Finally started a plan!!!
And I thought this Homestead thing would be easy...Ha! Yeah I've been planning for years but it really was just all concept, and then we got a property to actually build a community of free thinking people, something that would be a resort for artists and travelers alike. We called it No Man's Land Extravaganza. Today our four year old little human calls it Dreamland.
We like that name, it's fitting one because there is Mugwort growing everywhere and second because it really is the fruit of our dream! What a clever little boy... I'm not partial or anything, heehee!
And You guessed it, of course we changed the name.
Making a plan is difficult without observing a place all year...
I wish I could make time go a little faster, fast forward to 5 years from now just to see what we've accomplished, sometimes it feels like we've done nothing. Ok I don't really wish time to go any faster (that would be a curse)... slow and easy wins the race, right 
There are no Natural buildings as of yet and we are already talking about getting a pre-fab house which doesn't make this Coconut feel very good but hey... we need a place warm enough for next winter so that we don't have to pay rent. Negotiations for something that would be half pre-fab, half cordwood (or strawbale) have also begun... so all hope isn't lost yet!!!
Never lose hope!
Do you see on our handy map of Dreamland, there's a pond? That's also been renamed by little homie, it is no longer plain old boring Pond, its new name is The Swamp Of No Return!
A little Explanation:
The Launching Pad:
This is where it all starts, the great meeting point. It's where events will be held and food forests will be started...it's somewhat flat and was cleared some 12 years ago. It's pretty much a blank slate for the heart of our eventual Permaculture design. This is also where I would like to build a small Earthship (to the right of the natural swimming pool, basically where the tent is.
Unstable Maker/Fixer Space:
It isn't built yet, but we know where we want it. This is what the negotiations are about... Get a pre-fab timber frame barn with a roof and the walls will be cord-wood and/or strawbale. The name is from a time when we had joined a team of community builders who wanted to create an ecovillage. The property we were looking at together had a giant horse stable that we wanted to turn into a great artist space, with studios, workshops, dance and yoga rooms.... Beside un-stabling the stables, we ourselves are a little unstable, you know with that travel bug that bit us and all that!
Lotus Landing:
This is the valley with the Swamp of no return to the north. To the south we want to build a stage, and of course it will look like something out of a Tim Burton cartoon, for sure! This is an area we are thinking would be fitting for small festivals... big sound systems!
Dreamland Express:
Like I was saying earlier on, the name for this artist retreat, homestead has changed to Dreamland Express. I haven't mentioned my love for Natural Building. I'm talking about working with your hands, building with cob, straw bales, cord-wood, timber, logs...
I like everything about it, the community aspect of building as a group, working with handtools instead of powertools (when possible), the rounded shapes, the lack of sharp corners, the live roofs and the feel of it all.
I've only taken one 8 day workshop on building with cob and strawbale but I'm hooked and all I think about is creating a learning center for Natural Building.
The idea or the dream, is becoming more and more clear everyday. It's an artist retreat on a multy-family homestead with a learning center for primitive and natural building techniques... Of course with self reliance and permaculture always in mind.
I have a funny habit of making my dreams come true... so if you'd like this place to be on the map for yourself, keep your fingers crossed 💚
AS ALWAYS... THANK YOU FOR LOOKING, YOUR SUPPORT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED
The @EcoTrain has made me very happy and proud to be a part of it, have a look at what other passengers have been writing
If you really want to know what is inside this Coconut, take a look at my Humans Of Steemit.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH: @HimalayanNomad
Spread your wings and fly to where your heart takes you.
And don't forget… #DreamsComeTrue!