Full village living off land & craft like modern Amish: 350 families & growing

Kirsten Dirksen40 minutes read

A community aims for sustainability and self-sufficiency through agriculture, embracing traditional practices and working towards off-grid living. Transitioning to this lifestyle involves sacrifices but fosters lasting quality and individuality in furniture and architecture.

Insights

  • The community emphasizes self-sufficiency through reviving old agricultural practices and utilizing sustainable techniques like water wheels and horse-drawn mills.
  • Transitioning to a community lifestyle involves significant changes and sacrifices, such as leaving beloved jobs, highlighting the challenges individuals face in adopting a more sustainable and cooperative way of living.

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Recent questions

  • What is the main focus of the community described?

    The community focuses on sustainability and agriculture, aiming to teach self-sufficiency and cooperation.

  • How does the community ensure efficient grain milling at the water wheel?

    The community uses a self-regulating system called the Cradle for efficient grain milling.

  • What projects is the community working on to become off-grid?

    The community is working on sustainability projects like hydrology studies and solar power installations to become off-grid.

  • How does the community emphasize the importance of traditional woodworking techniques?

    The community emphasizes traditional woodworking techniques like hand tool skills and dovetail joints for lasting quality and individuality.

  • What is the significance of textiles in the community's sustainability efforts?

    The community explores the significance of textiles in sustainability, referencing Gandhi's use of hand spinning to promote independence.

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Summary

00:00

Reviving Old Practices for Sustainable Living

  • Many people are feeling a sense of impending change and respond with fear or prepping by stockpiling items like food and ammo.
  • The community described focuses on sustainability and agriculture, aiming to teach self-sufficiency and cooperation.
  • The community owns 500 acres with around 1,200 residents, primarily families.
  • The community operates as an intentional agricultural community, reviving old practices to counter the trend of modernity.
  • The community has revived an 18th-century water wheel for milling wheat, using a modern pump to feed the wheel.
  • The community also operates a horse-drawn sorghum mill for making sorghum syrup, a local sweetener.
  • The community emphasizes self-sufficiency, using old techniques like wooden gears and corn cobs for bearings in the mill.
  • The mill operates with a self-regulating system called the Cradle, ensuring efficient grain milling.
  • The mill's historical significance is highlighted, serving as a social and economic hub for the community.
  • The community is working on sustainability projects like hydrology studies and solar power installations to become off-grid.

15:59

Handcrafted woodworking techniques and sustainability principles.

  • Making a custom order of six chairs out of Hickory, bending legs by heating and steaming them in a mold.
  • Crafting a door frame and jam, with the door being assembled and glued.
  • Creating a box out of Sycamore, emphasizing the importance of grain direction for pattern visibility.
  • Sharpening tools like chisels, saws, and planes, with a 28-year-old Mallet used for chiseling.
  • Planing a board to showcase the wood's natural smoothness and scent, identifying it as Sassafras with a root beer aroma.
  • Teaching hand tool skills like planing and chiseling for efficient woodworking, contrasting with machine methods.
  • Crafting dovetail joints for drawers, focusing on durability and longevity over nails for longevity.
  • Designing furniture by hand for lasting quality and individuality, contrasting with mass-produced pieces.
  • Exploring the significance of textiles in sustainability, referencing Gandhi's use of hand spinning to promote independence.
  • Demonstrating a Swedish draw loom as an early form of computer, using binary systems for weaving patterns and designs.

31:02

Transitioning to Community Lifestyle: Sacrifices and Evolution

  • Marigolds are natural bug deterrents, making them ideal for garden maintenance.
  • Transitioning to a community lifestyle involves significant sacrifices and shifts.
  • Moving from a commercial construction job in Austin to a community lifestyle required quitting a beloved job.
  • Starting with a metal panel job was a significant transition from running a construction company.
  • The community's evolution spans over 50 years, with new ideas and relationships continually emerging.
  • The community's architecture shop focuses on timber frame barns, sourced from old agricultural buildings.
  • The barns are restored to their original condition, incorporating timber to maintain a traditional feel.
  • The unique barn style combines Dutch and English elements, reflecting American architectural development.
  • Different barn types, like hay storage and threshing barns, showcase historical agricultural practices.
  • The community's sustainable practices include aquaponic greenhouses, solar water heaters, and tilapia farming.
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