Today, build something useful & beautiful that will outlast you.
Make a habit of building and sharing every day.
You will be a self-reliant asset to your community.
And….. you will love yourself more!
Old Fashioned Neighborhood
Learning from Chickens
A chicken may just be one of the dumbest animals on the planet. Yet, today I found that there is much to learn from them.
I spent a good part of my Sunday afternoon relaxing in a lounge chair just observing our new chicken yard. Here’s some background to my story.
About 6 weeks ago, we took delivery of 30 Guinea Hen Chicks. We nurtured them in a cardboard box on our back porch till they outgrew it. A couple weeks ago Joe and I built a chicken coop. As soon as it was ready we moved the Guineas to the new coop while we finished off the fence around the chicken yard.
Guineas are originally from Africa. They are self-sufficient, extremely hardy, voraciously eat bugs (particularly ticks) and are great watch “dogs”. Pretty good neighbors by all my criteria.
Joe has been raising some laying hens and a rooster that he offered to give us. A couple days after completing the fenced yard, we moved the chickens in after dark while they slept. That was Friday night. We put them on their roosts so that when they awoke the next morning they would find themselves in their new home. Joe even brought a box for a nest and a golf ball as a placebo egg. The ball is a cue to where they are supposed to lay. Sure enough, the next day we had 4 beautiful eggs next to the golf ball. That was Saturday and we had a repeat performance today. Nothing like truly fresh eggs.
The first day the chickens and guineas mostly ignored each other. Their second night together I found them snuggled up tightly on the roost. One chicken even had a guinea under her wing.
Today, I noticed that they had become much more segregated. One of the red hens has taken to intimidation, chasing the guineas all over the yard and out of the chicken house. But when it gets dark, they all end up in the house on the roost again, although this evening, at a greater distance. They seem to have noticed a difference. The guineas are about half the size of the chickens, but growing rapidly. When mature, they should be roughly the same size. It will be interesting to see who intimidates whom when size is no longer a differentiator, the chickens are outnumbered about six to one and the guineas have a tactical flight advantage.
The behavior I found most interesting today was guinean. Guinea hens are extremely social animals, running in a tightly packed flock. In this case, I thought they were acting quite human. I had laid out some straw in one corner of the yard. There was plenty there for all the guineas, but it was mostly ignored. One guinea chick randomly took an interest, plucked a single piece of straw from the pile and sprinted for the opposite end of the yard, shaking the straw violently in its beak. Suddenly, that piece of straw became highly desirable to the whole flock, improved as it was in form and function by the shaking. As many chicks as could get near the first guinea began trying to take it away, while continuing to ignore the straw pile. There ensued a mighty chase until the first guinea finally dropped the straw. On the ground, it immediately lost its appeal and the flock’s attention returned to scratching randomly in the dirt.
How similar are people who must have the latest chic’ (pun intended) gadget just because someone else has it. How they scurry frantically about until it it is either acquired or becomes unfashionably passe’. How quickly the cycle spends itself and we rush off in hot pursuit of some new object in a different direction!
Aah, the vanity, avarice and covetousness of men, guineas and chickens. Also, like the red hen, how quickly we seek to intimidate or exercise authority over others just because we can.
Observing chickens may be at the peril of your pride in the human species. You might conclude that we aren’t much smarter than they. On the other hand, maybe we could all learn from watching chickens and stop running around like, uhhhh……
a chicken with its head cut off?
Community -The Value of People
I get calls all the time from people saying they are looking for a community of “like-minded people”. It seems that has become a cliche’. Like most buzz words, it’s worth digging a little deeper to find out what it means to the person using it. A wise man said, “the map is not the territory”.
The Village is all about making a place to live where people share similar, bedrock values especially caring about and being able to depend on their neighbors. That takes a lot of work. It means I have to explore their map of reality below the surface cliche’s. Fortunately, by the time most people call me they are pre-screened. They have found us by searching on some important key words. They know they want a self-sufficient lifestyle and they want community. They aren’t very interested in a superficial country club lifestyle where everybody wants to flaunt their wealth. Most of the time, they are busy professionals, intelligent, successful folks with solid values who want to simplify. They have usually read my blog, so the field has already been narrowed to a select few with a pretty good fit – compatible values. But even then, I’m not shy about telling people who wouldn’t fit that they might be happier with a different kind of community. Why? Because I live here and I’m building the kind of place where I want to live for the rest of my life. Great relationships with people are more important than money. People are more important than things.
In hard times especially, people need to draw together. Trusting relationships are everything. This message seems to be resonating with people more and more as the economy looks ever more shaky and the government looks ever more out of control. At a time when most luxury resort type communities haven’t sold anything for a year and are going bust, we are growing rapidly.
If you call or visit, there is no high pressure sales pitch. Even before we show you around, we like to sit and chat for a while – explore your “map”, your values, your goals and aspirations. Before you fall in love with the land we want to know that you will love the kind of people who are here.
We offer a private website where villagers, prospective villagers, contractors, and even neighbors from outside our “non-exclusive” development can get to know one another and share their views, ask each other candid questions and make sure this is where they want to be. I have even offered to set up conference calls between prospective and current villagers to explore the fit. It’s a slow process and it risks killing sales, but I think it’s worth it. After all, making a move like this is a big change for most people. There’s more to a happy life than a nice secluded house nestled in nature’s beauty. You’re not buying dirt and trees, you’re hoping to buy a happy life. We do everything we can to assure that will happen for our Villagers … and for ourselves.
3rd Annual Independence Day Celebration @ the Village
An independent, self-sufficient lifestyle is one element that defines the Village. So, Independence Day is OUR day, our 3rd annual.
We will start celebrating on Friday the 3rd with a double feature on the big screen under the stars in our amphitheater. Call for an invitation to join us. You might even consider bringing a tent or RV to camp out near by.
The 4th will start out with an early flag ceremony. Bring a flag to plant in a field of flags. Celebrate the freedom and independence promised by our constitution. At the amphitheater stage, we plan to have bluegrass and country music with some free form jamming. I’ll bring my sax. You’re welcome to join in. You can hike and explore our 500 acre nature preserve. In the evening, villagers will share a potluck dinner and fireworks.
If you would like to join us, please RSVP us at (931) 442-1444.
Tiny Homes – Big Life
Some time ago a Realtor suggested to me that the formula for calculating the cost of building a home should be a large multiple of the cost of the lot. At the time it struck me as a bit odd. The more I have considered it, the more out of step that thinking seems. It reminded me of advice I received as a young man. I was contemplating marriage and buying an engagement ring. The jeweler informed me that I should budget a certain percent of my annual salary for that ring. There was no consideration for any of my personal values, economic circumstances, nor of my future bride, only custom and fashion. A thinking person holds neither fashion nor custom in very high regard. It seemed that someone concocted these formulas more for the benefit of the salesman than for the happiness and well-being of the buyer.
For a person who values nature, if there is to be such a formula, shouldn’t the numerator and denominator be flipped? Shouldn’t the land value be a multiple of the house? Which is the more durable, the more valuable over time? What does REAL in Real Estate refer to? Great architects will invariably assert that good architecture is molded to the character of the land, not the other way round. The most famous example of the principle is “Falling Water” designed by our most lauded architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. But I hold that the true spirit of the principle was best illustrated by my favorite philosopher, Henry David Thoreau. He found his greatest joy living in about a 150 square foot house of his own construction beside a lovely pond in the woods.
Today, it has become quite fashionable to downsize to small, even tiny houses. How good it would be if behavior were driven by wisdom not fashion, but what a happy coincidence we find ourselves in! The unforeseen benefits of a small home are substantial. When the land one lives on is of greater value than the house, the true proportional value emerges between things made by man and those made by God.
This conflict of interest has reached absurd proportions as American suburbs filled with McMansions that people can neither afford nor use. Huge spaces that only require the owner to fill them with furniture that they can also not afford. Possessions own us. Thankfully, current economic hardships have brought a degree of common sense back to at least some.
In the Village, it’s really ok to own a small house rather than be owned by a huge, wasteful one. There is no minimum house size here. We are blessed with a mild climate and stunningly beautiful land filled with plants and animals in their natural state. A small home invites one to be outside and enjoy all that nature has to offer. The Village lifestyle is the antidote for the cocooning generation, holed up with TV’s, video games in cavernous mansions, full of things and yet empty of life.
How full one’s life becomes when the great out-of-doors becomes the boundaries of our habitation, not the walls of our house.
For some ideas on living small, check this out: http://www.tinyhousedesign.com/
Spring Green and Peace is in the Air
It’s that beautiful time of year when the new green is fresh and delicate. Recent rains have filled the creeks to overflowing and the waterfalls roar. At our elevation, the dogwoods, wild azaleas, wildflowers and mountain laurel are about a month behind Atlanta – now in full bloom.
Spring brings out the best in us. While the dark clouds of the economy and world events are still with us, people are breaking free of fear and indecision. In the past couple of weeks we have sold seven lots and our new Villagers are a cut above. Intelligent, hard working, concerned about having and being good neighbors, there is a sense of excitement, energy and cooperation awakening in the Village community underlying a sense of well-being and deep calm.
New owners are voluntarily working together to share information, green construction ideas and purchasing power as they build their homes. It’s a good place to be. This year promises to be the best ever.
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.
Yes, You Can … be free and independent… and we can help
A recent visitor shared with us his desire to make a break from dependence on an unstable world… quickly followed by a confession of fear of plunging into the unknown. Is it just an illusion for old hippies who live in communes?
We took a walk past our thundering waterfall, then to our garden that provided about 80% of all our food last summer. I showed him our newly planted orchard and greenhouse that will easily quadruple our growing capacity and our 7,500 gallon cistern that provides water security. I showed him several projects I’m working on to make us energy self-sufficient. Then we talked numbers, how all of this plus our modest, sustainable home (built for less than $80 per square foot) were all completed at minimal cost and how being debt free and self-sustaining on our family plot of land has brought us such peace of mind.
Like most white collar workers from a corporate background, I lacked the backwoods skills necessary to be truly self-sustaining. So, like most people, I was afraid of the unknown. Was it really possible to live well outside the tenuous infrastructure that is crumbling around us? Could I do it? After two years of joyful work, learning and doing, I can answer unequivocally, YES !!!
Still dreaming but afraid to make the leap? Our concept is of a community where intelligent people with a strong work ethic and family values independently own their own property but work and play together to build solid relationships on top of an unconquerable desire to be free and self-sufficient.
Having proved that it is possible, we’re here to help you achieve the same peace of mind. Come take a look. Like they say at Home Depot,
YOU CAN DO IT. WE CAN HELP!
“Intentional Community” or just an “Old-Fashioned Neighborhood”?
Much has been written about the “Intentional Community” or “Eco Village” where like-minded altruistic people band together to create an idyllic, Utopian lifestyle. We intend to enjoy an abundant community lifestyle without the pitfalls.
Despite best intentions, about 90% of these social experiments fail for different reasons including: – Unclear Vision or Mission – Common Ownership of assets that creates a crucible of conflict. – Insufficient resources to accomplish community goals. – Consensus government without the skills required to manage conflict or reach consensus. – Unrealistic expectations of a life of simple ease, basking in nature’s glory while leisurely tending a communal garden. History records that most IC’s never get off the ground, quickly crumbling into internal bickering and cynicism. See http://ic.org for some thought provoking insight.
The Villagers of Sewanee Creek believe there’s a better model of Intentional Community that simply harks back to an old, proven institution, one that survived the test of time before our unsustainable modern lifestyle of extreme suburban mobility isolated us from one another and blew it apart. Read the rest of my BLOG and you will see that there are many elements of Intentional Community which we share.
So, what’s different about our model from unsuccessful IC’s and why does it work? In the Old Fashioned Neighborhood Model:
- The burden of common ownership or shared livelihood is not imposed on its members. In its place a good measure of independence with private property ownership keeps everyone accountable for their own life.
- It is not a commune of social dropouts, lacking the financial resources to function in the real world. There is a cost of independent ownership that provides a necessary screen.
- Only critical assets that would be unsustainable or impractical to hold individually are held in common. –
- Group Participation in community activities is optional, although encouraged. It is no longer a burden, but a joyful choice.
- A conscious effort is made to organize healthy activities using the assets of the Village. The clubhouse is, therefore, not eye candy built to make the development look nice. It has a purpose and is in constant use.
- The community garden is in place and functioning at the outset so that as people move here, community assets are already actively in use in a scalable fashion.
- Those who desire privacy and personal space (and who doesn’t at times?) are welcome to as much of it as they like. For those who are ready for something other than isolation, it’s ready and waiting.
- It would be tempting to call this an “active adult community” also a popular model for retiring baby boomers, except that the Village strives to attract people who are (1) diverse in age, (2) diverse and accomplished in their talents and interests, and (3) want to interact with others to enrich their life experiences in diverse ways; and they take personal responsibility to make that happen. Hence, it is not a specialized golf community although there are wonderful golf courses nearby. Take the word “Adult” out and it’s closer to what we are. We are an “Active Community” with a purpose.
Hmmm… Maybe we are a hybrid, an “active eco-community“? What’s the glue that holds the Village together differently from your typical suburban neighborhood? – People who choose to live here are attracted to the village because of shared values, their love of nature, including the earth and all living things. People with those values tend to care about other people as well. They are the kind of people who go out of their way to help each other.
People choose to live here because of a clear, articulated vision that emphasizes the importance of community – caring for other people. They like people. They understand that life is enriched by sharing with other people. They seek to learn from others who have something to share and they enjoy teaching from the wealth of life experiences they have accumulated. They are the kind of folks who might intentionally linger on their front porch at dusk not to miss a neighbor strolling by. They also take comfort that, in a pinch, their neighbors would go out of their way to help, just as they would. And they know that’s not an idle promise because people who live here have first made the effort to be independent with things like renewable energy so that they have the personal resources to give back and become interdependent. I call that “provident living“. Subtle things, you might think. But then, the best things in life aren’t forced, but are the natural outcome of making wise choices about simple things that are often overlooked.
People will be either the problem or the solution. And I guess that brings us back to the word “intentional“. I believe good people of good intent in the right environment are the solution. Call us what you like. We are simply, the Village on Sewanee Creek.
the Village on Sewanee Creek 