LAND SHARE NETWORK

Life off-the-grid requires a large amount of physical work, including building structures, maintenance and repair, gardening, chopping firewood, manual snow removal, preparing food and medicine, cleaning, etc. All these activities come with a challenging twist of being miles from a hardware store and often requiring advanced preparations and planning. Sometimes we organize community work events, but most of the time members are working on various projects on their own initiative. During the warm months (typically June-September) there are lots of visitors, events, and projects; colder months tend to be much quieter. We are open to visitors year round; however, our schedule does not accommodate spontaneous drop-in visits. Please, be sure to contact us if you are interested in coming to the land for a tour or visit. Although it is relatively inexpensive to live at the Wild Cooperative, the community currently generates very little income on site. Remote web-based work is possible with high speed internet connection available. Our main on-site income source have been classroom trainings, hands on workshops and yoga retreats. We see our small group as one of the elements of the social and economic network of the larger North and Smith Fork Valley communities. The surrounding small towns of Paonia, Hotchkiss and Crawford (all from 5 to 15 miles away) may provide some part-time and seasonal work such as farm work, wildcrafting for local restaurants, food processing, cooking, building, massage, music and dance lessons, teaching physical, mental and spiritual practices from India and beyond, consulting, teaching in the local school system including the Crawford Montessori school, practicing Chinese medicine, and many more. The land is about an hour drive to the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute in Basalt and we are blessed with a wonderful regeneratively focused community with many local permaculture and biodynamic courses being offered. The many craftsmen, artists, performers and activists provide many possibilities of rich cultured social life for kids and adults. The mostly agrarian entrepreneurs drive our local economy and the epicurean locals like to make it alternative with bartering, food hubs, regional food distributors, and other cooperative businesses. The local farmer and baker was the driving force behind the 2012 Colorado Cottage Foods Act, which launched many home businesses around the state. Paonia is the home of the training facility of Solar Energy International, a non-profit educational organization that strives to provide industry-leading technical training and expertise in renewable energy to empower people, communities, and businesses worldwide. A rich and not-yet-forgotten Native American history can be accessed and cultivated again under the counsel of Ute elders and historians. Being close to a boundary between the Southwest desert and the Rocky Mountains allow us to engage in various outdoor sports without extensive travel. Hiking, bouldering, rock climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, rafting, hand gliding and paragliding, snowshoeing, cross country and back country skiing are some of the activities we love to participate in. Some of these activities can be done from right outside our door. Additionally, the diverse habitats give us an opportunity to develop connections with a wide spectrum of flora and fauna.