Post by Freeholdfarm on Jul 19, 2006 21:07:35 GMT -5
I have a yahoogroups forum started in the hopes of eventually getting a Christian intentional community going, and Jenny invited me to post about it here. Here is the link: groups.yahoo.com/group/christianhomesteadersvillage/
You can read about the ideas so far presented over there, but I will mention that the proposal is in no way meant to be a commune! It would be a group of individuals or individual families owning their own land, whether they purchase separate parcels close to one another, or buy a large parcel to split up. The intentional part is that they would choose to be neighbors and help one another out from time to time. I suppose it might be something like an Amish community, where a few families move into an area, invite their friends and relatives, buy more farms for the children as they grow up, and gradually expand their community that way. What I originally had in mind was a group purchase of a large acreage to be split up. That way it would be possible to do some 'community planning' in the layout of the lots, and we'd be able to create a planned small farm village at the center of the project, with a 'village green' and possibly a community hall for get-togethers also. Another advantage of splitting a large piece of land would be that we could put in one good well and pipe water to the different homes (unless in an area where wells are commonly shallow and inexpensive). However, the other model, of people buying separate parcels near one another, would work, too.
I don't have a location picked out -- I have a preference for low or no property taxes, regardless of the climate. As I've said on the other list, I'm not going to be able to move for some time yet, as I've made a committment to stay here with my grandmother for as long as she needs me. So my one concern about location, for myself anyway, is that the world is changing drastically as we watch, and I wonder if, a few years from now, we'll still be *able* to move freely around this country. At the very least, it will probably be a lot more expensive to travel than it is now. So I'm not sure I'll be able to get back to Alaska in a few years, or go to Arkansas or Kentucky as some other people have suggested. I just have to leave it in God's hands.
Anyway, I'd be interested in hearing what people think, and hope you'll post your ideas on the yahoogroups list!
Kathleen
You can read about the ideas so far presented over there, but I will mention that the proposal is in no way meant to be a commune! It would be a group of individuals or individual families owning their own land, whether they purchase separate parcels close to one another, or buy a large parcel to split up. The intentional part is that they would choose to be neighbors and help one another out from time to time. I suppose it might be something like an Amish community, where a few families move into an area, invite their friends and relatives, buy more farms for the children as they grow up, and gradually expand their community that way. What I originally had in mind was a group purchase of a large acreage to be split up. That way it would be possible to do some 'community planning' in the layout of the lots, and we'd be able to create a planned small farm village at the center of the project, with a 'village green' and possibly a community hall for get-togethers also. Another advantage of splitting a large piece of land would be that we could put in one good well and pipe water to the different homes (unless in an area where wells are commonly shallow and inexpensive). However, the other model, of people buying separate parcels near one another, would work, too.
I don't have a location picked out -- I have a preference for low or no property taxes, regardless of the climate. As I've said on the other list, I'm not going to be able to move for some time yet, as I've made a committment to stay here with my grandmother for as long as she needs me. So my one concern about location, for myself anyway, is that the world is changing drastically as we watch, and I wonder if, a few years from now, we'll still be *able* to move freely around this country. At the very least, it will probably be a lot more expensive to travel than it is now. So I'm not sure I'll be able to get back to Alaska in a few years, or go to Arkansas or Kentucky as some other people have suggested. I just have to leave it in God's hands.
Anyway, I'd be interested in hearing what people think, and hope you'll post your ideas on the yahoogroups list!
Kathleen