How an Off-Grid Project went Very Ugly

I post this as a cautionary tale of an off-grid collaboration that turned nasty, vicious and downright ugly. It's an example of how NOT to do this.

Phew.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/communal-living-chickens-acrimony-1.6384442

Wow.

I hate to be a Judge-y McJudgeypants but from the posturing in the pic as well as the name 'The Grid Pickers' I could already smell the shenanigans, lol. Although it is a musical act so truly it's not a bad band name.....although I am thinking of the grid in The Matrix. I'll bet the fam was wondering at times if they were dreaming or if this was what their dream had really become.

I hate to say it but you really need to know people in an 'in person' way before you co-mingle resources and entangle your life in a permanent way. It's fine to meet a jillion people and share ideas, and you may generally like a lot of them. But to know if they tend to become violent with other people or anything similar, you need to be around people for a while to really know that and other things. It sucks to even have a neighbor that is violent or paranoid but to co-own with them would be a nightmare. You can't always control who is around you but when you can choose, try to choose wisely (easier said than done) and put some protections in place for in case things spiral into grid pickin' plumb nuttiness.

Looks like it ended OK, sold for 15k over what they paid for it a few years prior...too bad they probably wasted it on attorney fees over petty bickering. Hopefully they split the profit and learned a lesson though!

Nature is wild, and I observe conflict between plants, animals, and insects daily, so naturally it'll be present among humans even in the most pristine settings.

Tossing chicken carcasses in a river doesn't seem very smart. I don't eat meat, but can think of about 101 different, more productive uses for a chicken carcass than throwing it into a clean water source...so I think maybe these people have some evolving to do before jumping into another "off-grid-back-to-nature" lifestyle.

Written legal agreements/leases, etc. - as annoying as all that might be, are important things to consider when getting serious about co-mingling these days it seems. It feels good to just simply "trust" people and our dreams, but doesn't hurt to have a laid out foundation of understanding in case disputes get to a level where people are threatening violence.

Also, nothing wrong with being prepared to defend oneself from violence, and make that known to others as well...most other creatures express some level of potential defense whether it's simply being outspoken and confident, or wearing a hunting knife on your belt? Well, fainting goats have a unique tactic lol...and sheep use herd mentality but many of us are rather alone out there.

Animals can't really rely on a police force to arrive exactly when needed, kind of like a human living out in a rural area.

It's all peace, love, and hippie farts...til it's not!