Putting out feelers here for an opportunity that is shaping up and wants your input or participation! This is a draft invitation to see what appeals and could work here with the right recipe and ingredients. Subject to revision or retraction...but I'll leave the thread up either way as it may inform/inspire others.
The setting and situation is a very nice large secluded private property at about 3000' elevation in lightly wooded white oak savanna, with largely intact native habitat amidst thousands of acres of mostly wild land although not far from nice small towns, a wild and scenic river, and a major transportation corridor. I've been working on/with the property a few years now and know it and surrounding environs pretty well.
My objective is a slowly unfolding place-based regenerative-restorative development that eventually offers seasonal and full time dwellings, plus short term camp and group/event hosting amenities, all nicely melded into a healthy productive fire adapted ecology. Ideally this could be cooperatively managed through a tiered owner-member structure with a core group of long term invested stewards complemented by a larger sphere of regular visitor-members, contributors, and advocates, and a broader base of guests and supporters.
But it's still early stages and evolving through trial and collaboration, which is where this invitation arises!
Currently, I've established simple adaptable infrastructure to support seasonal life/work on site for a few people at a time with occasional larger group campouts, plus lots of ground work and site planning to begin building more permanent low-cost natural structures fairly quickly. What I'm aiming for is to find a couple of people interested in the longer term potentials, and willing to jump in to shorter term trial arrangements to check the fit and cultivate good working relationship with the land and it's life forms including myself. There is space for multiple clustered small living spaces and a few larger residential buildings or functional centers spread around four contiguous parcels.
A couple of tracks this involvement could take, in my view (other ideas negotiable):
1) someone(s) interested in visiting short term to get a feel for the place and have a chance to talk/think things through further in person, would be welcome to camp out (own vehicle or tent) for a few days to a few weeks for a modest nightly fee
2) someone interested in bringing a mobile dwelling (RV, yurt/tent etc, tiny home) to stay for the fall or spring season and live/work primarily on site could explore a space rental agreement (possible partial work trade)
3) someone keen on potential longer term involvement could apply and commit to a one year trial residency including a reversible financial stake via loan, and a compensated role in operations or development
4) someone with ample funding and motivation could either sponsor the next phase of development as a partner/investor or purchase the property outright and take over leadership (with transitional support and steering as needed from me)
Some more key info about the site and setting: private and secure location on a gated dead end four season gravel road, 65 acres rolling terrain mostly gently sloping, around 20" annual precipitation, pretty rocky clay loam ground (lends well to stone terracing), seasonal creek and spring fed 100' pond, good year round solar gain, zone 7b-ish with usually a cold week or two early winter lows in teens, peak summer heat usually a few low 100 days early July.
What kinds of projects and productivity could fit well here? As I see it, the setting is probably best characterized as a combo nature retreat, learning and demonstration venue, wildcrafting 'silvopasture' (abundant traditional food and craft materials), and landscape art / natural building center. It is not well suited to the usual agricultural homestead pursuits, although some of those may find a niche over time (particularly as water infrastructure evolves). It's in a great location and setting for hosting visitors, events, workshops with camp (and potentially "glamp") accommodations. I've done a lot of work towards a nice trail system to walk or ride around. Well suited to personal retreats, artists, somatic and spiritual practice, and perhaps some nature based therapy work. I've highlighted rewilding in the title here to encompass both the personal aspect of living in and with a mostly wild / low impact habitat, as well as the importance of ongoing restoration work to help repair and retain a resilient native ecology and food web on an important site in one of the most biodiverse regions of the continent. That should give a sense of things, open to more ideas and exploration too!
What else is going on in the area? Permaculture-wise, not a lot real close by, but the nearby Rogue Valley of southern Oregon is pretty active with that and a range of other activities and offerings. I've connected with a couple of other large scale (1000 acre+) restoration oriented land projects each about 20 minutes away that host occasional events and are open to volunteers. There's also a huge and inspiring ongoing restoration effort along the Klamath River minutes away, where four dams were removed last summer. Good potential here to plant seeds of many types and establish locally appropriate patterns and guilds/networks for the future! There's the usual sort of rural conservative-libertarian attitudes and lifestyles prominent, but not overwhelming or oppressively so. It is still california, with space for tactful alternative visions and ventures.
Okay enough for an intro post here, I'll see what sort of interest and questions this sparks and add on as fitting. Cheers!
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