Part I. New Definitions for Living – Trending towards Shangri-La

Imagine! Yes, really, throw off the confines of your programming for a spell and set your mind apart from normality for this quick read. Help me out on my first Steemit post!

Feeling the insanity of the “Rat Race” lately? I know I am. I live in one of the worst traffic metro areas in the United States. I struggle with traffic, I struggle with mind numbing political narratives, I struggle with prosperity, I struggle with time management and on and on.

We wade in the muck of what we all; “together” have created to live in within this modern technological-oligarchical-central banker induced indentured servitude that so many seem to marvel at. I am one person who does not think this is or should be normal. For the most part, mankind lives daily in the definition of insanity and 72% of us live paycheck to paycheck.
How often do you hear about anyone or any group attempting to create alternative ways and means of living? Well, back in the 60’s we had the hippies and their communes. One, (Stephens Farm in TN) survived to this day out of around 600 attempts at communal living. So much for socialism/communism, not a good average. Nowadays we just have people buying land way back in the sticks and building themselves a place to duck out of dodge when the bovine excrement hits the rotating oscillator and the riot engineering starts. Yes, it’s a mess; and no, it’s not normal and sadly, it’s probably by design. Globalism needs to have a microscope shoved up its nether regions.

Now, with all negativity out of the way and if you are still with me, the material below is the beginnings of an entirely new way to live; how we generate wealth and how we engage prosperity, live life, socialize, consume energy, nurture ourselves and play. Are you ready to play? Clear and open your mind and enjoy the ride!
After all, most of this Globalist extremism being forced on us is simply a fulcrum, a pressure zone so to speak; to wake us up, to make us aware enough to create this dream called “Our Farm”. At this point of our amnesiac history, would we ever do this without the enemy at our gates?

1. Beginnings of our Galt’s Gulch

“Our Farm” or whatever it will eventually be called, will be a melding of a self sufficient agriculture & Think Tank based community along with small businesses, manufacturing, a convention/conference venue with up to 750 person convention center and accommodations with active and retirement residential living, an amphitheatre concert along with wedding venues and even a professional mountain bike course. There will also be a medical center sharing traditional & natural medicines.

• A significant goal for this community will be to achieve a cross between a Think Tank and an ongoing Ted Talk conference. This community will all be about getting people together to share and mold ideas. We will find better ways for us all to live on this planet. With the conference center environment and short term housing, we can continuously gather some of the best minds within each venues focus; creating together in the perfect atmosphere where we end up applying the ideas on the same grounds the ideas were created. The Farm will serve as the incubator and the lab.

• Another main goal of this community is to offer a place for people to come to get well from illness and to promote physical & metal health. Having a full state of the art laboratory and surgery center we will be able to offer a full range of Homeopathic and Allopathic medicines. Having such an environment where only wholesome foods are served and where there are diverse activities most days of the week, The Farm would be the perfect setting to accommodate this type of medical center. This center will offer a significantly more affordable environment to facilitate weight loss, physical therapy, detox from a lifelong bad diet and the perfect retreat for those so challenged to treat disease using a range of options that are not widely available. Along these lines of attaining perfect physical health, so shall there be a similar effort in learning how our mind works on a quantum level and its relationship to ourselves and our reality, in healing our past and creating the future we desire.

• Most, if not all of the communities food will be produced within the confines of the property with nut tree groves, fig groves, fruit orchards, grain production, greenhouses and aqua-ponics and lots of vegetable and herb production. And we can’t forget the Beef, chicken, quail, turkey, lamb, eggs and goats milk. This will be an agriculture based community. Kind of a compact Jeffersonian model.

• The Farm will be self sufficient in energy production using photo-voltaics, wind, hydrogen production/fuel cell hybrid systems. Energy breakthroughs are increasing exponentially. It will be our goal to have the Farm be the premier Think Tank Center for Energy Innovation for the United States.

• All conditioned space structures on the property will be earth berm, underground or partially underground structures using a new reusable form type construction and shape and utilizing new green building materials where it makes sense, all while maintaining very low shell costs.
  These structures, once completed are extremely low maintenance and are designed to last 500 years or more. Yes you can own a home where you don’t ever have to replace your roof, deal with rotten siding, rotten window trim, fiberglass laden hot attics, no gutters to clean…, anyway, you get the picture. The savings over ones lifetime are staggeringly significant. So, once you own a home in this community, You won’t be having to worry about your savings account getting depleted every 10-15 years with a significant home improvement. These homes will pass on, generation to generation!

• A significant visual impact takes place with this community as the underground structures along with the landscaping makes the entire community naturally blend in to its surroundings!

• The main “short term stay” facilities will be eight earth berm structures in an octagonal circle branching out like spokes, with a Restaurant/Social Area building in the center along with a park like setting in the common areas within the inner circle. Each eight buildings will house up to 32 people and each restaurant will have a designated chef to accommodate all meals and snacks. The goal is to have around 25 of these structures on the property to house our short term stay guests. So, each grouping has one restaurant to serve the customers in that area only. This approach will keep the food serving requirements relevant to the size of the occasion; being it a small wedding to a large conference or a big name small venue concert at the amphitheater.

• We will utilize our own currency just as many communities do across the country. A very libertarian, Jeffersonian Laissez-faire economics oriented community. More discussion this later.

1. A little visualization

Ok, I hope you are starting to get the picture of what this place is going to be. The best way to get you further along is with a bit of creative visualization. Here goes in first person future customer...

Finally, after two years of suggestions of venue, our company has selected “Our Farm” for our annual convention! I am quite happy about this venue as we have all heard much about this place. Upon arrival at the Airport, we were all in high anticipation on what this experience would entail. The renowned fresh food, the beer, solar energy, the amphitheater, the horses…..
The bus picked us up and we ventured forth. In about an hour and a half we had arrived at the gates. As we entered into “Our Farm” for the first time, the grain fields immediately blanketed both sides of the road and I couldn’t help but think about the fresh milled grain bread that was going to accompany our meals! The first main building we saw was not quite a building. It was later learned to be the convention center. This was a building at least 120 feet wide by 250 long that was built two thirds the way into the side of a large hill at a slight angle so the face was entirely open to view. They had the landscaping so perfect that it was hard to distinguish what it was at first glance. Truly an awesome site! Since we already were checked in online, we followed the map to our accommodations.

The rooms were the most unique I have ever seen. My room was in the courtyard of the inner circle of our octagonal village. There were eight underground structures in an octagonal pattern sticking out like spokes on a wheel. The structures were at land level and not “underground” per Se, but were massively covered with earth! The front of each of the long structures was the outer room facing out and the inner room was inside the beautiful courtyard where the restaurant was. Nightlife or Privacy. The restaurant was the same type of structure directly in the center of the circle. The main entrance of the restaurant had a nice overhang with outdoor seating and inside, the entire open kitchen area, bar and seating area were amazing. The woodworking craftsmanship was something you don’t see everyday. All meals were paid for by a pre-paid “Our Farm” Debit Card waiting in the room that was part of the package, so paying for my meals & tips was as simple and stress free.

The day before our conference started, we had a full day to roam the property. Bicycles were everywhere along with golf carts and even horses if you are brave enough. The horses there are the Pasa Fina breed and are very gentle & dignified and have a beautiful trot.
The golf carts were powered by hydrogen! All of the electricity is produced by wind and solar with excess power going to creating hydrogen instead of relying on batteries. Pretty cool. As it was explained to me, at night the stored hydrogen is drawn through fuel cells that produce electricity as it is needed. A hybrid system. They still utilized some batteries to act as a buffer but not near as many as would have been required without the hydrogen production.

After breakfast, we took a tour of the herb gardens. They grow an amazing amount of basil of many types, lavender, rosemary, thyme, several oregano species and many more. The fragrances were overwhelming. They make essential oils and sell them at the store and online. Each business owner specializes in one herb. There’s the basil guy, the lavender lady, etc. The do quite well. Very high quality products. We got to see the oil press and the steam distillation that is used on some of the oils.
Visiting the lambs & turkeys was cool but not as interesting as the goats. The goats have personality! And then there are the chickens. There are chickens everywhere on The Farm. Free range, in mobile cages, escaped chickens! You see hen houses all over the property. Can never have too many eggs is the motto. They have roosters too but we never heard them in our underground room! We also visited the quail area where they have an entire area netted about an acre it seemed. A good portion is also covered in shade cloth. They produce a significant amount of quail meat and eggs which are sold outside the property and consumed inside by the demands of the resort area. They have a vast aquaponics area where they raise fish and hydroponic veggies in a symbiotic manner. We stopped in for a quick look. Very impressive. We also got to see a portion of the veggie area with the raised beds and other methods being used in that area. Quite the production zone! Our last stop, we toured the grain and mill area and bakery. They grow Kamut, Spelt, Eikhorn, Barley, Corn, Buckwheat, Sorghum and Oats. The bakery was awesome We are coming back for dessert. By the way, the freshly milled buckwheat pancakes are amazing for breakfast. The were served with goats milk yogurt on top smothered with sorghum syrup; all from the Farm!

As I woke up the first day of the conference, I could not help but notice the sunlight in my face. I failed to notice the night before that there were three skylights in the room. One in the bathroom, one in the bedroom and one in the living area. There was also a window! Not expected in an underground room. This was not a cave and not the standard issue Holiday Inn one room model. These guys have class even for their smallest accommodation. I opted for a room for myself with a queen bed but this room also had a Murhpy bed in the living room for another person. Two of the eight buildings within the circle were full two bedroom queen accommodations with 800 sq. ft with a bathroom in each room and a single seperate shower and tub area. Kind of different.
They pay close attention to humidity in these structures. Comfort is more about humidity than temperature. Since these structures stay around 74 degrees, a dehumidifier type re-heat heat pump is utilized. The temperature was perfect at 74 degrees and 50% humidity. They also have an ion generator in each room. Amazing air quality, amazing comfort.

I also learned that there is a full medical facility on the Farm with a lab and a surgery center. They support the local residents, guests and quite a number of patients that come to the Farm for weight issues to cancer. They use the latest in natural medicine in combination with traditional medicine and even have an herb pharmacy next to a regular one. They do not offer “Tours” but I did get to see the compound area and it looks very impressive.

The conference center proved to be the perfect venue for our event. Everything was about comfort. The acoustics were very impressive and all of the seats gave more than enough room for one’s comfort.
The walking paths on the property were the perfect way to stretch your legs and get ones heart pumping after the day’s conference. One of the many paths run through the nut tree groves along side a stream and down to the lake and back through an herb growing area along the path. They grow food everywhere! Inter woven through the trails and out further into the wooded area is a professional mountain bike course where events are held every September. The promoters incorporate the low cost accommodations along with a band at the amphitheater for an annual national event.
The last night of our stay, the company had provided for a concert with an awesome band at the amphitheater. Great times, great food, and great beer all from the land we were grounded on. Wow! I wanna live here. I’m actually looking at a property here in the residential area. They have a 1800 sq ft. shell only built into a hillside with just the face exposed for $74,000. I can build out at my leisure as my budget allows.
On an interesting note; Property taxes don’t have to exist here. The Farm allows you to contribute your time and labor of your choosing to the Farm operation if you want to defer the taxes back to the Farm. They also will contribute a portion into a savings account so you can retire without having any property taxes. You will never lose your home due to property taxes not being paid if you were ever to get sick or happened onto any other financial hardship. I’m sure there are some caveats but I like the spirit of the whole thing.

I looked at the schedule of events over the coming months and was stunned at what goes on here. They have lots of corporate conferences, large weddings, Big name- small venue music concerts, a jazz festival, a bluegrass festival, an annual mountain bike competition, a UFO conference with George Noory and a bunch of TedX type conferences ranging from energy production to better ways to grow food & fish! An amazing high energy place to be. Never a dull moment. The residential area also has their own private fine dining restaurant, a bar & grill type place and a clubhouse that has its own schedule of events busier than the venue-conference area. I’m coming back soon!

1. Wrap Up

Interested so far? This is my first publication on Steemit. I hope you enjoyed exploring the possibilities with me. Wanna live, prosper and play on “Our Farm”, maybe start a business raising quail, a custom carpentry business or just a cool place to live while you develop that new program on C++, or maybe you want the perfect place to retire. Just about any business can work here if logistics allow.

I am presently looking for talent to help put this business prospectus together and bring into fruition a 1st class business plan for this venture and hopefully attract the perfect angel investors that are on the same wavelength as the direction of this “Farm”. I am desiring to immediately attract 3d graphics talent, a structural engineer, an architect, a Landscape Professional, an Accountant and any other contributing talent that might be needed to get this package together. Interested? I live in the Atlanta area and am looking at developing property for “Our Farm” anywhere from Southwestern North Carolina, Northern South Carolina to North Georgia, maybe Tennessee. Want to do your own “Farm”? Follow this weekly and let us share ideas and get a blueprint going to make this viral! Lets get a bunch of these started!

1. Next Time

Next week, I will start to drill down into some specifics and keep it new & specific each week or so. Hopefully this will inspire some good ideas. Come grow with the “Farm”! I look forward to hearing from you! Please comment!

Evan
[email protected]