What if a bunch of us got together and drank bad beer in the garden and asked "what if"
It was 2013 but it seemed like forever ago. We were in the garden in the fall, just three of us at the time. The air was getting just a little cooler, but it was still mid-September in the south which meant it was still hot...muggy. Still there was a hint of fall in the air.
I had just graduated from Clemson and was looking for a job. Carol had come down from New York, and others had come from goodness knows where. We were lost. Still whenever there was a party or a meeting about sustainability or being off grid, or local politics, there we were, beers in hand, playing "what if"
When people ask me for advice on how to do something like this, whether to live in a tiny house; how to go off grid, and so on, I always tell them about the choices that you will have to make. People will not understand what you want to do, so you have to decide how much you care. It is going to be a lot of self guided work so you will have to see how motivated you can keep yourself. The biggest question, I think, is whether or not to go it alone.
It is easier with friends, that is true. You can all split the common work and the bills are a cheaper. You will always know your neighbor and have someone to look after your stuff when you are gone, or your kids when you are away. And so on.
We encountered a lot of downsides when we looked at what we wanted to do, so fair warning.
We are at nine people now. The basic idea was to get 10 acres on a plot of land out in the middle of nowhere. This would have been ideal because land in rural areas now verges on $1000- $1500 per acre. This would also have been ideal because land in the middle of nowhere is expandable. Keep in mind our initial goal was to start with 10 acres and expand to hundreds as we brought more and more people into the community.
We had no intention of "going underground" at first. In fact we wanted the exact opposite. We wanted to make this an inclusive community where people could visit and would be an example for others.
Problem one...Money.
The key to anything like this is investment. People have to feel as though they are a part of something and the people around them have to feel as though they are committed. If you are trying to start anything like this, you need to know that people do not part with small money easily. Rather than have a part of a place like this, a whole place where they OWN the land, people will often opt to pay MORE money to a structured institution.
Our first iteration, called for a $2000.00 investment from each person who wanted to be involved. As we talked to each person, we broke down how much we were talking about in terms that related to them and their lives. $2000? for some people that was two months of rent in Greenville. For others, it was their clothing budget. It was their food for three months and so on.
For some people the price was really cheap and for some it was really high. Still, with each came the promise of independence and freedom. The people who contacted us would not do it.
I would recommend doing one of three things. If you are going to get people to go in as a group, get everyone to buy into it. Make sure that each person has an equal share in the core of the property and have them contractually obligate themselves to it within a specific time frame.
We set very specific guidelines and goals for those who wanted to get involved at first and did not waver.
OR
Get one person to pay for everything at first. You might have long term problems at first, but you do have the benefit of a consolidated front.
OR
Stick with friends and a small number of friends, at that (I will get into that later).
Rest assured, we are just getting warmed up. These past two years have been an adventure and I really think that people should have a good idea of what they are up against. The core of anything that you deal with for the foreseeable future is going to be money.
good points and with some familiarity with it...
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