Anarchy in the Four Corners

I've posted about this before, on this forum and elsewhere, but so far nobody has actually taken me up on my offer. I could just bump the previous thread, but in the past couple years I've had time to reconsider how I'm trying to pitch this. And I've decided I'm not gonna try to hide my political angle anymore. I've seen other posts here, from the other end of the political spectrum, being coy about their allegiances and that annoys me. So I'm just gonna be up front about it. I'm hoping to establish an experimental anarchist community. If you're a right-winger, you can stop reading this thread right now, go live your life and if you don't bother me I won't bother you. If you're a communist, you're welcome to co-exist here, but I don't believe in centralized authority so be prepared for a potential conflict of ideals. And regardless of any political labels, you should know in advance, that if I were hypothetically living in 1930s Germany, I would absolutely hide a few Jews in in a secret room somewhere, consequences be damned. If you're not down with that, this place ain't for you.

So, qualifiers out of the way. I have managed to convince the United States Government that I am the legal "owner" of approximately 70 acres of stolen land, in the area now known as Southwestern Colorado. This is far more land than I could ever reasonably make use of by myself. I don't particularly believe in the concept of private property, but my only other option would be paying rent to a landlord, so criticize me if you want but this decision makes sense to me. In case it matters to you, I got the money in exchange for my labor, I didn't just inherit it.

I wish I lived in a world where I could just invite people here, with absolutely no conditions or strings attached. But I'm pretty sure that doing so would expose me to some legal liability which I'm not willing to accept. So in the interest of clarity, anyone who takes me up on my offer will be legally considered my "guest" and not a "tenant" (which I think, in the scheme of things, is fair because I'm not charging rent). Day to day, I promise I'm not going to make a big deal about that distinction. It's only relevant if the authorities come knocking.

Also worth clarifying, especially for those who have no clue what anarchism means, is that I'm not offering to take responsibility for your needs. That's up to you. I don't want to start a commune. All I'm offering is to give you legal cover to access to some land, and you can do what you want while I stay out of your way.

If you do end up coming here, and you have an idea for some project we can collaborate on which will benefit both of us, I'm all ears. But even if we have wildly different ideas about how to "live off the land," we'll both benefit from having a somewhat like-minded person living nearby in case of emergency response, or just if we need an extra set of hands to move a heavy object or something.

If you're familiar with this type of project, one of your first questions will probably be about building codes and similar regulations. I'm happy to report that in the specific jurisdiction my land is in, these things are virtually non-existent.

Quick answers to some questions I've gotten elsewhere:
- pets are welcome, but be warned that there is a large pack of coyotes that live on my property, lil bud's gotta be well protected or be able to fend for itself
- I'm supportive of hunting for animals that you eat, but I take firearm safety extremely seriously and will ask that you keep your guns locked up if you're not actively using them
- I can't express how much I wish this wasn't an FAQ, but people of any ethnicity or gender (yes, including more than just the traditional two) are welcome here

I'm more than happy to answer any questions in this thread if they might be relevant to others reading. If you want to know more specifically where my property is, or something else that I wouldn't want to post publicly on the internet, please PM me, and if you don't seem like a crazy person I'll be happy to send you more details.

I'm unfortunately not a candidate at this point in my life, just wanted to reply to say this seems cool and you seem cool and if there was a thumbs-up emoji I'd put one here.

I'm certainly in favor of more open experimentation and shared learning around co-operative living & land stewardship across a broad range of forms & functions. Curious to see where this leads, and thanks for opening it up here.

There's a big omission in this invitation, at first glance, which is how is the sanctioned 'guest' list maintained over time? What/who determines whether others can continue to stay on site, if their conduct raises issues and obstacles for others there? One of the main functional reasons for legal property rights is to ensure some sort of due process and fair compensation for people who devote their energy/resources to establishing a home, if later pressured out of it. What serves that purpose in this scenario, and/or prevents you the legal owner from exploiting well intentioned participants that add unsecured value to your land?

I am guessing that since the OP is offering use of land at no cost, then there would be no obligation by anybody to compensate anybody else who has made improvements and subsequently been asked to leave.
There being no obligations in any direction.
I think this is the way of anarchists.

I have spent 20 years of my adult life in two intentional communities on rural land, of quite different designs and visions.  Both of the blew up in my face, rather spectacularly in retrospect, and sent me down the road.  That said, I still believe in the ideal, and often ponder what it would take to make it work.  One of my regretful conclusions is that mainstream society, with its rules, private property, money, and so on, was not just evolved in the interests of profit and domination.  Partly it was evolved to keep us out of each others' hair.  The biggest lesson I learned from all those years is that it can actually be easy, and fun, and sometimes even profitable, to "do all the things" on land....grow food, build shelter, create energy and water and waste systems, all that.  But there are bits around getting along with people that come up and usually crash the project every time.
   A vision like yours will not attract the average person.  It will attract the desperate and the egotistical.  It takes one or the other of those qualities (or both!) to be motivated enough to make the jump from a mainstream life into a project like this.  The tighter you organize it around collective living and working, the quicker it will explode; if you design it as a loose collection of mostly independent homesteads, it might take longer....but sooner or later conflict will arise over something or other.   Someone's dog will kill someone else's animals. Someone will have an issue with another one's noise, smell, lights, substance use, road use, or whatever (again, it happens quicker the tighter the settlement).  Sexuality happens. Addiction happens. Crime happens.  The larger and more diverse the community is, the more likely many or most of the problems of mainstream society will eventually show up there.
     And of course it is the tighter designs, where people are living and working together, where the real advantages of community shine...collective ownership, self-insurance, and the motivation and camaraderie of shared vision.
     There are places that are making it work.  I highly recommend studying them, maybe even visiting a few to catch a vibe.  The website ic. org is a good place to start.  Good luck!

Alder Burns wrote:I have spent 20 years of my adult life in two intentional communities on rural land, of quite different designs and visions.  Both of the blew up in my face, rather spectacularly in retrospect, and sent me down the road. . . . there are bits around getting along with people that come up and usually crash the project every time.

My experience was somewhat similar. In theory it's great but the reality much more challenging. Something that really resonated with me was reading Paul Wheaton's Permaculture Thorns: A Book About Trying to Build Permaculture Community. He offers fantastic insights to this challenge. I recommend everyone interested in intentional community read a copy. (It ought to be in every IC's library!)

Oh dear, haven't had to use my moderator hat for ages.

This thread has wondered too far into the cider press several times.  It is now locked.

Feel free to start a new thread in the cider press
https://permies.com/t/31128/category-cider-press