5 quick tips for community land project success

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5 quick tips for community land project success

1 - Have a broad set of skill sets within your community; eg’s lawyer, accountant, architect, builders, fundraisers, permaculturists, natural builders are all really useful skills to have. Consultants offering skills to the project can also invest at a reduced rate to cover the services they provide to the project, v important in the set up phase to reduce cash outlay + ensure skills are met inhouse where possible

2 - Select a site that is (ideally):

  • already permitted for temporary dwellings / short term accomodation

  • within one hour of an urban center

  • has a fresh water source onsite (test bore holes to confirm drinkable)

  • has clay deposits and plenty of trees (for use in construction of dwellings and infrastructure)

  • adequate rainfaill in region

  • test soil to ensure good for growing

3 - Prioritise creating small businesses on the land to earn cashflow early on - example: off grid glamping tents hosted on Airbnb and Hipcamp

4 - Do not take on debt: raise investment funds by offering long term leases or company shares to your investors/community members. Create a separate non profit legal entity for your project to protect from liability and enable applying for government grants.

5 - Get to know your co-investors well before investing together, develop relationships of trust, discuss in detail your vision and intentions and come to clear agreement on this through written bylaws

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Hi Philip, thanks for sharing! Looking at step 1, do you have any tips for how to find folks with the skills you’re looking for and, once you find them, how to validate their skill set?

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Some good ideas and points.

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Yes try forums like this and FB pages on permaculture and off grid living. Of course in person connections are best but not essential. Validating skill sets is basically about conversation, you will be able to tell who is for real as you get to know each other and work together. A great way is to attend group seminars and learning experiences on the topic, online courses and the like.