Miles Flansburg wrote:Howdy Jesse, I have been following the website for a while now, Looks like things are growing fast. Do you know if they are still looking at other communities in Arizona, Wyoming, and Idaho? Any updates on those areas?
Do you know of any Utah residents who have started youtube channels? Links?
We've just made an offer on
enough land in AZ to build our 2nd off-grid community.
As soon as we get the county's blessing, we'll announce it's location. And, fortunately, we got the approval to drill all the
wells we need.
There are a few things we plan to do differently, having gained some wisdom from our first community:
One challenge we faced in Utah that we want to correct up front in AZ was that
a few of the families joining had the mistaken belief that we were like other "intentional communities" and that all decisions were to be made by everyone voting on every topic (a sure-fire recipe for drama and incessant delays, believe me!). This is not the case with our co-op. A cooperative is a business, not a town hall or an HOA. The county and state governments are our governments (and they already have created PLENTY of laws for us all to follow).
Now, shareholders do have a very important role in the governance of the co-op -- selecting the board members. Residents have the responsibility to elect to our board the most skilled people in business, so that the co-op can prosper as a group and we all as individual households.
Given that our shareholders tend to be highly self-reliant movers-and-shakers,
spontaneous social organizations will and do arise when the need does. For example, at Riverbed Ranch, Utah, an impromptu "Rescue Rangers" group formed to help stranded residents stuck in the mud resulting from our unusual and VERY wet Winter. No government needed! In fact, very frequently we have shareholders who organize group buys to save everyone money on
gardening or building supplies. One even found a source of FREE insulation panels for all our passive-solar homes! We're confident our AZ shareholders will follow the same pattern.
Back to AZ. As part of the process, applicants to join our co-op will be asked to write up their "Self-Reliance History" -- a description of your life's journey as it pertains to your efforts to achieve greater self-reliance (whether that's through gaining skills,
gardening, canning, animal husbandry, homeschooling, preparedness efforts, homesteading
experience, entrepreneurship, or the like).
Whether or not you end up applying, pondering and writing up such a description will help you feel good about what you've been able to accomplish in that department. You may want to start pondering the subject now and make a few notes to remind you when the time comes to write it up. And, if you do apply,
it will help us get to know you better and how you'll add to the success of the community.
Realize that
going off-grid is a significant lifestyle change. You will really want to know that this is what you're supposed to be doing, which will give you the strength to keep going if and when things get tough. Because, from experience, we know things break, vendors let you down, and the fearful cause drama. But, on the bright side, there's nothing like the feeling you get when you finish a big project like putting in a septic system, or powering up your
solar system! Self-Reliance is an empowering way of life.
One last thing, in our enthusiasm and desire to offer the benefits of an off-grid lifestyle to anyone who wanted to join our Utah community, we discovered
it was a mistake for everyone involved to allow people to join who simply could not afford to do so.
The LAST thing we want is for some lovely family to get stuck -- unable to proceed and unable to go back. Therefore, we're tightening up the financial requirements for those who apply to join either our Arizona or Utah off-grid communities.
You will need to have sufficient assets to get all your infrastructure in place within a few months of joining. This includes your
solar power system, your septic system, your water well, and a
greenhouse. Your share in the co-op (which gets you your acreage) along with your infrastructure, will likely run you about $90k. Most of us joining the Utah community had to
sell (or get loans against) our existing homes in order to do this.
You can live without a house, but you can't live without water and food!
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