Jonathan Simpkins

Can you provide any more information about this development? I am interested and know interested parties.

Aloha fellow permies!

I am here to initiate a dialogue with any folks who are interested in entering a joint community-building venture on the Big Island of Hawaii. The community model we have in mind is a low impact, permaculture based eco-village divided into separate, manageably sized (~2.5 acres each) homestead plots tended by individuals/families/couples, centering around a small area (~10 acres) of community-shared land. The shared portion of land will house a community center (and possibly other community shared & supported facilities, such as pastureland for horses, a gym, etc), which members can utilize for both individual and collective efforts. The inspiration is to generate 100% of food and energy from these intensively managed, small individual plots, with the (eventual) surplus being directed into income-generating opportunities. We feel confident that this model of eco-village is the wave of the future, as it allows for both maximum personal freedom and sovereignty (design your own homestead layout, choose your own plantings, design/choose/build your own housing, and so on), as well as valuable community support and collaboration, skill- and resource-sharing.

We are currently looking at a $750,000 property of around 56 acres, bordering Waiakea Forest Reserve, about 15 miles south of Hilo. There is a house on the property which would be converted into the first community building. The land is mostly pasture right now (irrigated), fenced into several paddocks, with a small orchard in need of some tlc, consisting of many different exotic species. The climate receives an annual rainfall of about 150 inches, which is a lot, so bear that in mind if you are interested and not yet familiar with the area. The temperatures stay between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit all year round.

At this stage, we are looking to build an interest list of persons who are aligned with our goals, values, and vision, and who have the financial capability to carry their share of the land payments. This means having a significant sum of cash for a down payment (we project around $9000 per member) and a means to contribute a minimum of $300 per month to the land payment (with a portion being used for community infrastructure development). This is based on a conventional 15 year mortgage from a bank with a 20% cash down payment upfront. I want to be specific and upfront about the financial aspect of this endeavor because I have encountered many (especially young) permaculture practitioner with a lot of energy, ideas, and enthusiasm (which is wonderful and welcomed) and at the same time, little capital. We are anticipating recruiting about 18 individuals/couples/families (including ourselves, a couple) to live, design, and work/play on their own plots and share in some level of community activities. Having said that, here are some of the ideas we have for the development of the land:

-Primary food production system is small individual food forests/forest gardens and perennial crops
-A vegetarian, plant-based based dietary focus
-Flexibility on the part of all involved, especially when it comes to working with and/or around permits, zoning laws, land use, etc. for creating housing & infrastructure
-Willingness and desire on the part of all involved to live, promote, and perhaps teach the permaculture principles
-An interest and focus on personal health, development, and pursuit of knowledge and skills
-Some level of spiritual practice/awareness/philosophy that can be individual and based partially on earth stewardship
-Open mindedness in regards to the beliefs and practices of others
-"Alternative," natural, low-impact housing (yurts, domes, bamboo, tiny homes, local resources)
-A family-based value system that recognizes and embraces children as the future stewards of our beautiful Earth
-A minimization of technological, mechanical inputs and systems, and a focus on organic, holistic systems
-A philosophy of community interdependence and co-empowerment
-A focus on living a natural lifestyle and encouraging our development into fully conscious, purpose driven human beings embracing our relationships with all life
-A shift away from fossil fuels (automobiles, tractors, energy grid) and toxic technology (television, portable devices, etc) and into responsible technologies, and even better, independence from technology
-Hyper-diversity of plant species and conservation of rare, endangered, and exotic species
-Providing ecological niches for all forms of wildlife

If this sounds of interest to you, and/or there are people you know who may be interested in the project, and/or you have other networks of people you are involved with who may have an interest in the project, please send me a private message so we can start e-mail and phone conversations on how best to move forward, deal with financial and legal issues, and begin the land acquisition process. Mahalo and many blessings!

Wow thanks a lot. I appreciate your feedback. My plan is very loose at the moment, so I am open and flexible as to how it plays out. I haven't been to Albuquerque at all actually, I just know that between there, Santa Fe, and Taos it should be easy to connect with at least some people and also enjoy the benefits of a metro area. I love southern Oregon but I am about 6 hours away from any major metro area in any direction (Portland to the north and SF Bay to the south) and it is really difficult for me. I like to participate in courses and community functions of wide diversity and they are limited here. Some people are homesteading it but the community isn't unified. There are many people who are retired and/or wealthy, and there are many who are dead poor and unemployed. You can have a million dollar home next to a shanty meth property, another rampant problem in the area. I am becoming more serious about my martial arts, yoga, and fitness disciplines and there are very limited outlets for that here. Plus it is difficult to attract enough interested persons to teach consistently.

As far as specific areas, I'd like to be within at least 2 hours of a city like Albuquerque or even Santa Fe. I think that being [somewhat] near a metro area will be pretty essential to attracting people to the land and for a place to hustle and market our goods and services. what do you see as the specific disadvantages of living in Albuquerque or northern NM in general? What do you see as the best approach to water harvesting in an area with so little rainfall? With swales, terraces, roof collection, earthen dams (don't know if those would work there), small ponds and such, would that be enough? I'd love to hear any of your thoughts about water, that is my biggest concern really.

I admit one thing that attracted me there is the fact that Jackson's MMA is there, one of the best martial arts training centers on the continent.

Hello all,
Right now I am considering the possibility of relocating to high desert region myself, likely either northern New Mexico or Southwestern Colorado. I have put significant thought into this, ever since my first exposure to permaculture (which was the Greening the Desert video) and my PDC 4 years ago, which really activated my excitement about water catchment systems, land regeneration, food forests/forest gardens, and limitless possibilities. I am also attracted to high elevation climates because they keep you young and hardy health-wise, and amplify the effects of conditioning. On top of all that, land is quite cheap in many high desert areas of the SW United States, and seclusion makes it easy to work around or avoid zoning restrictions and building codes and such. I can buy a 40 acre parcel with cash outright, and slowly transition onto the land as I build infrastructure and shelter.

My long term plan is to buy around 40 acres with cash, spend a good amount of time with the land and designing, then work on large scale earthworks and infrastructure, followed by small personal residential house and long term plantings, and next adding a larger central building for workshops and training. I want to design the land as a sort of eco-village, dividing it into 10-12 plots of around 3 acres each, with 4-6 acres of common space. I may also drill a deep well that could provide for some of the water needs of the entire properties future residents.. After some basic infrastructure is in place, and maybe i'll even put tiny cabins on each plot for a starter shelter, I will slowly transition to living full time on the land on my own 3 acre plot with my family, and bring around ten other individuals/couples/families onto their own plots to live, for a small price (like around 5-10k) and flexible terms of payment. These are folks I have met and discussed this with over the years who share similar ideas about health and natural living as me, have extensive training in martial arts and/or other physical health disciplines, and have dreams of living at the very edge of peak human performance and interconnectivity with our living spaces. Then the plan would be to start utilizing the common area as a mecca for those wishing to perform as human beings at an elite level (specifically targeting martial artists)by holding workshops, in-residence training programs, courses, etc. All the start-up funds will be paid in cash so the community never assumes any debt. That way, the income (or at least part of it) can be directly utilized to expand the community. The deal with living as part of the community is each plot-owner must be informally approved as a good fit as a contributing member, and you can never sell your plot of land. You can leave or you can give it away to another person who must be approved, but you can never sell. I think this will aid in shifting the paradigm of thinking to one of abundance. Eventually, plots won't need to be purchased at all, and their occupiers shall be simply invited into the community. All improvements are the fiscal responsibility of the plot owner, although of course community members will take part in implementation (at each person's discretion). Does this sound crazy?

I only hope we can get enough water and grow an abundance of food. I trust that we can. In my opinion small groups (family size) of people tending small plots (no more than 3 acres) of land will result in the greatest yield of benefits for all, and allow for specialization within the community rather than the approach of "we're a community, so we do everything together and thats why we're sick of each other" approach i have experienced all too often. Living in close quarters and sharing all daily tasks and meals and such with those other than your most intimate relations may work for some people, for me however it does not. Learning to work synergistically and interdependently with your family is difficult enough!

I will be purchasing the land probably at the end of this year or beginning of next year, and will be relocating from beautiful southern Oregon to probably Albuquerque or thereabouts to start with. It will be crucial for the first few years that I have a metro area as a home base for financing and to continue training and learning. Any thoughts criticisms or suggestions are warmly appreciated.