Hello everyone, this is my first post here and from scanning the forums it doesnt seem my vision/idea/dream has been tried… so im curious.
First ill start with, i have been dreaming of starting my own eco village since about 2009. Im currently about 3 months away from my 39th birthday, i have less than $100 in my bank account, neck & back issues from my time in the Army, and my better half of 20 years wants nothing to do with this lifestyle. So at this time, this is more of a thought experiment or dream im “planning”
Anyways, has anyone tried to start a Primitive IC? If so what are the major issues that caused thier failure? I know there are many ics out there but they all seem to mix modern living with community.
My vision is basically for a small founding group of 5 or 6 families that embark on the adventure of settling “new” barron land. It would be a truly primitive community, build our own houses, work the land, mine?, survive, and thrive only on the provisions packed in on day 1 and what is available on the land itself. The current location iv been scoping is about a 2 day walk to the coast (salt) one way and 2 days walk to a major city (trade & purchase) in the opposite direction. Just like pioneers or settlers did before modern industrial practices.
Of course modern times require modern tech so there would be one building on the edge of the property that had solar or wind for paying property taxes, emergencies, animal purchases, and the like.
If you made it through this whole thing, thanks for reading. Id love to hear your thoughts and input!
TLDR: has anyone tried to start a Primitive IC and are there any like minded folks out there i can bounce ideas off of?
Amish is closest to what you are thinking? No idea anywhere in the world today you can do that with without money (or guns), as all usable land would be owned by someone.
Thanks for the reply! We would buy the land of course. By “settling” i mean we would live there like settlers of old and use the resources the land provides and not buy things. Amish is actuallyquit a bit more modern than im envisioning lol. And the um… religious? Aspect isnt my cup of tea.
Also I understand you can’t walk on private property, but we could get permision from owners and use roads. The 2 day walk is according to Google maps anyways, which is on roads or trails. Where there is a will there is a way.
Main issue is finding other likeminded people that want to completely(95%) remove themselves from modern society and live off the land, not just grow food on it.
We’ve considered a more ‘primitive approach’ to things. I think one cool YouTube video of a pretty primitive commune on YouTube you could check out just for fun: link here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmQ9WDmLe1w
Other then that, after putting in much thought we have seriously asked ourselves, why be too primitive unnecessarily. Not sure if you have read Walden Two. It is a good book in the sense they truly ‘built’ a utopia. There are some components of the book I don’t support, but as far as the primitive conversation goes, they do a good job arguing against being too primitive. check it out!
Solar power and biogas, is that considered primitive lol? If so I guess we’re more primitive then I thought.
I totally support what you are doing though. If ever in Oregon, come say hi!!
Hey Dj, thanks for the reply! I have already watched that video and others from tree and love what they are doing. And i will definitely check out the book, thanks for the recommendation.
As to your question about solar & biogas. Its a really tough one… biogas at least in the beginning would be to modern imo. Solar(or wind) however i understand to be a necessity. There will be emergencies, taxes to be paid, and staying connected to the rest of the world (like a trade route in my mind) but in my vision we would have a building on the edge of the property (i like to call it the lightning room) that had electricity and a few cars for emergency transportation. All modern activities would be done here away from “daily” life. I envision a community that isnt pulling out phones and laptops at all hours of the day. Living off the land is hard work and requiers commitment and dedication to survive and thrive.
As to the rest of it, going “too” primitive being unnecessary i want to agree but also what is deemed “too” primitive? I dont want to go be cave men and suffer. But at the same time, im unhappy with modern society, how detatched we have become from the land, and hiw much control the government has on what we can and cant do on our own land. Im not poor, but very lower middle class and never had or valued money much. So to buy some cheap land in the middle of nowhere and build cob houses farm the land, raise animals. And actually live without all the modern distractions and regularions. I dont want to go “live off the land” by paying some corporation to helicopter in a track house, paying someone to dig me a well, paying a company to buy new seeds every year. I want to be independent and free.
Of course this is a solo pipe dream at present and if it were to become a reality i understand that compromises and community may chage things a bit. But i also dont dream of living in a community of modern houses and cars all over the place.
I think a big part of it for me is im a huge fan of ancient societys and want to experience life as they did by working in harmony with the land and not just buying something expensive(but cheap) to be delivered 2 days later. Ancient people did so much with clay and stone thats still standing today. But we must buy $300k - $500k houses that will be falling apart in 30 years.
Anyways ill stop rambling, lots in my head, hard to get it all out in a coherent way. Thanks for thanking the time to read if you made it this far. Best wishes to you all up in oregon, im not far away, so id love to come visit someday… when i have a working car again