Galt's Retreat

Mission: We share the principles and values of Voluntaryism and seek to live lightly on the earth while nurturing healthy community and independence. Plans include organic farming and agricultural businesses. Seeking individuals who share our values and want to live in a community of Voluntaryists.

Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/286170261745393/

Who I am
Greetings, my name is Dustin and I am 29 years of age. I'm currently a lifelong resident of central North Carolina. I grew up without being taught many of the things a man needs to succeed in life, and from an early age I took an interest in things like economics and finance, investments, technology, animals and philosophy (as well as a fair bit of videogaming!) I was always very interested in being self sufficient, and at an early age I began to explore these interests with the support of my grandparents. I ordered 100+ chicks from Mcmurray Hatchery and learned Chickens the hard way and had a blast doing it. I grew up comfortable with tools and with working with my hands to solve problems thanks to my grandfather, his wood shop, and his career as a master wood craftsman and furniture maker. While I sadly didn't pick up the finer points of making beautiful things, I did learn much. As I grew older and moved into the world of business and entrepreneur ism I always felt something was lacking in my life. It seemed everything was about tomorrow. Putting off today’s pleasure for tomorrows gain became second hand to me and I became very good at resisting the temptation to go and do or buy the things I wanted. Instead I built up a sizable real estate portfolio and retired at 27. FINALLY I get to do what I want! Turns out, that wasn't meant to be and my portfolio was lost due to criminal activity by my mentor and managing partner. After soul searching last winter I realized that If I wanted to truly find happiness, I needed to be happy with where I was and not just with where I was heading. I needed to surround myself with good quality people of virtue and character for companionship. I needed to have land in order to continue enjoying the little back yard projects I tend to throw myself into. I needed a way to create a living from this land and the freedom to build as I chose. After spending the year researching various ecovillages, co-housing, intentional communities, and the like. Galt's Retreat was born.

Who we are

Galt's Retreat, named for the famous John Galt (I won't spoil it) is a philosophical manifestation of this dream. For now it only exists in my head and in the facebook group of the same name. (Update: It has BEGUN!) A number of potentially like-minded individuals who seek freedom and virtue and simple good living among good people have gravitated towards this group. We currently are in research mode(Update: We live on property now and others are transitioning) as we seek out the right piece of land and discuss our options for going into this project together. As of 12/1/16 we are networking actively and welcome all with interest in Homesteading, Ecovillages, intentional communities, etc.

What we are doing
We plan on buying raw unimproved land, preferably via splitting up larger parcels for greater savings, and building out our own ecovillage, including homes, powergrid, and for those interested - farmsteading. I've visited The Farm in TN and Earthaven in NC and drawn inspiration and potential, and want to incorporate sustainable permaculture design into our lives. Allowing us to live in proximity to nature, and in communion with it.

Why we are doing it

I don't have to tell you there is something wrong with our culture. A large part of this push for an intentional community is cultural. We seek a place of peace and solitude and respect that is in short supply in mainstream culture and in the cities. For myself, this is as much a spiritual undertaking as health or business undertaking. But there are so many wonderful financial aspects to this that should not be ignored. There are even more health benefits to this lifestyle.

Pros and Cons

Imagine, just for a moment, that you could own a home, without borrowing money and without paying interest on that money for 30+ years. Imagine what kind of difference that could make in your life? As a primary benefit, our 'way of living' will be much less expensive than a typical lifestyle. We intend to build our own homes (Many of us already have experience in building or construction, electrical, plumbing, etc) using the best technology and technique of the modern age. I personally intend to use Compressed Earthen Block technology and build my home to last (I build things to last) Further benefits become synergistic and compounded when you consider the additional savings in reduced repair and maintenance costs, reduced energy waste, as well as the potential to easily learn to grow much of your own food supply (or even produce an income from your abundance!)

This is truly a lifestyle, not just a move. There are so many ways to improve this that I haven't even begun to explore them all.

There will be negative aspects. Rural living is slower, and while we fully intend to be close to civilization and employment opportunities, we will be living in a semi rural area, with space, privacy, and quiet more often then not. There may not be a starbucks on every corner - but the people will be friendlier. I encourage you to really consider the pros and cons of a rural ecovillage lifestyle in full before making any commitments.
----------------------------------------------
Breakdown

This is a call to those virtuous people out there who seek a life of win-win. Not win-lose. For those who desire to live a life that heals, not kills. For those who want to raise a family holistically rather than chemically. For those who wish to produce, not just consume. For those world-weary souls who have never felt at home in the modern world, and longed for the days of simple village living (Without giving up your internet or technology!)

For you, brothers and sisters, I made this video.
For you, I invite you to learn about Galt's Retreat.

From www.ic.org/directory/working-title-order-of-the-phoenix/:

Updated 7-17

Bought land with other Voluntaryists (moved here, others haven't made the move yet!) Began building first structure, cutting walking paths, laying out plans for expansion pending additional help and bodies.

A service of the Data Commons Co-op. The project has been supported by Equal Exchange, the Cooperative Charitable Trust, the USDA, and many others - thank you! Tech volunteers over the years include: Benjamin Bradley with support from GAIA Host. Ben Mauer with support from Quilted. Paul Fitzpatrick. Ronin Tech Collective, Brattleboro Tech Collective, Sligo Computer Services. Jason Lemieux. Default map tiles courtesy of MapQuest. Default map data (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA.