How We Did It.... and tell your story too!

[Arrowwind]

This thread is dedicated to telling my and your story of how we're are returning to the land....

Cause over the years as I traveled in rural America I always wondered how people got to be there. I was not blessed with inheritance of land.

Now we reside in one of those places that I always wondered about .

We got here after 30 years with our noses to the grindstones in the city. We managed to buy our houses low and sell high, even during this recession... aside from diligent savings we did inherit some cash... but if you are willing to live with much less than us you can find a way... and I will tell you how some of our neighbors are doing it later.

:hippie:Now we are on 8 acres in a high mountain community.. Lots of ranchers... no new age folks around.. red neck I would say with a die hard libertarian view... I can live with it.. If you want to go where the yuppies and new age folks are you will pay through the nose. We even probably paid more for land than we should have cause I didn't want to be 15 or 20 miles away from town.

There is no way to make a living for new comers here for unless you are very highly educated in the sciences or professions that support the sciences. Be prepared to make it on your own. Eventually you may find or develop a niche, or find some kind of job...

Think carefully about what each community can offer you as well as what you may offer the community.

Our plan is and we have accomplished developing a place to live with no mortage. We currently live in a studio over the garage as the house is being built at this moment by my husband and one other to help... the house building is a 3 year project as my husband is doing most by himself.

When we were preparing to leave the city in the middle of the hard hitting recession in 2008 we had this dang BMW that would not sell. A really fine car that my husband thought his profession merited that he have.. but we could not sell it.. after countless hours on craigs list we found someone who was willing to trade their pretty John Deer tractor and some cash for it.... done deal... best trade we ever made. That tractor is worth its weight in gold and when I first saw my husband driving it I could not help but note that I never saw that the BMW made him smile that much!:biggrin1:

BMWs are worth dink squat around here.

After the house is done the plan is to rent the studio as a bed and breakfast until the SHTF. There is a fishing, hunting and hiking crowd that comes here at certain times of they year. We might also just stay in the studio and rent the house for a year or two for extra cash. There are people around here that make good income working for a huge science laboratory about 40 miles down the road and a bus acutally comes to town daily to pick them up, so if you have a science backround or skills such a large facilty can use there are jobs in this are... that will provide you an in to a rural community that is fairly isolated... So we could rent the house for 900 a month if we wanted to.

We also plan on building a couple of out cabins that would be rented for B&B. If SHTF my kids will live in them using the house as the central living point.

8 acres can provide sustenance for 8 -10 people I figure. We have good water and that is something that is essential. NO water NO buy. Have the water rights encryped in concrete before you purchase.

We are considering purchasing 2 to 3 more acres adjacent to us to create more pasture.

We plan to pasture Yaks and possibly Kune Kune pigs... Both highly sustainable animals. Kune's do not rut and only like to eat grass... unlike most foul pigs. Yaks.. take only 1/3 the acreage that cattle requrie to be grass fed. they don't care for grain either but will eat it in a pinch... so hay is what they like year round , which is what all the ranchers grow up here, not corn, or barley. ... we are planning for free range chickens and possibly as small organic meat chicken production... at least to cover the costs of our own stock and stash.

One lama in a heard will protect it from wildcat, bear and fox..so we are looking at that. Only one though.Two develop a pair and they stop being concerned for the crowd.

There is money to be made from lama and yak fiber.

I am finding that rabbits are very much like chicken to eat and are much much easier to raise... and reproduce like, well, like rabbits!! so we are looking into that.. it all hinges on if I can cook them in a way that my husband is not thinking rabbit as he eats it..:pound:
I see rabbit as a souce of clothing down the line if needed.

We have good water...and electric pump. I just had a hand pump placed in the same well with the electric one just incase we loose electricity for any extended period of time.

The house is passive solar. We are building a large sunroom which will function much like a green house as well as keep our use of wood or electrity for heat reduced. We are considering passive solar hot water but no decisions made yet. Wood heat is the main source of heating and part of the smoke pipe will go into the sunroom to boost it an exta 1 degree hopefully...Wood heat is great all it costs is for the chain saw and to go get it... which we did everyother weeked though the summer... my goal is to store up enough so we are two years ahead in wood supply.... which is not uncommon around here. Its like.. if you have nothing to do there is always wood gathering... and a beautiful weekend in the high mountains....next season we will camp when we gather wood, allowing us to make less trips because we can bring more home on one trip

I am working on developing garden space... based on Findhorn.. if they can grow anything there I can grow anything here.. with proper application of science, agriculture and spirit. Winters are long and hard... So another green house will be built eventually to extend the growing season by 4 weeks at each end. Lasagna gardening is the way to go for building soil. All your compost material generally grows within eye sight. Having animals really helps with soil enrichment.

[Pam]

You sound happy, satisfied and secure. Thank you for your story! I will share mine later!

[exponentialist]

Thank you for posting this Arrowwind! I would LOVE to hear more, especially about how your neighbors are achieving this dream.

I long for an opportunity to live off the land and off the grid. I am fortunately able to help (read: work for food!) friends who maintain an organic farm and sell at farmer's markets - a start at least. Each animal and plant - even the stinging nettles that we make soup with - is loved and there's so much abundance it's incredible. The work is never finished, and my toenails will never be clean again, but my heart sings. Thank you for the visual and inspirational post.

[Arrowwind]

My neighbor, who had signficantly more limited funding than us now is working toward sustainability. His motivation is his Christian religion.. and reading the signs of the times... Although I am not christian we are not too different in much of our perspectives.

He purchased a used double wide trailer and placed it on his 6 or 7 acres. Over the past 10 years he has fully enclosed it, further insulated and added on a large kitchen and family room doing the construction himself. He salvaged much of the materials needed. He has been on disability for medical reasons as he tends to collapse frequently but when he's good he can work... so ultimately disabiltity payments is financing his movement into sustainability. His wife works one day a week at the post office and manages a fitness gym part time that really is only in this community because the owner is a rich guy who doesn't care that it operates at a loss. He wants the town to have it and it has been a benefit to residents here.

He has moved into raising goats with a herd now ranging from 20 to 40. He just completed his second year of the endeavor and he has broken even and even made money this year. Due to the increase in Muslim population in the USA goats are a developing market. He mostly raises them to sell at auction where they are shipped from this interior state to LA and Chicago. It is truly a viable method for those not very familiar with farming. He does have a 5 acre pasture and a 3/4 acre one to raise hay for them but he also has to purchase supplemental hay... still he is making money. His goal it to have a product that can be easily bartered when the SHTF. Most people here are not too into eating goat meat but I think that will change quickly when food supplies are short. Until then he has an expanding market and his herd will expand as he developes his resources for a larger herd.

The goats tend to give birth 2 times a year and they frequently have twins so you can grow a flock pretty quick. They are cute and affectionate animals and not too hard to manage. I have helped him move them from pasture to pasture a couple of times and it really is fun.

They also have a milker and they provide raw goats milk to neighbors, as well as chicken eggs and rabbit meat. Due to laws in this state they cannot sell milk without a lot of inspection stuff.. so most of it is for barter... I trade 1 massage for 10 quarts of milk... and they seem to really like the deal.... being farmers there is always a back problem going on.

If you want to raise meat, rabbits are the easiest for the amount of care required and how prolific they are. Their poop does not need to be composted and can be thrown directly into the garden. I really want to stress how easy rabbit production is... and if you have cats and dogs if is a food supply for them too. Skins can be made into clothing if needed.

This family also makes homemade laundry detergent, as well as barter and sell labor service with their tractor and other farm equipement. None of the farm equipement is new... tractor is a 1960's model.. We found out this past year that well maintained farm equipment will hold value for a long time, they are relatively easy to maintain and don't break as often as cars do.

Few people are off the grid here. All generally have 2 or 3 ways to heat their houses. wood, electric, gas. There are some solar panels around, and passive solar construction. Mostly people are trying to find ways to make a living on very limited income and barter and producing something of value.

They are talking of building a root cellar this summer as they don't currently have much storage space.

so his barter/sale items are:
Laundry soap
goat
goat milk
goat cheese
chicken
eggs
rabbit
technical repair skill in electronics
farm equipment maintence
tillage and bailing

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Getting off the grid is still very difficult. If you dont' have the skills to build machinery to make energy yourself the costs are still largely prohibative for most people who don't have a trust fund.

[Dawn]

I've been working to be able to live on my own land all my life. I am nearly there. Here's a list of what I've done to get ready

1. Had organic gardens in every place I have ever lived
2. Raised rabbits with red worm bins beneath where the pellets end up
3. Raised chickens
4. Learned how to make homemade wine
5. Made homemade sauerkraut
6. Learned canning and drying food
7. Learned how to shear sheep, and spin and weave wool and other fibers
8. Learned how to make soap
9. Joined farmers in butchering their animals in order to learn (although I am primarily a vegetarian, I thought this would be practicle)

I have never been able to make the jump from dreaming to doing for 2 reasons. Money was the first problem for years, however when this hurdle was covered I discovered that my spouse really didn't wish to make the dream a reality. By then I had a home, 2 dogs, and a daughter so I didn't walk away for many years. I am 'pretty long in the tooth' now (a saying which originated in deciphering the age of horses by how long their teeth were) but this long time dream is about to become a reality.

Now completing a divorce after 38 years of marriage and seeing the end of a lawsuit I became embroiled in.. it looks like there may be enough funds to purchase land and a small home. I'd rather an earth integrated home which building codes won't allow. The plan is to start with an existing house or mobile home, then it will be easier to build something small and call it a 'shed' or a 'barn'.

My new partner has been doing his own preparation for years and has learned about and lived on solar power. He has acquired deep cycle batteries 2nd hand from the cell phone companies as they replace old ones for a fraction of the cost. He has created a battery charger which actually refurbishes old batteries and makes them 'new' again. He also had a 1967 car which he has made many modifications to in order to work towards having it run on water eventually. Right now he is outside installing a plasma generator he has created.

This is pretty exciting. I already know that working close to the earth is the key to experiencing total abundance. I am never so filled inside as when my arms and hands are full of my own home grown produce. It causes a deep inner smile and my heart flows over with gratitude. However, it there is a big shift, I need to face the idea that the climate may no longer be friendly where I am and the land may be changed dramatically. Therefore I am going ahead anyway, like a dancer who knows that the dance will end when the music does.

[norman]

I missed this thread in January when all that other stuff was hitting the fan.

I love the way the OP said "this is red neck country - but I can live with that". hehe, You are in exactly the right spot for hard times. Even if you'd had a fortune to spend and moved into a "new age" rural community you wouldn't have had as good and reliable neigbors as you have where you are.

When the going get's tough....you know the rest.

I grew up in a hard working rural no nonsense sort of area and I value it as a good background even though I've slithered and slid sideways into a pretty grotty situation now by my own stupid life choices. I wish you all the very best of it and, of course, I wish I was there, too.

I can only assume that "someone" had different ideas for me, in a crisis. It's looking like I'm going to be surounded by a million people with no idea what's happening. Wish me luck!

[ghostrider]

to all of you that have your own land , and live simple , back with nature, off the grid so to speak . You are real HEROES. I am in awe of you all. way to go . May the great spirit bless you with health and long life and peace my brothers and sisters......

[fox.mulder]

re the OP

The only issue I can see is that is the SHTF scenario did happen, then the neighbours who I assume would be gun orientated may not be so nice any more and plan to take over with force everything you have accomplised. Typical MADMAX scenario. If a local community was loosely formed, then the neighbouring community may take over with force. (Jericho scenario). Either way I dont see any real pleasant future in the SHTF scenario self sufficient or not. Lets hope SHTF never happens.

[norman]

re the OP

The only issue I can see is that is the SHTF scenario did happen, then the neighbours who I assume would be gun orientated may not be so nice any more and plan to take over with force everything you have accomplised. Typical MADMAX scenario. If a local community was loosely formed, then the neighbouring community may take over with force. (Jericho scenario). Either way I dont see any real pleasant future in the SHTF scenario self sufficient or not. Lets hope SHTF never happens.

I think you need to also factor into your thinking that the mental health of that community, and it's mental connectedness to it's spirit, is likely to be way above average. I'd venture to suggest, from a deeply ingrained gut knowledge of such communities, that they would only lash out if you were a complete S h i t .

[Argos]

Thanks for this thread. After years of universities and tracking the course of human civilization, I have reached a point where I crave truth and honesty with every resonant fiber of my being. I read in the news; I see mostly dissimulation, posturing, half-truths. All the while I sense lurking somewhere in the shadows are the nefarious, insidious plots designed to shackle truth forever. I yearn for an honest interaction, an honest conversation, such that two or more people could come together and just "be" who they are, without playing the game. How wonderful it would be to have a modest plot of land, situated amongst like-minded people, all of whom were working for the imminent revelation of the eternal good that inhabits us all. Need a hand, Arrowwind?