Saturday, April 10, 2010

Different Views

Sara and I had a profound and clarifying meeting with T and M this evening that really helped us all get clearer on each others visions and individual values and the importance of a clear direction.

The most valuable thing that came out of this meeting was a strengthening of my desire to build a community and culture for world change... not just another off the grid place to live and be safe because a lot of people think society is going to collapse. I am confident that there are enough of the latter already and a definite need for the former and I'm the person to make that happen.

Our meeting covered a lot of different options for creating this place... traditional real estate investment where people would buy their own ranches in an area and come together as community, parcelling up a large piece of property, and building something small and then expanding with a lot of the objections/concerns of T and M focused on safety and being sure everyone contributed equally. Sara and I shared a vision that T and I have spoke about many times and is much different than these more traditional models and I think this was M's first exposure to this 'grander' vision.

While warmly received I don't believe they think it is possible and they made it clear that it is definitely not the fastest way to security... and we are also clear that a more traditional model is definitely not the fastest way to community.

In the end, I think the major differences between our vision and T and M's is why we want to create it. When our discussion ended we all agreed that T and M's priorities were definitely on safety and security and Sara and my priorities hardly even focused on this even though it was part of our top 5 reasons for creating something like this. Now I'm not so sure if it is truly a reason or just a benefit and from a personal perspective I think I've learned something very important - the value of a clear focus.

Sara and I have decided to drop the "Security and Safety" aspects of our vision and continue clarifying the details of our vision here to make them more understandable and realistic for people that haven't been studying this as long as I have. Social structure, government, entrepreneurial structure, investment opportunities, community stages, community dynamics, community maintenance, sponsorship into the community and all the other details create quite a mindful and while T and I have discussed this, it was more than M had ever heard and his comments made it clear that what is in my head needs to be put down in writing so it can be mulled over and digested in a manner that is more comfortable for most people.

Bottom line: Clarity of Vision IS the most important aspect to start with and T and M's is very different than mine. Seeing that has clarified mine even more and it is time to put it all down in a form that can be referenced and understood easily and I'm thinking this blog is going to be the place to do that.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Ranch Values Alignment

The values totals have been calculated to get a clear picture of what our collective thoughts look like and to give us something to work with as we continue discussions to get even more clear on exactly what it is that we are looking for now that we have seen every property in the four states we are considering.

There is some concern on Sara and my part that T and M are much more focused on security issues than community building but we hope to negotiate those differences as our combined effort, if aligned, will create what we want much faster than separate efforts.

To weigh the totals equally, everything from the individual totals was given a number in order of importance from 43-1 and then the 4 individual totals for each priority were added together and a final list was created and sorted based on high to low score with the highest score possible being 172 (43X4 if we all had that as our #1 priority) and the lowest score being 4 (4X1 if we all had that as our last priority).

Here are the final totals of our collective scores:
1 Clarity of Vision and this as Part of Purpose 160
2 Clear, Concise Heart Felt Communication 157
3 6+ Mos of shorts and t-shirt (growing temps) 151
4 300+ Sunny Days 149
5 Garden that provides 90% of fruit/vegetables 146
6 30+ Acres Buildable Land 140
7 3-5 Independent and Stable Water Sources 140
8 Clean/Loving Energy of the Land 138
9 Self Sufficient Energy (solar/hydro/geothermal) 137
10 Healthy Land 132
11 No need to work off the ranch 129
12 Everyone Contributing 125
13 Surplus Revenue 119
14 Green House 116
15 Diversity of Artistic & Spiritual People 113
16 Center of Peace 111
17 Center of Healing 108
18 Trees 106
19 Fruit Trees 105
20 30-40 min from Town of Culture 103
21 River 86
22 Hot Springs 85
23 Lake 84
24 Master Farmer 84
25 5 pods 75
26 Food Reserves (2 yrs ea person) - root cellar 75
27 Berry Bushes 62
28 Streams 59
29 Dentist 50
30 Nurse or Doctor 50
31 Master Electrician 49
32 Elk, Moose, Sheep and/or Deer 46
33 Amphitheater 45
34 Goats & Chickens 42
35 Labyrinth 42
36 Master Plumber 42
37 Master Wood Worker 38
38 Bunker 37
39 Master Seamstress 34
40 Turkey, rabbits, pigs, quail, pheasant 33
41 Master Potter 29
42 Medicine Wheel 21
43 Exercise Facility/Jungle Gym 18

Next step in this process is a sit down to discuss this data. Sara and I feel good about the final numbers.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Individual Values

Getting Clear on our Values...

"Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values." -Dalai Lama-

Each person who gets involved with a project like this comes to the table with different strengths, different ideas, and different values. Looking at our list of what the ranch should include it became important to recognize that different purposes for the existence of the ranch will require different aspects to be emphasized in its creation. To get clear on what this means, Sara and I along with two friends creating a similar community (T & M) but with a different focus each made a list of our top 4-6 "ranch purposes" and placed the items in order of importance to these purposes from most important to least.

I then weighted each of the 43 items to reflect its level of importance with the #1 priority getting 50 points and the #43 priority getting 1 point. #1 purpose items all got +5, #2 got +3 and #3 purpose got +1 to add additional weight to the priorities under these key reasons for ranch creation. The totals were then combined to see what the accumulated focuses would produce for each individual's priorities.

The list of what a ranch (more their description)/community (more our description) should contain illuminated some very different ideas and we came together and to do this exercise in order to negotiate these differences and illuminate strengths and weaknesses to determine if our visions should be combined or progress separately.

Here are the results:
Jae Priorities:
#1: "A PLACE OF AMAZING BEAUTY"
#2: "A PLACE OF COMMUNITY & GROWTH" TEMPLATE - (PERSONAL & SPIRITUAL ABUNDANCE)"
#3: "A PLACE OF COMFORT"
#4: "A PLACE OF FINANCIAL ABUNDANCE"
#5: "A PLACE OF PEACE AND HEALING"
#6: "A PLACE OF SAFETY"

Final Totals:
Clarity of Vision and this as Part of Purpose 282
Clean/Loving Energy of the Land 267
Clear, Concise Heart Felt Communication 266
300+ Sunny Days 234
30+ Acres Buildable Land 231
6+ Mos of shorts and t-shirt (growing temps) 228
Everyone Contributing 228
Self Sufficient Energy (solar/hydro/geothermal) 223
3-5 Independent and Stable Water Sources 219
Healthy Land 211
Garden that provides 90% of fruit/vegetables 207
Surplus Revenue 198
Lake 181
Trees 181
Fruit Trees 174
Center of Peace 168
30-40 min from Town of Culture 166
No need to work off the ranch 166
Hot Springs 157
Green House 152
Berry Bushes 149
Center of Healing 149
Elk, Moose, Sheep and/or Deer 146
Diversity of Artistic & Spiritual People 141
River 137
Streams 132
Master Farmer 129
5 pods 100
Labyrinth 92
Turkey, rabbits, pigs, quail, pheasant 89
Goats & Chickens 87
Amphitheater 85
Nurse or Doctor 85
Food Reserves (2 yrs ea person) - root cellar 82
Master Potter 79
Master Seamstress 78
Dentist 77
Master Wood Worker 77
Master Plumber 74
Master Electrician 70
Medicine Wheel 65
Exercise Facility/Jungle Gym 62
Bunker 54


Sara Priorities:
#1: "A PLACE OF COMMUNITY OFF THE GRID"
#2: "A PLACE OF ART AND BEAUTY"
#3: "A PLACE OF PEACE AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH"
#4: "A PLACE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY"
#5: "A PLACE OF ABUNDANCE"

Final Totals:
Clarity of Vision and this as Part of Purpose 259
Clean/Loving Energy of the Land 242
Clear, Concise Heart Felt Communication 233
300+ Sunny Days 217
Healthy Land 207
Garden that provides 90% of fruit/vegetables 200
30+ Acres Buildable Land 198
Diversity of Artistic & Spiritual People 188
No need to work off the ranch 180
6+ Mos of shorts and t-shirt (growing temps) 175
Center of Peace 170
Self Sufficient Energy (solar/hydro/geothermal) 167
Center of Healing 165
Trees 158
Green House 149
5 pods 139
Everyone Contributing 136
River 129
Fruit Trees 128
30-40 min from Town of Culture 124
Hot Springs 124
Lake 123
Master Farmer 115
Elk, Moose, Sheep and/or Deer 113
3-5 Independent and Stable Water Sources 105
Berry Bushes 96
Streams 96
Turkey, rabbits, pigs, quail, pheasant 87
Master Wood Worker 84
Nurse or Doctor 77
Surplus Revenue 77
Master Electrician 76
Master Seamstress 76
Amphitheater 75
Medicine Wheel 74
Food Reserves (2 yrs ea person) - root cellar 70
Labyrinth 64
Master Plumber 64
Master Potter 63
Goats & Chickens 52
Dentist 41
Exercise Facility/Jungle Gym 35
Bunker 31



T Priorities:
#1: "A PLACE OF INFINITE CULTURE"
#2: "A PLACE OF SECURITY"
#3: "A PLACE OF ABUNDANCE"
#4: "A PLACE OF HORIZONTAL GROWTH"
#5: "A PLACE OF FUN AND HAPPINESS"

Final Totals:
3-5 Independent and Stable Water Sources 249
Clarity of Vision and this as Part of Purpose 239
Clear, Concise Heart Felt Communication 229
300+ Sunny Days 211
Garden that provides 90% of fruit/vegetables 209
6+ Mos of shorts and t-shirt (growing temps) 205
Healthy Land 205
Self Sufficient Energy (solar/hydro/geothermal) 200
Clean/Loving Energy of the Land 195
Diversity of Artistic & Spiritual People 175
Everyone Contributing 170
Surplus Revenue 166
Food Reserves (2 yrs ea person) - root cellar 162
Master Farmer 157
No need to work off the ranch 156
Green House 154
30+ Acres Buildable Land 148
River 143
Lake 137
Center of Healing 131
Center of Peace 127
Trees 125
Fruit Trees 122
Dentist 115
5 pods 107
Goats & Chickens 105
Labyrinth 88
Berry Bushes 85
30-40 min from Town of Culture 80
Amphitheater 79
Master Plumber 77
Master Electrician 71
Streams 71
Bunker 70
Hot Springs 66
Nurse or Doctor 58
Medicine Wheel 57
Exercise Facility/Jungle Gym 48
Master Seamstress 48
Master Potter 47
Master Wood Worker 46
Turkey, rabbits, pigs, quail, pheasant 28
Elk, Moose, Sheep and/or Deer 21

M Priorities:
#1: "A PLACE OF ABUNDANCE"
#2: "A PLACE OF SAFETY AND SECURITY"
#3: "A PLACE OF COMMUNITY"
#4: "A PLACE OF GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY"

Final Totals:
3-5 Independent and Stable Water Sources 199
Surplus Revenue 172
6+ Mos of shorts and t-shirt (growing temps) 170
30-40 min from Town of Culture 169
No need to work off the ranch 159
Hot Springs 157
30+ Acres Buildable Land 156
Garden that provides 90% of fruit/vegetables 150
Green House 148
Clear, Concise Heart Felt Communication 140
Self Sufficient Energy (solar/hydro/geothermal) 137
Clarity of Vision and this as Part of Purpose 131
Center of Healing 119
Fruit Trees 119
300+ Sunny Days 116
Everyone Contributing 112
Center of Peace 110
Food Reserves (2 yrs ea person) - root cellar 110
Bunker 109
Trees 109
Diversity of Artistic & Spiritual People 107
Healthy Land 106
Master Electrician 98
Dentist 97
Clean/Loving Energy of the Land 94
Master Plumber 90
Nurse or Doctor 89
Master Farmer 85
River 80
Master Wood Worker 76
Streams 76
5 pods 72
Master Potter 70
Master Seamstress 64
Amphitheater 63
Exercise Facility/Jungle Gym 58
Goats & Chickens 56
Lake 54
Berry Bushes 47
Elk, Moose, Sheep and/or Deer 37
Labyrinth 27
Medicine Wheel 24
Turkey, rabbits, pigs, quail, pheasant 21

This process illuminated one very key point: "CLARITY OF VISION AND THIS (Meaning our #1 purpose and the order of the remaining purposes) AS PART OF OUR PURPOSE" was at the top of everyone's list... good news as our next meeting is to talk about the differences in vision and priorities.

Next step is combining all of the data to see what the overall picture looks like...

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Components of a Complete Community

Filling in the middle...

The "middle" stage could take a few years but is well underway. We have looked at countless properties over 4 states ranging in size from 11 acres to over a thousand acres including forestland, highlands, lowlands, some desert properties, one property that was mostly lava rock and everything in between with each property getting us clearer and clearer on what it is that a property like this is going to need.

In alphabetical order, this is the list of desires that Sara and I came up with in collaboration with two of our closest friends purchasing a property of their own.  This list includes all assets to the community. Our search has uncovered a wide diversity of people, ideas and more aesthetic pieces that we include here as part of the complete vision of self-sustainability for community members and a desirable place to visit and grow for the rest of the world.

Here is the list as it stands today:

30+ Acres Buildable Land (20 acres is the minimum needed)
300+ Sunny Days 6mos of short-Tshirt (growing temps)
30-40 min from Town of Culture
3-5 Independent/abundant/Stable Water Sources (gravity fed geothermal hot springs a huge plus)
5 pods
6+ Mos of shorts and t-shirt (growing temps)
Amphitheater
Berry Bushes
Bunker
Center of Healing
Center of Peace
Clarity of Vision and this as Part of Purpose
Clean/Loving Energy of the Land
Clear, Concise Heart Felt Communication by all cultural participants
Dentist
Diversity of Artistic & Spiritual People
Elk, Moose, Sheep and/or Deer
Everyone Contributing
Exercise Facility/Jungle Gym
Food Reserves (2 yrs ea person) - root cellar
Fruit Trees
Garden that provides 90% of fruit/vegetables
Goats & Chickens
Green House
Healthy Land
Hot Springs
Labyrinth
Lake
Master Electrician
Master Farmer
Master Plumber
Master Potter
Master Seamstress
Master Wood Worker
Medicine Wheel
No need to work off the ranch
Nurse/Doctor or EMT/Surgeon
River
Self Sufficient Energy (solar/hydro/geothermal)
Streams
Surplus Revenue / Abundant Revenue
Trees
Turkey, rabbits, pigs, quail, pheasant

Next step is getting clear on what order we feel these are important...