I’ve finally found myself in the process of securing land and designing a sustainable home and farm system in Northwest Arkansas. I am planning a phased approach to construction and implementation of shelter, crop, and livestock systems.
The land I am most interested in is roughly 10 acres of primarily woods on the northwest slope of a hill. Based on my analysis the slope is not detrimental to solar beyond a 10% to 15% drop in exposure from standard. The elevation gain across the property makes micro hydro a viable solution as well.
I am still deciding on whether to move forward as a solo operation, or to bring on one or two people to share in the process. Ideally if the person or people are sharing in the process I would like there to be a shared ownership with a team based approach. As such, I have created a questionnaire to get to know potential partners, as well as provided my own answers to pass along to those submitting their answers. From there I would look at getting together in person or virtually if needed. If conversations flow well and things look promising we could schedule some camping or other opportunities to get together know one another more thoroughly.
About me, I am a 41 year old male, divorced with twin 22 year old boys that have no interest in any of this. I have an 8 month old border collie mix and have recently relocated to Arkansas to be closer to family and to also have the opportunity to build out a property. I currently work as a project manager for a home builder and have experience as a general contractor, as well as multiple building and finishing trades. I have completed full gut remodel and reframing of existing homes and built high end homes from the ground up. I have a good deal of knowledge on building efficiently and designing passive systems. I have a good deal of concept design in livestock and crop systems but little hands on time. This is a skill set that would pair well with the operation. I have a decent knowledge of energy and mechanical systems with experience wiring and plumbing, just not necessarily off grid energy systems. This is another skill set that would pair well with the operation.
My plan is to move my camper out to live on site as soon as possible. There is currently no water, sewer, or power on site.
My current phased implementation plan is as follows:
1. Gate
2. Drive
3. Perimeter fence around homesite
4. Doghouse
5. Power storage and supply
6. Heating and Water storage and treatment
8. Camper enclosure
9. Mechanical room
10. Water flow control and collection
11. Permanent shelter phase one
12. Food production
If this idea excites you, and you have an interest in seeing if this is a fit for you, email
sustainedozarklife@gmail.com with a brief introduction of yourself and I’ll pass along the questionnaire. Once I receive the filled out questionnaire I will pass along my answers to the same questions and we will mutually decide to move forward or not with further communication and gatherings.
Thank you,
Ben
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