Howdy Simon,
I don't live out there but I've bought a property and can maybe be of a little help.
This is a very relevant permies thread:
https://permies.com/t/80/3553/Permaculture-Extreme-Desert
This could help you connect with local people:
http://www.bigbendchat.com/portal/forum/the-terlinguastudy-butte-board/
John Wells in his "Field Lab" (Search google, YouTube) has a lot of stuff going on.
So does the "Eco Ranch" -- I've talked to Robert Earl, he's definitely willing to talk, and could use help and might be willing to barter (chickens, moringa seeds and cuttings, etc).
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/user/ecoranchusa/about[/youtube]
http://eco-ranch.com/
If you're actually out there, and didn't already give up (it's getting up to 110+ F now), congratulations!
Most people would've already given up.
Finally, because it's so dry, there's a lot of techniques developed by Americans who go to the Burning Man event at Black Rock City, e.g. swamp coolers, cheap solar, using reflectix, shade tarps, eating pickles, etc. You could google all of that, e.g. JackRabbit Speaks website.
