Doomstead in SW Oregon

[SouthEastFarmer]

don't think she had a 37 acre piece earmarked.  there is a 5 acre parcel just a few miles out of town that looked interesting on the river and an area to the SE of town that backed up to the foothills/forest areas.

she gave me an update today on some of the fruit trees that they have come across - sounds amazing with huge apples and pears dripping off the trees.  some tasty wine grapes too.  all going to waste on alot of these places.  madness...

your take on Myrtle creek as a town is pretty consistent with what little we heard - we had some relatives take some pictures as they traveled down I5 a few weeks back and their take was very similar:  gorgeous country and a very bad impression of the town.

I'll try and post pics once we have them back on the home computer.

[DimLightbulb]

I remembered another site I use when checking out property.

Websoil Survey.  You can get great details on the land.  A bit hard to figure out and you have to know where the land is til you zoom in enough to get road names.

I've been able to cross some RE prospects off my list based on this...when I see "sandy soil, not prime farmland, rocky, high erosion qualities" I cross it off my list.

http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/

click on the green "start WSS" button.  Good hunting !

[madison]

For that area of Oregon, I'd also look into the Applegate Valley, Williams, Jacksonville.  It's a beautiful area.  Several seed companies and at least two cob building companies are in that area. 

If you are looking a bit north, doesn't sound like you are, but Corvallis is a great town - huge farmers market, several hundred small farms and orchards, several seed companies.  Eugene rocks, also, and I really like Cottage Grove.  The small town of Elkton on the most beautiful river ever, the Umpqua, is also quite nice and peaceful.  Also, on the east side of I-5, Mt. Angel and Silverton are beautiful towns with alot of heritage and history.  Further north is nice, too   In fact, I like it better than the south of Oregon, though I do like the feel of Grants Pass, though I hear they have massive meth problems (as does all of Oregon).   

[ewemama]

Too bad you're not looking for a spot in Michigan.  I'm getting ready to list my place...6 acres, river frontage, 8 miles from three towns of varying size, rural location, three bedrooms, two baths, full basement, two car garage, one outbuilding, woodstove in place, fenced garden area, mostly wooded, all for $120,000.00.  My husband died two years ago, and I really need to downsize. 

I hear Oregon is really beautiful and I wish you much luck in finding your perfect spot!!

[SouthEastFarmer]

Thanks ewemama.  Good luck to you as well, your place sounds like a great setup and in a nice part of MI.  I grew up in MI and all my immediate family is still there.  Unfortunately, none of them even remotely have a doomer mindset.  So we're off to OR to try better luck with my in-laws.  Plus, I've been made soft by being away from MI winters for ~20 years 

[SouthEastFarmer]

ok, we finally had time to review the ~1200 pics that my wife brought back from her trip to hunt for a doomstead site.  While she didn't find the "perfect" site on this trip, we're convinced that we can and will find the right spot.  Based on the combination of climate, soil and people, the area roughly paralleling the I-5 corridor from Myrtle Creek to Ashland looks promising.  The areas around Myrtle Creek, Rouge River and west of Ashland/Jacksonville especially so.  The areas SW of Grants Pass just didn't have the feel we were looking for, despite good agricultural and climate options.

I will follow this post with a description of our interests in opening up the possibility to join with others who may have similar interests.

Thanks to all who sent suggestions and advice!

[SouthEastFarmer]

Hello,

My family and I are interested in relocating to southwest Oregon to establish a homestead.  We are currently living in North Carolina.  We would very much like to connect up with one or more families - either joining in with an established community or working to establish one from scratch.  To that end, let me describe our family and interests to get things started.

I am 38 and my wife is 36 and we have been married for 13 years.  We have three boys who are 10, 5 and 2 years old.  I grew up in Michigan, and have lived in Colorado, Oregon and Illinois before ending up currently in North Carolina.  I tend to be active, but not in a sport sense.  My time outside of keeping the family functional and work is usually spent on things such as:  raising fruits/nuts/vegetables, brewing, beekeeping, raising rabbits, martial arts, landscaping projects and reading.  My educational background is in the scientific disciplines – Microbiology, Neuroscience, Molecular Biology and Pharmacology.  My wife grew up in Oregon and has lived in New Mexico, Colorado and Illinois before North Carolina.  She also has a science background as well as a strong artistic/creative skill set.  Her other interests include:  photography, graphic illustration, biking, painting and reading.  We all enjoy hiking and generally spending time outdoors.

We are homeschooling 3 boys - ages 10, 5 and 2.  We've been on an independent path that pulls together the ideals of John Holt's "unschooling" along with the respect and self-responsibility articulated by Maria Montessori.  We homeschool with a group called FIAR,  which is a literature based group that organizes learning around a shared book list and schedules field trips throughout the state. It is a lively group that provides for good socializing and exposure to new places and ideas.

The basic premise of all of this is that we believe children learn best by following their innate curiosities and asking questions.  Each child is on his own path - and family teamwork allows for the boys to see the power of cooperation and benefit of each others strengths in the reality of day to day living. 

This style of learning allows for infinite paths... Our oldest is very structured and enjoys games involving math, sci-fantasy, and chemistry.  He needs music - whether piano, cello, or just humming.  Our 5 year old needs nature - especially insects.  He spends most of his time capturing, reading about, or playing insect or animal related games.  He learns best visually and is a motivated self learner but does not want anybody to "teach" him.   Finally my 2 year old is very organized and verbal.  He can speak at length and is presently fascinated with self-teaching the alphabet.

This summer - we put on an 8 part nature class that invited kids from our neighborhood to join us in exploring our acreage.  The older boys each were responsible for contributing to the success from compost critters to monarch butterflies, and we split the modest $ earnings from the camp as well.

I treasure that we live in a neighborhood that is bustling with children and homeschool families.  Doors are open, yards entwine and playmates have become extended family.  We have fun parties, learn a lot, and are very open to new friends.  Creating that in a new setting will be difficult, and I would like so much to have a village of self reliant people who can also ask for help, offer a meal, share a responsibility and offer guidance as well.  Setting festivals to coincide with harvests and seasons - from blueberries to salsa - to pumpkin fests.  Letting the children be themselves - with great respect for others - and the self esteem that comes with self responsibility and grounded passionate interests.

We are looking to build to the next level on what we have created here in our home in NC since moving here in 2001.  Our property is a bit less than an acre and about half of it is in mature hardwoods.  We have built up a large portion of the shaded area as a kids place to play and own.  The immediate neighborhood has about a dozen kids who are homeschooled, so there is almost always a group for them to play with once the chores and school time is done.  The other portion of the property is built up almost completely as an orchard for fruit and nut trees and berry bushes and large areas of raised beds for annual vegetables.  I have tried to incorporate as many permaculture concepts as possible, but I still consider myself a novice in this area.  We have a large diversity of types of producing plants ranging over 80 different types of edibles not including the annual crops.  I am a member of NAFEX (North American fruit explorers) and Seed Savers Exchange (an organization dedicated to maintaining and exchanging open-pollinated seeds).  We grow ~95% organically.  This has been to experiment and not only see what will grow well here, but to see what our family likes.

Ideally our next place in SW Oregon would be substantially larger, at least 5 acres.  Having additional room for more orchard and vegetables and grains is very important to us.  The soil in our area in NC has been a real challenge (red, acidic clay) so we are looking forward to fertile well drained soil.  In addition to flat land for growing crops, a woodlot (flat or hillside) would be great to have to provide additional nutrient capture, diversity and construction material/heating options.  I think we will continue to raise rabbits both for their fertility enhancing manure and high quality meat.  Chickens and dairy goats would be welcome additions to the homestead, if there are enough other folks working together to allow this to be feasible.  The honey bees have been very enjoyable to work with and I look forward to establishing a new set of hives.  A water feature is another area that we would like to have present on the property.  We currently have a small pond that is part of a swale/rain-catch system and the diversity of aquatic and insect life it has enabled has been fantastic.  If a stream/creek is not an option a pond in the new location would be a must.

Our thoughts on the timing for the move is in the early to mid part of 2010.  I am still wrapping up some pieces at work which will allow me to continue to work with the small pharmaceutical company that I have been with since moving to NC.  I think having me work (remotely) will allow for the family to just have one income and open up options for locations for the homestead.

Having one or more families with kids similar in age on the same property (separate houses) would allow us to all enjoy homesteading life more fully – through a tight knit community and better access to a wider set of skills than just one family can provide.  If something can’t be worked out on the same property, perhaps adjoining parcels could be purchased by each family to allow for a more “traditional” setup, but still allow many of the perks of an intentional community.

Eventually I would enjoy seeing a good sized village grow out of this with 100+ acres and ten or more families involved.  In this way we could provide a near sustainable setting with minimal transportation requirements to obtain other essential items or skills/services (health care, technical trades, etc… could all be represented in the community).  However, I am realistic enough to see this is a very unlikely near term possibility.  Starting with one or two families working together – and the networks they bring along with them, may make the difference in facing the challenges of the coming years. 

We are very interested in “alternative” construction options and are open to either retrofitting an existing structure or building from scratch to create a home(s) that are independent of utility tie-ins and comfortable, peaceful places to live.

Please contact me either by PM or posting in this thread if you are interested in talking or have any questions regarding further information.

Thank you!
Kurt

[permaculturepapa]

This place is out of control badass:

http://www.mountainhomestead.org/

Scrole down to see the 35 acres they're selling as part of their 400 acre spread. They've got micro-hydro electricity, whole cob village, ponds, eco-forestry, great gardens, orchards, community organization and very hard working and intelligent folks.

It's coastal rainforest, wetter than you're looking for, but I know these people and this place and there's a lot more than the website shows.

Adjacent to Coquille.

Otherwise, it sounds like Williams and the Applegate Valley are the place for you.

[Grimus]

This place is out of control badass:

http://www.mountainhomestead.org/

Scrole down to see the 35 acres they're selling as part of their 400 acre spread. They've got micro-hydro electricity, whole cob village, ponds, eco-forestry, great gardens, orchards, community organization and very hard working and intelligent folks.

It's coastal rainforest, wetter than you're looking for, but I know these people and this place and there's a lot more than the website shows.

Adjacent to Coquille.

Otherwise, it sounds like Williams and the Applegate Valley are the place for you.

What's their story? Could you tell more without revealing precious secrets?

Judging by the pictures the might be anti-defense, is that the case?

[SouthEastFarmer]

This place is out of control badass:
http://www.mountainhomestead.org/
Scrole down to see the 35 acres they're selling as part of their 400 acre spread. They've got micro-hydro electricity, whole cob village, ponds, eco-forestry, great gardens, orchards, community organization and very hard working and intelligent folks.
It's coastal rainforest, wetter than you're looking for, but I know these people and this place and there's a lot more than the website shows.
Adjacent to Coquille.
Otherwise, it sounds like Williams and the Applegate Valley are the place for you.

Sounds (and looks) wild and wet!  This kind of place and some of the ones up by Cottage Grove look like great places to check out for weekend workshops, but the winter gloom would do me in. 

Their micro-hydro looked very strange.  I can't imagine getting much consistent power out of such a small water supply.  is it designed like a back up generator system?  Or does it Really rain often enough to refill that pond to keep it topped up??

Thanks!

[permaculturepapa]

The long short of Mountain Homestead is the vision of its founders, Chip and Clara, and their commitment to community and sustainability. By "anti-defense" do you mean unarmed? I don't know. They're in a rural forested area, most people will have at least some defense against rabid animals. But it is a peace and love hippy vibration, minus any drugs. It is a straight laced, hard working settlement of people committed to living harmoniously on the land.

The micro hydro works wonderfully 8 months out of the year, with the solar kicking in during the summer dry season. But the hydro produces much better than the sloar when it is running. They have a 900 foot in elevation drop on the property, which is great for the hydro power. I was there last weekend teaching them how to run an excavator and helping to construct their third catchment pond, to give an abundant supply of water to irrigate their vegetable and food forest orchards. The site design and water systems are designed on Permaculture design principles and Keyline water strategies. They've had a very experienced Permaculture designer guiding them through the process for the past 11 years and it really shows.

They are mostly vegan and don't raise animals or honey bees on site. This would be the hard part for me. The potential to use animals in the system is high. But they're excellent foresters and have abundant wood. Excellent gardeners as well, and have a virtual botanical garden of edible, medicinal, and useful plants on site from all over the world.

A high class hippie operation!

[Broil]

Looks good to me, but it doesn't seem like the neighbors would appreciate a lot of gunfire from a range, or from hunting.  Plus it's held in a Conservation Easement, which would limit what you can do with it.

Anything bordering on Ashland is probably good, but it can be expensive around there because everyone wants to live near Ashland.

[fungusmunkey]

I'm going to bump this and ask a question of anyone who knows...  I have recent concerns about my current doomstead area of operations.  Neighbor problems mainly.

Anyone have thoughts on the area from Gold beach, north until Bandon?  I'm especially interested in Langlois/Denmark area.

The climate looks good for raising animals/pasture, trees, grapes, fishing and general gardening.  It is out of the way and away from population centers for the most part.  Work would be an issue but the wife and I are pretty good at being self employed, gardening and cheap on top of that.

I would appreciate any information about that area.  I'm also looking into the Corvallis area as well but info about that area is much more available.

[pamplemousse]

I know only a tiny bit about Gold Beach.

Backwoods Home Magazine is there, you can go in and buy back issues, CD's, books, etc.

They run Jet Boat tours, mail boats, something like that, up the river to Agness and further.
http://www.roguejets.com/map.php

If I ever get rich, I want to stay at this resort:
http://www.tututun.com/

[fungusmunkey]

Thanks for the information!

Good to know that is where backwoods home is located.  I didn't know that!