Hello folks. I was going to respond to some of the amazing offers here on this forum but realized there are so many and everyone has a specific need, desire or plan.
So rather than send out 100 feelers, emails and responses I decided to post my own
thread and attempt a one on one contact with a like minded individual with similar ideals and desires.
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Who we are:
Married Couple, No Children (All Grown and on their own) None living with us or even close (Besides 2 Cats).
We are Eco Friendly / Green, Herbal Remedies, Organic Food and Off Grid Minded. Me 50 Yrs Her 43 Yrs.
We are both internet savvy, I am Internet research inclined, She is a book worm and we both are educated (meaning grads with 2 or more years higher education).
We are both Christian faith (I am a minister *Celtic Christian and she is a devoted wife and gifted with discernment)
I
should note Celtic Christian meaning post St Patrick (Christ 1st) with a strong emphasis on nature gatherings, meditation in the thin places, stewardship to the
land and helping our fellow man.
We are not bible thumpers, we tend to agree to disagree with a humble and gentle spirit and our purpose is to share our core beliefs, listen to others beliefs and coexist in harmony without prejudice or judgement.
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Our current living situation:
We have been living in a RV for aprox 15 years 13 of them traveling from east to west enjoying life together and on a informal personal mission for CMA repairing old dilapidated churches around the US in trade for a place to park, electricity and fellowship. We enjoyed that time immensely however realizing we are not getting any younger started to seek
roots and a community where we could help others and live out our years.
We decided that Utah was a good place (at the time) seeing how many residents have a propensity toward preparedness and the rural farming communities have a great deal of people with open hearts and minds.
Over time however we discovered that unless your a part of the larger LDS community or willing to convert many (not all) tend to drift away and isolate you. This not only made unhappy but also tends to eliminate the ability to allow your roots to grow and any development of a self sustaining community very difficult without the backing of
local elders of the established religion.
We did find a loving and faithful church here but we encountered the same resistance to preparedness based on "God will provide our every need".
Without getting into a very deep discussion regarding beliefs I will just say my personal beliefs do not encompass manna from heaven should a natural disaster occur. I am a strong proponent of being prepared and I think I have a well founded opinion as demonstrated by our Governments response to Katrina.
I also feel it is our duty as Christians and human beings to be good stewards of the land, prepare for eventual storms and help others to do the same as we can.
My wife and I are now convinced we need to make a change so this is why I am making this post.
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Our change in the making:
Both of us are willing to relocate anywhere in the US to homestead a off grid self sustaining community. We have looked at land around the country and have seen many areas that would do nicely, what we have also discovered is that most areas are rural (and we love that) however we would have to change our lifestyle and knuckle down for a time to get a parcel of land paid off as well as adapt to the local community regarding income.
I have been a contractor for 30+ years and currently operate my own handyman service here in Utah for the last 2-3 years while my wife works for a local hotel doing house keeping. We learned while on mission to live for as little as $10.00 a day and we require very little to make us happy. This allows me to extend generous discounts to the elderly and help in my way, assist needy when we can as well as travel liberally around our area and work at my own relaxed pace.
Basically we work to live we do not not live to work. Although we have been making modifications to our lifestyle to accomplish what we desire it occurred to me through reading many posts here and on other forums that many people who are in the rat trap of life have a desire to have a emergency prepared fall back location / retreat however they do not have the time or tools to do this.
We on the other hand have the time, tools and desire but have not spent our lives nest egging or purchasing land.
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Where is this post going:
We would be willing to relocate anywhere in the US and build, maintain and tend a emergency fall back location / retreat from the ground up or join a existing community and assist in its future development.
We do not need a funded income to sustain us as I stated we have learned long ago to live on little and between us both we are capable of working in small communities in a self employed fashion or service based industries.
*Larger metro areas withing 30-60 miles simply make it easier to acclimate and reestablish income.
Our immediate need would simply be a place to park the RV and a property owner willing to make a written agreement outlining the expectations.
I am a believer in the human spirit and hand shake but I am also a realist and know that untimely death can change things, that said I am wise
enough to be sure we do things in writing so I do not invest a few years prepping for you and investing my blood, sweat and tears to have the next of kin attempt to pull the carpet out from under us.
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What we can offer:
I have 80% of the tools needed to build or maintain a property (-20% being specific items or heavy equipment)
I have
experience not only in construction but I have camped or lived in a RV for most of my life and have practical knowledge of mini septic systems,
solar power, rain collection,
water filtration / purification, foraging / gathering and reclaiming discarded materials for reimplementation.
I have expedience as well in earth bag and
straw bale construction as well as aquaponics and hydroponics and
rocket stove mass heating.
My wife is primarily a care giver and house keeper but assists me on large projects and truth be told she learned more by watching me and assisted better than any helpers I ever hired and attempted to train so she is not only the love of my life and wife but my helper on large projects and doesn't mind getting dirty or living naturally.
We are both awesome cook's (I am the primary baker *Fresh Breads and snacks / She experiments and does most main courses and is a avid cooking show watcher
online and via local programming).
We both prefer cooking from scratch and 90% of our diet is organic as time / local supplies allow.
Neither of us have any immediate medical conditions (I have a hyper active thyroid that has been under control through diet and herbs for over 10 years eliminating the need for prescribed medication) but both come from families who have had diabetes and heart conditions making us more aware of the importance of eliminating processed foods and early signs. This knowledge and awareness has also helped us to care for or assist others with similar problems...
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Our idea of the perfect opportunity:
A land owner living on or close to a piece of property where we can build a partial subterranean structure often refereed to as a hobbit home. Earth bag construction beneath the surface reinforced with a re-bar stucco interior and straw bale construction above ground approximately 2-4 feet (Straw bale offers superior insulation *R-58 and above vs. earth bag but earth bag offers stronger resistance to shifting earth and natural disasters).
The low profile offers improved protection from looters in a SHTF scenario and a living roof combined with reflective tubular daytime lighting and
solar panels aid in the need for electricity as well as nourishing the interior aquaponics green house. The living roof also has a camouflage effect to lesson the likelihood of aerial detection.
Interior heating accomplished by use of the
rocket stove mass heating system allowing comfortable heating in the colder climates at a reduced rate of consumption with the side benefit of no smoke detection and zero to negligible emissions. Modified swamp cooler for summer temperature control combined with natural earth temperatures to achieve a stable interior growing environment year round.
Separate Grey and Black water septic systems to better utilize waste water reclamation and conservation as well as rainwater harvesting to backup and reduce well water needs and alternative supplies should tainting become a issue.
I have been researching and experimenting with all of the above techniques for many years and although opinions may vary from one person to another I believe this plan would allow a year round supply of fish and vegetables easily (for day to day consumption) for a small or large community (obviously planned to size based on community numbers) while allowing them to stockpile with canning, dehydrating and freezing techniques for a emergency.
With
solar power and this type of heating system I am also convinced that with a fair supply of seasoned
wood the same community or small family could easily live comfortably for a year or more in a catastrophic condition without being easily detectable in a SHTF scenario.
In a "IDEAL" situation a owner with land and materials would barter a written agreement to trade our labor, experience and tending of this retreat for his / her family to receive regular supplies of organic fish and vegetables and peace of mind knowing their emergency
shelter is ready to occupy if and when the time comes. The owner would also benefit from a natural area to retreat for vacation, meditation and relaxation while my wife and I live our dream.
Our only requirements would be a survivorship clause in our agreement should untimely death occur to the owner so we are not ousted by next of kin after all our hard work and the ability to include a small chapel in the community plan for meditation, weddings and community gatherings. The chapel would be close by but not close enough to allow the retreat from being easily associated or detected and may even be located in a nearby driving distance in a small town or community. (This is our desire as I am a minister and that comes first in my life but I do realize it would not be prudent in planning on a small parcel of land vs. 50 aches or more as a example)
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Closing comments:
I realize this was a bit lengthy read and apologize for that however I do believe in transparency, covering all the bases and attempting any way I can to try and find a good fit for us and the prospective reader who may find this to be something they are seeking. I realize many people have money but no time and we have time and little money so this lengthy post is designed to try and find a good match so I went a bit above and beyond in describing what we want and what we are willing to give.
We are also open to care taking of a property, farm, elderly or assisting a retired person or couple if you have the need. We tended my wife's father and mother throughout their last years with diabetes and associated medical conditions such as dialysis. We are no strangers to hard work, compassion and a willing to help those in need and our needs are few and open to negotiation on compensation whether it be cash, barter or trade. What we wish to accomplish in the years to come is outlined in fairly good detail above and if you can help us realize our dreams we would gladly try to help make your life considerably more comfortable in exchange.
If you have a preparedness community in the making or existing community and would like a couple devoted to spiritual well being and harmony and in need of a handy person to keep things maintained and improving please do drop us a email as well and see if we can make a good addition. All emails or posts will be responded to as quickly as possible (We do work and are active in our community but check our messages often).
Feel free to ask any questions on your mind.
Thank you for reading.