Ben Brownell

Bit of an outsider of dubious heritage, but I'll throw in Harbor Freight's Bauer line (brick red) as a possible contender here, given very low prices for an arguably pretty rugged high performance and comprehensive tool line. Have a look, they are relatively new/unknown and I think still in the process of building a rep, thus good quality for very low price at this point:

https://www.harborfreight.com/bauer

I just have a rotary hammer and air compressor so far, but in my experience and word on various forums, they are pretty legit relative to a lot of what you'd find/expect from HF.

Promising description above, but I gotta say the project website doesn't inspire a lot of confidence that this is a realistic, viable, competent endeavor...I imagine there's a lot more thought/planning behind the scenes, which your post seems to point to, but that public facing presentation could really use a more concise, polished touch! I get what you're saying about building vs launching, and maybe it's still too early to articulate who/what this community is about, but presumably it begins with a big chunk of up front capital/credit from somebody(s) with specific aims, values, tastes etc and I think at least that much should be clear from the jump to get others on board with any level of shared commitment.

Financing a large long term 'startup' community venture is hard and brings with it necessary inequality of stake, input, responsibility, governance, and at some point I think you have to embrace that and roll with it while you set out a roadmap towards more stable, grounded, cooperative sustainable structure. I'm just a little thrown off by somewhat scattered and potentially conflicting elements of the vision as expressed there, such as whether this is meant to become a city, village, or rural retreat. Intrigued, but want to share hopefully helpful critical feedback at this point. Good luck! Lots of potential around NorCal right now for smart rural revitalization and conscientious regenerative development, no doubt.

What does "better/beneficial" ground cover look like for context there? What's your aim? No idea what look or function you're going for, so it's hard to suggest a ruggedized alternative, but I'd say if you're doing a 'hard reset' and can pull back top soil, add an inch layer of biochar covered by a layer of burlap fabric, then cover with 3-4" top soil and plant whatever will form a good dense surface root zone or sod layer and it should be solid, after a season or two. Transplanting cut sod (doesn't have to be lawn) would be set much faster.

Edit to add: definitely aim for sandy loam top layer rather than clay, to limit mud and slipperiness.

Fun wide-ranging convo, just jumped around through some of the replay. I met Stephen a few times in early 2000s as the Punta Mona project was growing, it was quite an inspiration then.

Some key points come out towards the end, where it's clear his approach is very much as a 'themed' real estate developer. I'm not sure this is the best or only approach to successful sustainable community, but it is effective and efficient in the current context since it's a (working) model many are familiar with, and capital is available to activate. Also important to note how much learning curve there is for all participants, continuously, such that people may ultimately 'graduate' from somewhat more conventional developments into more fully cooperative creative spaces, and/or serve as mentors and guides for others stepping in.

Deal, happy to aim for mutual uplift and/or sympathy as needed!

Actually I do get a taste of winter in my vicinity, being located above one of three major rivers that crosses the Cascade crest allowing much colder interior air/weather to 'leak' out West. Touched 2F last winter...although yes, generally above freezing most days and little accumulating snow.

This year has been a process of reorienting my game plan somewhat and trying some different angles of outreach, both locally and further reaching. I summarized that here a few months ago, and haven't advanced much since in terms of finding enthusiastic engagement:

https://permies.com/t/287020/Join-creative-rewilding-community-trial

Might work toward a more structured apprenticeship program next year where people could learn by building, and have use of the space provisionally thereafter, similar to programs running here (Permies). Lots of very affordable land nearby too, where people could then plant themselves longer term if desired. We'll see! I will do a little better end of year recap either in the above thread or a new one more like your blog format here.

I particularly want to get people to see that investing (financially) in Permaculture-informed regenerative development, with a focus on producing affordable ecological homesteads and housing co-ops, is a much needed fast acting systems-change lever that is actionable, reliable, sustainable, and beneficial in many places and contexts by small entrepreneurial design-build collectives!

This question was raised previously (by OP) here, perhaps best to merge or continue with that discussion?

https://permies.com/t/361408/Raised-Beds-Mediterranean-Climate

Good stuff! I can echo much of what you wrote from similar standing and orientation with a ~4 year new effort on beautiful semi-wild, long neglected land in far north California, which holds lots more to offer currently than people to embrace it. Glad to hear I'm not THAT eccentric or misguided

I take it you'd like this to be a personal record thread as your project evolves, so I'll steer commentary and discussion elsewhere. But good on you for persevering in a principled manner, I too believe this is important foundational work that will only grow in relevance and appeal - assuming all manner of inevitable pitfalls are nimbly dodged, hah! Thanks for sharing the journey.

Hi Gordon, sounds like a unique situation there. I'm considering a short term escape to southern california desert this winter, but would only be looking for a month or two accommodation and preferably in more of a work trade arrangement.

Can you say more about what else is happening on this property with respect to Permaculture practices and projects? Who else lives on site - especially since it sounds like there's no adjacent neighbors or nearby community center. Any horticultural or aquaculture efforts/potential?

Any economic activity that people can plug into on site or nearby, or do people need to be self-sufficient or working remotely?

I saw another somewhat similar sounding property north of Palm Springs that's hosting campers and seems to have good traffic with that, have you considered such an approach:

https://www.harvesthosts.com/hosts/california/bDiTNdOLiKVkeJF7WLcM