Looking for Homestead Members

Looking to get self-sufficient for Y2K, but want to keep your options open in case Y2K doesnt completely blow up? Looking to do it inexpensively and with other like-minded people? This may be your opportunity.

We are a small group of professionals who are starting a homestead on newly acquired land .We are establishing a working ranch and farm on lush mountain valley property with a mild climate and good soil. We are looking for a small number of families, couples or individuals who think that they will fair better with a small group rather than individually. (Total 10-16 people max.)

THE GROUP

WE are 3 professionals who are concerned about Y2K disruption and want to become self-sufficient by mid-fall 1999. We have varied political and religious philosophies. We are NOT extremists, militia-types, or supremacists. We ARE very serious and committed to preparing. We are looking for members with a similar approach.

YOU are also concerned about Y2K , would like to become self-sufficient and would like to share the cost, labor and knowledge required to do so with like-minded people. The total number of homestead members will be 10-16 people. Some families, some couples, some individuals. We welcome all ages, marital status, and origins.

THE HOMESTEAD

THE OBJECTIVE We have a 50 acre homestead which will be built and run by homestead members. Members will have 1-2 acre homesites adjacent to the main homestead property. We will be food and energy self-sufficient. We will have solar, wind, steam and other alternative power systems. We will have chickens, goats, dairy and beef cattle, horses and other livestock. We will have extensive agricultural activity, including vegetable, fruit, grain, livestock feed, culinary and medicinal herb production.

THE LAND LOCATION The land is situated in a lush valley located between 2 mountain ranges in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is located in a VERY sparsely populated, VERY secluded rural farming area. Partially cleared and partially thick forest, the land is teaming with wildlife. Wild turkey, hog, deer, rabbit and other wildlife are right on the property, and all through the adjacent 6,000 acre national forest.

CLIMATE We chose a location that would provide the greatest opportunity for agricultural activity. The growing season is 10-11 months out of the year. The temperature drops below 32F at night only a few weeks of the year, leaving the homesteaders free to spend energy working the homestead rather than trying to stay warm. Rainfall is avg. 46" per year, plenty to support agriculture, livestock and water collection for houses.

THE REQUIRMENTS:

1. You will purchase your 1-2 acre parcel at $1800 per acre. You will receive a deed for the parcel and own it outright. If Y2K does not prove to be drastic you can either sell your parcel back to the homestead at purchase price or keep it to do as you wish. 2. You will be responsible for your own living structure. (Some people are building, some bringing Modulars or trailers.) 3. You will be responsible for your own well. 2-3 families can share a well and they are fairly inexpensive to drill. (50-100 ft. deep) 4. You will be expected to share the cost and labor of building and running the homestead. (alternative power, livestock, etc.). Total cost has not been determined yet, but will be provided if you send an inquiry e-mail. In the event that Y2K does not prove drastic, methods will be provided to divide equipment and resources, buy them back for the homestead, or sell them off for reimbursement. 5. You will be required to have a minimum of 1 yr. of food storage for each member of your family and any pets you have. Access to wholesale cost for food staples will be provided if desired.

INQUIRY

If you are interested in finding out more about the homestead, please send an e-mail to bmy2k@aol.com . Write "homestead" in subject field. Give your name, age profession, how many in your family, current location, and any questions you may have. You will be sent an e-mail response with a brief questionnaire to fill out and send back. This invitation will only be open until the target number of members is reached. If you are interested please respond now. Time is of the essence. This is an inquiry, not an obligation.

-- Ed Garons (bmy2k@aol.com), August 02, 1999

Answers

You said you were going to be self-sufficient by mid fall of 99. Dream on. Unless of coarse several of you have half a life time of being self-sufficient. Self-sufficient is much more than having a few bushels of grain, a cow and some chickens. Do you have a blacksmith? Who knows how to shoe horses. Who knows how to forge steel. who knows how to farm even. Who knows what to do when the cow starts to give clumpy milk. How many of you even know how to lift a hundred pound sack of feed with out throwing your back out. That is something which is learned when one is 12, not 32. Self- sufficient has much more to do with knowledge than possessions.

Why would anyone with any of those skills even want to move in with three "professionals" . Sounds like a death sentence to me.

Pearce Self-sufficient with my cow, chickens, pigs, dogs, horse, and my knowledge and neighbors.

-- chicken farmer (chicken-farmer@ y2k.farm), August 02, 1999.

ED

Good luck! I feel you will need it. Dumping a bunch of city folk in a rural area, sounds like a good book or movie could come from it.

Actually I would think this should have been arranged a year ago. By the way are any of the members farmers, bush folk, or have experiance in such matters?

-- Brian (imager@home.com), August 02, 1999.

Boy, you called this one right, Chicken Farmer. What dreamers! If they had a million dollars to spend, they would never make it! Like most people now days, they don't have a clue. They envision a "place in the country" and I don't care how loud they scream at that comment. They just have no idea the back breaking work and the skills, tools and knowledge it take to be self sufficient. They will be dying of ungelent(sp) fever before the first year. The cows will be dying of mastitis and brucillosis. I can just see them professionals bucking 20 acres of hay. Hell, they don't have pasture big enough to raise meat and milk and hay for that many people. Its a good thing that they all have to bring a years worth of food. Now, if it were a group of people who already knew their way around a homestead or farm, it would make sense. Guard duty would be divided. As it is now, if they get someone who knows how to work, they will work him to death. I know I am being harsh, but get real!

-- Hannah (Hannah@Colonial America.com), August 02, 1999.

Ask the Amish, Native Americans, etc. how long it takes how many, with what skills, mental, physical, and emotional to become "self sufficient".

-- Curtis Schalek (cschalek@earthlink.net), August 02, 1999.

Actually this thread further points out how disconnected we are from reality. We are so dependent on the structure, physical, social, etc. (and unaware of the dependency), that we have no long term (or short term) alternatives for the vast majority of citizens. We must fix it or the death rate will soar for people, pets, live stock, etc.

-- Curtis Schalek (cschalek@earthlink.net), August 02, 1999.

Ed,

I applaud you for your idea but it does seem a bit late to try starting this.... Here in northern California there have been lots of communes and I hear it can be really difficult to work out power struggles, etc. Self sufficiency on your 50 acres will be REALLY challenging, easier (maybe) if the ground is already prepped for farming. IMHO You should look to 3rd world countries and follow their lead: Goats for meat/milk, chickens for eggs/meat, maybe a few pigs but then also consider vegetarian food sources (beans, wheat, corn, etc.) - per acre you will get a better nutrition return (not to mention much healthier!). I grew up raising beef cattle - expensive, labor (& skill) intensive and honestly not the most practical way to provide food.

You might want to check out earthships - Michael Reynolds in New Mexico has a community of them and his books/newsletters might have some good info for you (as well as Countryside Mag.). He had a problem with subdivision laws/regs...... pretty nasty.

Anyhow, Good Luck!

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), August 02, 1999.

Ed,

Good luck in your plans to become self-sufficient but with five months to go you're attempting to pull off a miracle, IMO.

My wife and I have been homesteading for 10 years and I know for a fact it's not something you just "accomplish" overnight. But good luck to you anyway, I think you're definitely going to need it!

The Simple Life?

"Living in the country has been called "the simple life." This is not true. It's much more complex than city life. City life is the one that's simple. You get a job and earn money and you go to a store and buy what you want and can afford. The decentralist life in the country, on the other hand, is something else again. When you design your own things and make plans about what you're going to produce and really live in a self-sufficient manner, you've got to learn...you've got to master all sorts of crafts and activities that people in the city know nothing about." -Ralph Borsodi

-- Jim Morris (prism@bevcomm.net), August 02, 1999.

Just half a mil will do if they up it to 4 professionals. A veterinarian, a medical doctor, a farmer, and a psychiatrist.

-- sue (deco100@aol.com), August 02, 1999.

Now folks, lets be a bit more supportive here. Any venture of this magnatude begins with a dream and the desire. Either some of us wheren't around during the original "Back to the Land" movement in the 60's or we have forgotten. Alot of those folks didn't have "hands on" experience with milking a cow, let alone know which end to look for the udder. :-)

Heck, lets at least give Ed a tast of that is to come if Y2K is a "10"...that is ment as a joke. When we started our "dream" 13 years ago with 20 acres, two books (Back to Basics and Grow It!), a two year old, two dogs, a tent and NO mortgage (cause if you got debt...please forget the whole thing right now). Our household goods stored under tarps..alot got ruined. We where cutting expenses so close, that in order to make the closing payment on the land (4,000), we had to take money out of the last paycheck before that date.

Cut down enough pine trees to sell for lumber and make space to hand dig a garden between the stumps. If the rake or hoe broke, we did without (thank goodness the shovel never broke!) I remember my hands being raw from collecting pine needles for compost piles after the rake broke...yes, there was a week or two there where $1.00 jersey gloves where not in the budget.

A couple of weeks before we moved onto the property, we where visiting it for the day, clearing and such. Came home to the city and had been broken into and most of our tools, fishing supplies and gear had been stolen.

What did we eat? What ever we had. A can of Armor corned beef hash was supper and sandwhiches for hubbys lunch at work the next day. He drove 140 miles round trip a day to work.

I carried the majority of the water from a spring (which also served as a refridgerator) we used for almost a year, uphill for a distance of about 700 ft., including in the snow all that winter. Hubby helped as he could, but it was always dark before he rolled in from work...stocked up over the weekends and rainbarrels where very important. Saved and got a tractor the following spring.

Sold the timber and bought concrete blocks, plywood and 2x4's, black felt and a woodstove to build a dwelling since the tent was getting a little chilly toward the end of October. Had I ever milked a goat? raised chickens? tended a garden? used a privey? No on all counts. We had two books and a dream. Background experience: waitress and factory worker.

Made alot of mistakes daily, still do. Would we do it all over again? We where just talking about that last night...some of our fondest memories are from those days. Yea, sure we would, wouldn't change a thing. We both worked two jobs for almost two years to make this happen debt free.

Ed, e-mail anytime...I can't help you folks out much on HOW to do things right, but I sure can give you folks lots of advice on how NOT to do things!

My only advice for now: Don't try to replace the modern conveniences you have now, it will cost too much and waste alot of time and energy that you need to devote to other priorities now. Learning the basics.

Go ahead and start with a LP gas refridgerator for milk and meat storage for 20 people, then if Y2K hits the "10" level, you got some problems waiting to happen up the road. Learn the basics FIRST. *And that is as near as I will get to any type of comment about homesteaders then vs. homesteaders now. Money, and the dependance on money, does not a homesteader make. For day one on into the future, sacrifice, compromise and patience is a given.

If you are really taking Y2k seriously, you all best be prepared to do all of the above and more, depending on if any of us still having income. Otherwise, Y2k is as good a reason as any to start a planned community. Nothing wrong with that, but the time frame is a little short for any more than a y2k retreat angle. Be prepared for adjustments of priorities of all your members depending on the true out come of Y2k.

Good luck!

"More for less...and other foolish ideas..."

-- Lilly (homesteader145@yahoo.com), August 02, 1999.

Good luck Ed. August 1999 - Oy vey!!!

Lilly, thanks so much for sharing that glimpse with us.

Best Wishes,

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), August 02, 1999.

What the Hell is the problem with this forum nowadays?

For months, we've been telling people to get out of the city, move rural, become self-sufficient. Yet, here's someone who is proposing to do just that, and all we can do is flame him for being so foolish as to think he can. I didn't see him say it would be easy. I didn't read where he had all the problems worked out. I didn't see him say that he's got all the time in the world.

I think Ed has made a honest proposal, and one that may save some families, should Y2K indeed be a meltdown. He appears serious in his assesment of his situation, and is offering an option to others who just might be looking for this kind of set-up.

And, guess what, people can learn to grow crops. They can learn to milk a cow, or stay up all night with sick livestock. I'm not demeaning in any way the efforts of those of us who have accomplished it, but it can be done, even by "city folk". And with enough pre-planning and resourses, maybe they can afford to learn some of it the hard way, as well.

Ed, I appologize for those of us who find it easier to react, rather than respond, and I sincerely wish you luck and speed in your endeavors. (Check out the prop forum, as well.)

Lon

-- Lon Frank (lgal@exp.net), August 02, 1999.

Thanks (again), Lon.

And Ed I am sorry if I sounded pessimistic, I sure didn't mean too. You are about to start out on a great adventure, Y2K or not! Heck, like I said, I'd do it all over again tomarrow, but that wouldn't make it any easier. And the intangible benifits are too numerous to list here.

Offer for assistance, if only moral support, sincere!

-- Lilly (homesteader145@yahoo.com), August 02, 1999.

I'm sorry, Lilly (and all).

Upon reading my last posting, I realize that I too, am getting a little snapish as Y2K looms just over the horizon. It is certainly not my place to tell anyone how to post, or presume to know their minds.

I have been around the forum a long time, and have been helped tremendously by people like yourself, both in hard advice, and by way of emotional support. I know how good this place can be and how sharing and supportive, the people here. I suppose I'm just dismayed by the amount of totally polarized information and all the recent threads which accomplish nothing more than argument and confusion.

Ed, hang around, there's a lot of folks here who can make your task more attainable. We will all need each other after all, whatever Y2K holds for us.

Lon

-- Lon Frank (lgal@exp.net), August 02, 1999.

Ed:

Sounds like some people think that just because you have an education that you don't know anything or can't do physical work. I wouldn't let that bother me. The start of a successful communal effort needs to be some common interest and you picked 'professionals' as a start. That's as good as picking anything else, IMO. There are professionals out there who have the skills, abilities and work ethic that you will need just like there are in any other group. I think the idea of sharing the effort is a good one, especially for people who are not prepared yet and you offer a realistic way out if Y2K is a dud or someone changes their mind. Pick your companions wisely and - good luck.

-- rod (rbeary2327@aol.com), August 02, 1999.

Ed, the task you propose won't be easy. So what? I'm sure you all know this unless you're simple minded. Simple minded people don't go to this effort for a problem FEW are even able to see. There will be a huge percentage of long-time, well organised 'preparers' WHO WILL PERISH in big cities, if we are faced with dire consequences as a result of Y2K. At least you won't have THOSE problems to contend with at the level they will! Have an *excellent library* and all necessary tools. More than a years supply of food, to make up for a failed first crop or partial crop. Be prepared to work longer, harder days than perhaps you've ever known. Your state of minds will be invaluable and no wimps allowed! To avoid livestock problems, do NOT keep entire herds or flocks together, split them up into at least two seperate groups in order to avoid the spread of disease. Visit our prep forum for a wealth of information. I personally would be most cautious of 'kicking in' with total strangers. Be careful. A few who know each other would be better off than to have just one person acting as a burr under your saddles, in a larger group. There is NO such thing as self-sufficient (even the Amish 'purchase'), so give that one up. It is COMPLETELY possible to provide for yourselves, enough to sustain you, as long as you are prepared for a dramatic change in your lifestyles....no problem. I'm sure you all fully anticipate some hard times and failures, it would be naive not to. It's not like the rest of us haven't experienced them as well! Just remember, sissies will croak. If the work doesn't do 'em in, the rest of the group pulling their share, WILL. I'm sure there are hundreds of weaklings and 'saddle burrs' buried along the Oregan Trail! HA

Location, location, location.........

Best of luck to all of you. Hurry up! It's *August 1999* :)

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), August 03, 1999.

Ed,

Sorry if I tried to make a very poor joke instead of encouraging you. It's great that you got out of the city. Those of us that went back to the land in the 60's or 70's know how hard and long it takes to learn and do everything.

I,for one, only returned a couple of months ago and age has not improved my disposition, I guess. After 2 months we finally got water yesterday that runs out of the tap instead of a bottle or hauled uphill from the creek.All our handpumps are ready in case we have to change over. One step at a time and time is short......

Good Luck to you !

-- sue (deco100@aol.com), August 03, 1999.