Self-Sufficient Homestead / Community

That's a great area, up in the southern blue ridge chain, right?

I know some folks, I visited them a few years ago, in Boone County, Va, not really very far from there, really awesome baby mountain range there. It looks as if you are just on the other side to the west of that baby mountain range, (the blue ridge chain) .

A great area for a closet prepper camp.

You've been out there for 25 yrs? Awesome deer hunting. I agree, one would never go hungry in that area. The entire Blue Ridge chain must have a gazillion deer out there wandering around.

I suppose that's not such a great place to set up a fish farm. Not much point, why bother? I'd rather eat deer steaks all the time anyways.

Isn't that area a high-rainfall area?

Did you see the link i sent in the email, with the "sheds" from Home depot ? There are maybe 4-5 in the 1-3 K$$ range that would do nicely for a "tiny home", not quite as pretty as a hand-made log cabin, but a good basic home nonetheless.

More later. Very BEst

chuck

 

Love everything about this idea!

 

Hi -

you mean the idea of the "tiny Homes" from Home depot "sheds" ?

I spent some time walking around them at my local home depot, there are 4-5 that would make great little simple homes. After all, 1/2 the world lives n rabbit hutches anyways.

THe kits go for 1-3 K$, but you could buy the raw wood and make them for 1/2 that. There are a number of books available swowing how to build all types of "big sheds", very suitable for tiny homes.

Drop by your local home depot and see for yourself !!!

best -

 

I've always thought a shed would be perfect, especially considering Im 5'2..why waste mother earths valuable materials for excess space? lol
But I think the luxurious lifestyle so many of us live is detrimental and wasteful....Decadence may be beautiful, but sometimes its not environmentally responsible or even economically sound. Be close to the earth, be close to the divine, be close to community and what better way to start by modifying our homes?

 

Things are going alittle slower than we expected, but still progressing. We are looking for 2 or 3 people to join us here around January of 2014, to start getting ready for the growing season. We will be growing about 3 acres of Naturally grown fruits and vegetables that will be mainly sold at local farmers market. So if you are interested in trading work for housing and food, please email us @ sawmilljay@gmail.com tell us alittle about yourself.

We are continually working to be an intentional community, so there will be a lot going on here.

Hope to hear from you all,

L&J :sunny:

 

Hi Jay and Leslie !

It's been a while since I last contacted you, I sort of lost the thread some months ago, but I just noticed your last , most recent post that
you're looking for "2-3 people" to come out in Jan '14 to get ready for the spring.

Just to jog your memory, my name's Chuck, I inquired about your endeavor about a year ago, but i lost the thread , i think i was
having a hard time getting a response from you, or mixed you up with a few other posts.

In any case, I wanted you to know i'm again and still VERY interested in joining your little crew out therein Scott County.

If you're looking for a handful of highly-motivated crewmembers, count me in, please.... here' s what I can bring out there with me ..

1. Tons and tons of real-world experience in many areas. I'm a fairly healthy 64 yrs young, still quite youthful, but an old salty dog former US Navy Vietnam Veteran .
US Navy EXPERT Rifle and Pistol medals. US DoD-certified EXPERT Instructor

2. Recent and useful small farming skills. I'll help you get the new fields planted, no sweat. There's a lot I can help you with there.

3. I'm a "closet prepper" - but don't let that scare you off.

This is NOT to say i'm a hard-core "Doomsday Prepper" waiting for the world to explode. I'm just like a lot of ordinary folks, concerned how things are shaping up in the big cities. I want to get as far

from the big city as I can, period. As a closet prepper, i will bring with me about a full year's supply of emergency food, a real big pile of canned food, etc.

4. Lots of practical skills, 2 yrs of commercial carpentry, (here and there over the years) framing, foundations, finish work, etc. 40+ yrs of weekend-mechanic car skills, i've worked on small-block Chevies, Fords, and Mopars for as long as i can remember.

I can fix a stubborn chainsaw easy, probably.

5. Last but not least, I am the world's FINEST Deer Cook .

As soon as I get there, i'll bag a decent deer and make you the BEST Baby-Back Ribs you've had in like a long long time. They taste like Chinese BBQ, sorta .... yummm yummm. we'll be eating like royalty every night, I'll try to cook up a big deer meal every night, you all can come over and get some awesome deer steaks...

The wild Deer up there in the mountains have been an important primary food supply for millions of folks over hundreds of years, and folks should take advantage of that. I've recently stayed at a place where they just counldn't stand the idea of anyone shooting deer, they termed it "barbaric", and frankly, I thought they were blithering idiots.

That's why I'm making it an issue here. The whole point of harvesting deer is an important part why I want to come out there.

So i'm glad you have some good common sense.

SO, what do you say ? Interested ?

If possible, i'd like to drive there in about 2 weeks, right after my next payday. How's that? I'll plan on staying for a week or two , for starters, with the intention of staying.


My logistics issues :

1. For the near future I can live and work out of my trusty camper van. It would be helpful to get a decent flat parking spot, and maybe within 50 feet or so of city electricity to run a power cord ??

That would be very helpful . Normally I run 2 gadgets, a small light, and a small electric heater. It's tiny, just enough to get some heat out, without blowing the fuses.

2. Is there any steep ( really steep) roads going in and out of your main compound, and particularly the last rough drive getting into your compound? THat might be an issue.

3. I'll be driving in heavy, fully loaded, a ton of stuff, mostly food.

4. My finances : I get a 1K SS check monthly, in the middle of the month. So I do have a small income. I'll kick in .... 100, 200 monthly right off the bat, if you need it, to pay for stuff, including the

electricity, etc. But that's pretty much my real limit.

5. My location, I'm real close to your place, i'm just south in the Asheville NC area. I've been staying, working at a small farm, but they are too much a bunch of Bible-thumpers, quoting Issaih, and Izekiel at me all day long. A bit too much for me.

My cell # is 1.571.255.0156. If you can, use a Verizon phone, we can talk for a few long chats in the next few weeks.

Here's hoping all is well and progressing out there, and maybe meeting you out there in the next few weeks.

Very Best,

Chuck

 

Hi--- You folks still there - ???

 

Hey Charley, Yes we are still here.. Things are alittle slow go, but still working to the plan.

 

Hi Jay & Leslie -

Some time ago you posted you were looking to have 2-3 folks join your crew . Still interested ? I am... Am not surprised that things are "going slowly" ...

please read my earlier posts to you all, i did describe what i could do to pitch in. am mostly interested in the small farming, sustainability side of homesteading.

let me know how your small farming is doing. i'd like to come out and help build a few small, cheap hothouses, grow stuff through the winter.

let me know !

very best

chuck
1.571.255.0156

plse send me your phone #, let's just chat ???

 

ive come across these stoves online and it seems like they could help you out, its called bioLite they mainly make camp stoves but just recently make a larger firewood-burning stove that coverts the heat in usable power 84 amps to be exact i posted about it in this forum or the off grid forum that explains more, they have also been tinkering with a few other prototypes like a franklin stove and a pizza oven that would do the same, if you included one of these with some wind power and solar power you could probably generate enough power to run your cabins and barn off of, i know we used to run 200 amps to a barn, 2 trailers, and the well house and that was sufficient, its something worth looking into i know ive been incorporating these ideas into my design plans

 

My partner and I will be doing the same when we move out to Bulgaria from the UK in spring of next year. I've already been out to the place twice this year and we would like others to follow. We prefer to call it a micro farm community, as the house is a large 4 bedroom building with outhouses and 1/2 acre of land which we intend to put to good use with an orchard, polytunnel, raised beds, chickens, goats and rabbits all planned. Although the place is connected to all amenities, we hope that within the year through solar panels and rainwater catchment the site will be completely off grid. Together with workshops planned for self sustainability training, we are confident that ten people could easily live from what we can produce.

 

Looking for an older group, I am in my early 50"s...any suggestions?