Food

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Sustainable Living Progress Report

Progress Update

OK, so I have been really bad about posting updates lately. That’s because I’ve been working hard on projects and I’m dog-tired at the end of each day.  The good news is that we’re moving forward with lots of cool stuff here.

Thanks to my wife, the greenhouse is planted and lots of little sprouts are poking their heads up. The weather has gotten warm enough to shut down the greenhouse furnace for now. Daytime temps are in the 70’s and greenhouse temp’s are in the 80’s and 90’s. We still need to install the shade cloth for the summer. Should be arriving this week.

We have engaged a land company on several projects. A huge track-hoe is now sitting on the property ready to begin work this week expanding the retention pond where we plan to raise cattails to be distilled for alcohol fuel and retain water for irrigation.

Chuck is making good progress on the wood gasifier that will also make fuel for the stationary generator installation. This green electricity generating system will also become an economic mainstay for producing a valuable product in the Village.  Chuck is part of the larger community web of folks dedicated to being self-sufficient. When you visit, you should make time to meet him. He’s an amazing resource and an amazing guy!

We have finished grading a large pad for a workshop / storage building. I’m excited about this prototype project because we will be using 40′ X 8′ shipping containers as the green building blocks. These large steel containers are built for ocean shipping conditions. Therefore, strong enough to handle hurricanes but inexpensive because there are millions of these things piled up at sea ports needing to be salvaged. I plan to face the sides of them with oak slab paneling – a FREE byproduct of local saw mills and insulate them with recycled insulation from the many commercial chicken houses that have closed near here. We will install roof trusses with a pitched steel roof and, once again install tanks to collect rainwater for irrigation. The shop will be heated in winter from the same outdoor wood furnace that will heat the greenhouse and two other homes. So, when we’re done, we’ll have a state-of-the-art green facility that costs not a lot more than our sweat equity and has an attractive, rustic look to boot.

Now for the part that really gets my creative juices going. We have purchased three of these containers – two for the shop and a third one that will be used to hosue the screen and backstage at the amphitheater. By this year’s third annual July 4th event we hope the amphitheater will be fully and permanently functional. The stage container will also house electronic sound equipment, a small kitchen and serve as a multipurpose community center.

My brother has been here for the past month working on his house and helping with all these projects. It’s great to have like-minded people who you love focused together on the same goals and having fun at it.

It seems that the worse the economy gets the better it is for the people in the Village.

We look forward to seeing all of you soon.

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Top 9 Antidotes for hard times

While there is some really good news happening at grass-roots levels with thinking people, there is plenty to be concerned about and to prepare for. I always try to stay positive in my communications.  Sometimes, that is only possible because I’m feeling well prepared and getting more independent every day.

Prepared for what? Read the articles in the link below.
http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/BreakingNews.html

So, how have I prepared?  My private website, “the friends of Sewanee Creek” chronicles that preparation over the past two years. A long time ago, on our forum, I outlined what I consider to be the key elements of preparedness.

Recently I was told by a prospective Villager that what attracted him to the Village is our “authentic” marketing. I think anyone who visits and witnesses how we have focused our resources will plainly see that our interests are in sustainability over green window-dressing. That’s intentional.

We want neighbors who are intelligent, aware, resourceful and ready to contribute within a community that is ready to roll up their shirtsleeves and create real value – together. I don’t think that happens with slick marketing that glosses over the challenges with an appeal to a cushy, yuppie-luxury lifestyle. We have found from experience that our marketing message doesn’t appeal to the masses whose primary objective is ease and comfort and are in denial about what has already happened in our world. That’s a good thing.

Authentic? You bet. Here’s what my family have accomplished over the past two years:
I started with the absolute essentials to sustain life.
1. WATER:
Secured an independent and renewable water supply using rain water catchment.
2. FOOD:
Secured our independent year-round food supply. We set up an intensive garden, improved the soil, began organic composting, implemented a renewable, independent irrigation system, planted, worked and learned how. Built rabbit hutches and began raising rabbits. Bottom line, we raised about 80% of what we ate this summer in addition to canning and preserving a substantial amount for the winter. We are now completing a greenhouse, roughly twice the size of our garden. This winter, our objective is to learn how to raise all the food we need to sustain our family year round.
3. SHELTER:
Built a comfortable, sustainable home right-sized for our needs that incorporates passive solar heating, good insulation, multiple redundant heat sources and potable, independent water supply.
4. FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE:
Financially secured our home and personal land and all personal assets, free and clear of all debt.  Paid off all bank debt on personal property.
5. ENERGY / TRANSPORTATION
Secured renewable transportation. Purchased an all-electric plug-in vehicle that provides adequate transportation between our home and Tracy City.
6. ENERGY / HEAT & ELECTRICITY
Planning to build and implement low-cost renewable, energy solutions for home and greenhouse heat and electricity generation.
7. COMMUNITY / EXTENDED FAMILY:
Educated my extended family about impending failures of global finance, energy and food supply, social disintegration and opportunities of sustainable living. This resulted in a commitment to gathering of family and co-investment in renewable assets and permaculture living.
8. COMMUNITY / THE MOUNTAIN:
Developed relationships with resourceful people who live a sustainable life style in the larger community to provide opportunities for trade of skills, information and other critical resources.
9. COMMUNITY / THE VILLAGE:
Planned, developed and facilitated government planning approvals for the Village. Built key facilities to promote Villager interaction and appreciation of natural assets – the amphitheater, community garden and trails.

Reduced costs on property and slashed prices to attract the right kind of self-sufficient, independent and responsible people to our community at the lowest possible, sustainable cost.

My family and I are at peace with our preparedness and action plans for the future. It has taken more than two years of concentrated effort to achieve that. Most days if you visit, you will find my wife and I personally on the land working with our own hands, learning, building and growing. It’s a big change in lifestyle from that of a senior executive. It is not without its challenges, but we love it. We have a sense of personal connection and accomplishment with what we are building, not to mention the thrill of living in close connection with the beauty and rhythms of nature.

Are you comfortable about your future? If you are one of the intelligent, resourceful and aware people, not in denial, ready to go to work, aware that it will take time, work and the help of other like-minded people, but confident of your own ability and drive to live sustainably, please don’t delay another day. The time to prepare is now.

Having made the transition, having done it, we can confidently help you make the transition too.

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Optimist’s view of Peak Oil – The new oil end game

One of the great advantages of living in an intentional community like the village is that you join with can-do people who, instead of just wringing their hands about world conditions, are actively engaged in solving problems. That’s a good feeling, you learn a lot and it’s fun.

Examples:
1. This summer, we lived about 80% on the food we grew in our garden and are planning to extend that winning streak through the winter with a green house.
2. We’re working on a green energy system that utilizes our unique local resources to power our home in the woods where wind and solar aren’t good options.
3. Our rain water collection system now gives us the option of living independent of public water. Our water is soft, pure without chemicals and free.

This week, confidence in our financial systems took a major hit with the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, AIG bailout, stock market roller coaster ride, etc.

Here is a TED talk that gives us lots of reasons for optimism about the potential for future world stability on many levels, including financial, ecological, social, and geo-political.
Take a look at this video for an injection of optimism.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/amory_lovins_on_winning_the_oil_endgame.html

PS: For those of you who don’t have the capital to tackle the world’s large-scale problems, but are not satisfied with sitting at the sidelines, join us in the village. We’re working on personal sustainability with some very encouraging results.

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Where can I get cheap gas?

Everybody is feeling the pinch of high gas prices.  Many are beginning to realize this isn’t a temporary thing.
What to do?  How about relocating to a place where we think long-term about all aspects of our lives, including the true cost of energy to our lifestyle, our peace of mind, as well as our pocket book?

I recently purchased a plug-in electric vehicle that I am outfitting with solar panels.  I like infinite MPG and $0.00/gallon.  In our rural location, we live only about two miles from a small town that supplies most of our daily needs.  A few more miles down the road is a wonderful University that supplies most of our social, intellectual and cultural needs.  All within easy commuting distance with our electric vehicle that cost under $5,000 equipped with solar.

What about the other energy costs in your life?  We are one of very few truly green communities that is working through all aspects of life after cheap oil and our damaged environment.  Our “green rebate” on the purchase of a lot puts money back in your pocket to help you install solar energy or a rainwater catchment system like the 7,500 gallon one we put on our house that makes us water self-sufficient.

Our community organic garden employs an organic coach that will help you learn to compost, improve the quality of the soil on your own mini-farm and ultimately reach the peace of mind that only comes from being truly self-sufficient.

Our unique combination of vision, philosophy, natural beauty and green expertise make this the perfect place to live an abundant, self-sufficient life in spite of a confusing, complex and distressed world.

Give me a call or come visit us to see how we are preparing our little village to live peacefully, a community in harmony with nature.

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Educating a Community to become self-sustaining

I just viewed a youtube video that I suggest everyone take a look at along with the many other wonderful videos produced by peak moment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajqgOCxGEAo&sdig=1

Here at the village, we continue to stay focused on building a self-sustaining community.  Part of that effort is reaching out to the surrounding rural community that is rich in sustainable resources and culture.

I think independence day should be symbolic of our need to become resourcefully independent of our brittle, oil dependent world.  On the evenings of July 4th and 5th, we will be screening some educational videos on how to become self-sustaining and engaging folks in conversation about proactive measures we can and are taking here at the village.

If you are interested in coming, send me an email or give me a call.

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Amphitheater, Community & Movie Reviews

As some of you know, I’m an unabashed movie lover. I got my start when I worked for Blockbuster Video years ago doing international development in places like Japan, Brazil and Thailand.

Since then I have built several home theaters, one with a small stage. From that experience I learned the power of having an active venue that brings people together for expression, entertainment and education. We regularly invited friends with their families to enjoy a movie and some light refreshments or a barbecue. It frequently amazed and delighted me when, as the adults enjoyed some light conversation and prepared the food, the kids would disappear into the basement only to reappear an hour or so later. They would announce that they had put together a skit and wanted us all to come down to the theater to watch them perform. What a joy that was! That experience brought us all so much closer together.

We began to actively plan our social visits by choosing a short play in advance and doing reader’s theater with our friends. It was easy, required no memorization, but brought out new sides of our friends that we hadn’t seen and it brought us closer together. Similarly, enjoying a stimulating movie together followed by some discussion created links of mutual understanding.

That’s why, as we work to build a close-knit community at the Village, the first thing we built is the landscaping for the amphitheater and a simple stage.

When we have enough people resident on the property to assure some oversight, we will install the large movie screen that we have already acquired and set it up with low power FM broadcast, a projector and media player. Meanwhile, we will temporarily use our smaller 12′ screen on an as-needed basis at the amphitheater and in our home, that now boasts a comfortable home theater. We have a standing offer for Movie night at the Millers pending RSVP.

As for content, like just about everything else in our lives, we enjoy being a bit eclectic. Recently I have felt a sense of responsibility to share and educate others about the need to live a sustainable life.

Here are a couple of recommendations for documentaries I have recently viewed that I think do an excellent job of speaking to two of the four important elements of sustainability that are part of our mission, renewable energy and food. You can rent these from Netflix (my current favorite source).

They are:

* The Future of Food: a sobering look at the industrialization and control of our food chain. This one will make you want to start your own garden – soon.

* Car of the Future: A humorous approach hosted by Click and Clack, the tappet brothers of NPR “Car Talk” fame with an optimistic view of what is achievable and already achieved.

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Tennessee Mountain Community

I’m intensely committed to BUILDING a close-knit, self-sustaining community of like-minded, intelligent and resourceful people within the Village on Sewanee Creek.

But there is a sustainable mountain community surrounding the Village proper already in existence.  It is filled with highly resourceful people who already know how to live joyfully in good times and hard times in harmony with nature and people.  Let me tick off just some of the resources that surround us here.
– Band Saw Mill within 1/2 mile.
– Free Range Cattle within 1 mile.
– Free Range Chickens within 1/4 mile producing free range eggs.
– Bees that produce local honey
– Worm Farm (one of 3 largest in the US) produces worm casting compost for organic gardening (not to mention fishing worms)
– Many small and medium acreage farmers and a well-organized web based farmers market selling everything from organic soap to indigenous herbs and ornamental shrubs to organically grown vegetables and delivering them to your door.
– Greenhouse within 1.5 miles producing sprouts for flowers and vegetables.
– Many skilled craftsmen in masonry, timber frame and traditional construction.  Strong Mennonite community in nearby Altamont.
– An artist community within about 2 miles that features experts in welding, glass blowing and pottery.
– Two mid-sized supermarkets, 2 dollar stores and a home improvement center 5 minutes away for every day shopping.
– Outstanding educational and cultural institutions that span Kindergarten to University within 20 minutes.

As we build the Village, it’s good to know that a larger wonderful village already envelops us.  There is a certain peace of mind being anchored in such a community.  We are truly blessed to be in this part of the Tennessee Mountains.

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Is There a Prepared Community Out There?

Pick up today’s newspaper and you will likely be hit with news of surging grain prices, “peak oil”, changing weather patterns, flooding, drought, economy woes, terrorist threats, war….  Bummer!  So, toss the newspaper and just hunker down, right?

At the Village we see a bigger picture.  “Being prepared” for life at The Village on Sewanee Creek is made into a full, joyous lifestyle.  This “intentional community” plan is based on sustainability, self-reliance, and unity in a drop-dead gorgeous piece of nature in Tennessee where 500 of the 750 acres is set aside for a nature preserve, shared by Village neighbors.

Why Tennessee?  While the Village could have been founded anywhere, there’s a certain allure about a state that has:
–  no income taxes,
–  low property taxes,
–  low cost of living,
–  lush, green woodlands,
–  rocky bluffs overlooking canyons and streams,
–  and a diverse culture from “mountain folks” who know how to live simply to academia.  (The ivy league University of the South is nearby with its rich cultural offerings).

Sustainable living at The Village is an old-fashioned concept with insightful new applications on four levels:

Energy:  10% of the purchase price of a lot up to $10,000 is rebated for building with alternative energy such as solar, geo-thermal or wind.

Food:  A community garden is maintained with help from a horticulturist and an organic gardening coach.

Water:  Rain water collection systems are encouraged and the rebate offered may also be applied here.  Most food storage would be useless without water.  Many who have rainwater collection systems are able to be completely independent of municipal water for both household and garden use, even during drought years.  Municipal water lines are still available, of course.

Community:  The most important thing that distinguishes the Village on Sewanee Creek is the sense of community.  Hiking and biking trails wander through pristine woodlands and past waterfalls through the 500 acre nature preserve.  A community garden brings neighbors together in America’s favorite pastime, gardening.  On the cleared bluff is a common area with breath taking views of the canyon and the mountains beyond.  An outdoor pavilion and barbecues will welcome you for a picnic or to watch a spectacular sunset, or even to linger for an outdoor movie.  A natural rock amphitheater surrounds a stage and large screen where family movies are shown against the backdrop of a starlit sky.

Located between Chattanooga and Nashville, the 750 acre Village on Sewanee Creek is placed in a rural setting, with shopping, restaurants, etc. an easy 5-25 minutes away.

Whether you’re looking for your primary residence in a prepared community, a beautifully located retirement or vacation retreat, or a second home safe haven, The Village on Sewanee Creek is an ideal choice.  Prices for a two acre lot start in the low $30’s.  One-of-a-kind home sites feature stunning bluff views, creeks and magnificent waterfalls.

I have seen the world from many angles having spent 30 years as an executive in international business.  I’ve worked in over fifty countries and have seen the way societies all over the world function, noting the ever decreasing self-reliance of our own.  My experience with and love for people, cultures and places around the globe were instrumental in developing a unique philosophy on the development of a diverse, healthy, intelligent, intentional community in harmony with people and nature.

All in all, It’s not just prepared living.  It’s joyful living.

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Community Organic Garden

The Village is a GREEN DEVELOPMENT committed to developing a SENSE OF COMMUNITY.

An excellent way to promote both values is by providing a community garden space.  Here’s how it works.

1.  We efficiently do the heavy lifting by tilling the ground of the entire plot.
2.  At the beginning of the growing season, each Villager claims and stakes out a portion to tend.
3.  We provide a knowledgeable organic gardening coach to help select the herbs and vegetables that will do well in the garden, organically control insects, water and improve the soil.
4.  Villagers enjoy developing close relationships, working side by side and sharing their know-how and produce.

the Village on Sewanee Creek is a place where People and Nature are in Harmony.  A by-product of this environment is a sense of peace, security and self-sufficiency.