestock. He wants to convert a couple dozen acres to campsites, maybe a couple treehouses, all around a new mountain reservoir. He wants to put the homestead and a
solar farm on the back end while putting the rest in a timber rotation or divided up for hunting leasing. I'm here to find the benefits of opening such a property up to a landshare and/or intentional community from the get-go, and to find those that would be interested in helping us make that happen.
At this acreage and with this many potential partners, we're out of our element and any direction would be welcome. We're re-scrolling over past posts but any particulars or outside material would be greatly appreciated. Also, we're going to be large
enough to qualify for grants and tax breaks if we do this right. How do we do this right? haha
Finally, if this comes together, we would need workers to help build the community, those with practice tending homesteads and relationships, but also those with the passion and open-mindedness of youth. This would be perfect for someone active in the lifestyle who wants to branch out and shape their
retirement home based on
experience, or a young person who wants to build a new kind of future, and something to return to when they find a family. We have enough
land to build a central village and/or to partition off small plots along the ridge, so there are plenty of option. However, an expanded homestead cuts into the timbering revenue and eliminates the hunting stream so we will also need investors and/or outside income. We are open to a purchase/rent/lease/barter, again, there are plenty of options. This is also where that experience comes into play as this is beyond our original plan and our research is ongoing.
4-5 additional households is probably the limit.
Thank you and thank you again.
J&K
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