I am a homesteader in the Alaska bush, and have been thinking of starting a coop. There seems to be many people that would like to try living a more simple life, but just aren't sure how to get started. I love my homestead, but I am thinking of relocating to an area in Alaska that has no land taxes. If I find the right people, maybe a group effort would be to my benifit and theirs'. So how about it? Are you a hippie homesteader looking for a home? There would be two levels of participation. 1. Land owner: fully invested 2. Volunteer: try the lifestyle So what's the lifestyle? Living in the Alaska bush is a very different life from the one most know. Look around you. Almost everything with an electric cord will be left behind. I am looking for an area that has cell phone service, but there will be no roads, power lines, or signs of man. The cell phone is important for safety. Radio keeps us informed of the world. Might even be able to use a generator to watch a DVD once in a while. When I first went to my homestead, I chartered a float plane to to take me and the supplies to a lake about 1.5 miles from my land. The plane whould return on a set date, maybe two or three months away. If I got hurt, I could only hope to signal a passing aircraft. It was a very high risk situation since I was using chainsaws and powertools. After I had been there a couple of years, a new cell tower was built to service the area. Additionally, cell phone service would allow email. Internet service might require a sat. dish. How do we get land? The state of Alaska sells land for 5% down, the rest on payments. A piece of property will cost from $5,000.00 to $20,000.00. I have a place in mind that is five acre parcels. By getting land close together, tools and knowledge can be shared. There would be a bunk house on my place for people to stay in while they are getting set-up, or if they only want to try the lifestyle. I think a coop should be formed to allow group ownership of expensive tools. Because I already have many of these tools, the start-up cost can be reduced. How do we get money? In a remote location, it is hard to ship home made items and make a profit. The first two products that I have found practical are: fireweed honey and birch syrup. Getting a pilot to let us put bees in a small plane to fly to the homesteads could be a challenge. The product that I have been test marketing is instructional videos. Videos could provide a long-term income for the group. How big is this group? Small. I don't expect more than five or ten people to be able to go on a venture like this as land owners. Persons that just want a summer or a weeks experince will change with the seasons. I plan to have room for at least six in the bunk house. Well, it's just the start of an idea. Who wants to go? Why not?
To become a land owner, one needs to have about $800.00 for the down payment on the land (and related cost), and about $3000.00 for food and to get a cabin liveable. The cost of transportation is the real barrier. Expect to pay around $500.00 PER FLIGHT! The plane can haul about 1300 lbs on each load. For most people, the cost of getting to Alaska will be less than the cost of flying out to the bush. Now this seems like a lot of money, but remember, once you arrive in the bush, the cash outflow becomes near zero. That means for potentual homesteaders, getting here will cost a few bucks, but staying cost very little. I believe it would be a good idea for me to require persons to have airfare for a return home if things don't work out. I do NOT want anyone to get trapped here. The cost for short term visitors would depend on the lenght of stay and whether or not we can put them on a regular supply flight. I want to make it cheap for the short term visitors because I think we can get a lot of man power when we need it. It is very importent that no one feels trapped or like slave labor. The short term visitors should be there to learn cabin building or other backwoods skills. This will not be a place to sit back and watch everyone else do the work. I like to work hard enough to get the job done, but not so hard that it takes all the fun out.
i live realativly near alaska, and in a few years time i would love to come and work/participate in this idea. i better start saving up.
So are you the one who helps everyone else with building a cabin and acquiring solar power once they acquire the land? How many are presently involved with this project? Sorry for all the questions, but it sounds like a good thing and I want to learn all I can about it....How would a person feed themselves once they got there? By the way, the photos are cool....Is that your place??
Yes, I'm the one that helps get cabins built. I am just starting this project, and hope to work out potentual problems on threads like this before I get anyone else involved. When I built my cabin in the bush, I found freedom beyond anything in my experince. I want to help others find this freedom. As for feeding ourselves, see the first two listing under buying supplies and earning money.
your pics aint there,, it says.. "Oops! I could not find the shared photos you are looking for! Please check the share link you entered."
I tried the photo link three times, and it worked every time for me. Is it taking you to ezprints? Once there, you need to check the box under the photo album. If someone else tries it, let us know if it is working for more than just two of us. Hippiehillbill, here's the address: HTML: http://www.ezprints.com/home/COOKIECACHE/2S0NEK1D1LID.EZP When I looked at the photos of hippiehillbilly, I found someone sitting on a log wall that looks almost exactly like the photo I have of my neighbor. If I put the two photos together, it would easy to convince someone that they are the same person and cabin. Dodedodo Dodedodo and off into the twilight zone. It was just weird seeing someones double. I won't put the photo here because I respect their privacy.
naa its this fuckin puter,, dillis puter they work fine as well.. dunno ,,, ... aint no puter geek an this ones the toy for the travelers etc.. so who knows what its problems are...
I really enjoyed looking through your photos...this would be a great idea if you are able to gather folks who have a real interest and willingness to help out. This has so many possibilites.... Would love to hear more.
I thought I would be smart and move the photos to the gallerey so HHB could see them. HaHaHaHaha What timing on my part. Well, I'm sure it will be back up in no time. I would like to know if people would prefer a short term experince - a week to four months, or a long term project - buy land and build a cabin. If interest is high for the short term experince, I might set something up on the homestead I have now.
