Hi FIC members! My name is Sam (she/her). My husband and I acquired land from a friend to build an eco-village in central Massachusetts. It is raw land with some clearing. Most of the land has trees, rocks, stumps, roots, and so on. It is mostly flat land. We are looking for suggestions and ideas on how to clear this land in a cheap, cost-effective, and sustainable way (as sustainably as possible. We understand machinery may be needed). I appreciate any ideas and suggestions! Thank you!
Peace.
Sam
the most sustainable option would be to sell the land and buy something already developed - and redevelop that.
Thank you for your suggestion!
To give a more pertinent suggestion, obviously big machinery isn’t the most sustainable thing in the world, but it is a quicker way to do things. Another thing to consider if you really don’t want to rent and opperate heavy equipment is to ask around the area and see if anyone has a horse team that has been trained in the old way of land clearing. Back in the day logging and land preparation was done with a team of horses, it would be rare to find someone with horses trained in this old way, or oxen for that matter, but it may be possible. Another option is to gather people to help you, that way you can rent the machinery for as short of time as possible and get it all done with the least use of the machinery.