Frequently Asked Questions

Where is it?

The Trees surrounding it are mixed hardwoods. There are Ranch Houses and Barns and wells and power systems and roads and reservoirs already there so it will make it a lot easier to get started than it would be if this were just bare land.

Eden is about 33 miles from the town of Willits in Mendocino County which is about a 3 hour drive from the Golden Gate Bridge.

What about Water

We will have 2 large lakes, many creeks and springs, year around and seasonal sources of good clean natural untreated fresh water which flows down to us from the mountains and comes out in springs.

We will have a Community Water System that provides Free and Clean untreated water from these various sources and one that comes down from the Lake which we will ask for Water Rights to be granted us along with the land which should not be a problem since all that water would be flowing down to us anyway.

We are just going to be better off to pick it up at the Lake itself which is fed from a spring fed creek and that will be probably one of our best sources of water because this little lake is in a very out of the way place. That magical mountain water will then be piped down and around the entire valley with plenty of pressure left intact so that every Homestead has good gravity feed water.

Land

A graduating scale of Thirty Six Thousand Dollars and up Contribution Pledge will be the projected amount that will get you a 3 acre Homestead and a 2 acre Farmsite. Only Seniors may choose to do without the Farmsite and in that way they will be saving about one fifth across the board.

People will not be allowed to build any fences between homesteads and only green Living Fences like hedges or vines can be planted in between farmsites.

We do not own the land and we do not control the land. We have merely focused our good intentions upon Eden Valley as being the right place for this project. Every place is the right place for something. Eden Valley is just the right place for an EcoVillage Community. We don't need to be able to control everything. In fact we are even glad that nothing has been handed to us as a given thing because we have not been cultivating any sense of entitlement in relation to Eden Valley.

The Title for Eden Valley will be held as a not for profit association which has already been organized and the papers have been filed. We will all share equitably in the decision making process in many different ways.

It is a bit too big for most groups of people to think they can handle but we are not afraid of a little challenge. That is why we have just had to learn to think big because we do believe that the right sized group of people really will be well suited to the re-inhabitation of this uniquely exceptional piece of land which is just perfect for an EcoVillage Community.

Eventually we feel that the owners will be supportive of our efforts and they will choose to sell this land and then when they do we will be in a very good position to buy it only if we begin organizing right now.

We feel that the right people who have the right vision will be able to become the stewards of this uniquely situated valley. We do have to ask people to have Faith in the Magic of Eden and to give up all resistance to common sense because that is what could hold us back. All good things really will happen for good people who go about things in the right way.

We will usually have in excess of about 40 inches or more of rainfall per year which is plenty but that is in the winter months only and so we will have to be careful somewhat during the summer months when I think we should still have enough for 300 gallons per day per homestead.

We may even have another 30 million gallons of ground water which can be thought of as being like a long term water reserve that will always be there when we need it as long as we don't draw too deeply from it. We may choose not to draw that much just so that we can keep that topped off just in case we ever need it.

Access?

Hopefully we will be able to put a new road in that goes around the mountain instead of over the mountain as it is now. That will give us closer access to Round Valley which is a good place to get a good look at what the country looks like for those who might want to make a drive up there but it will actually be more like a 40 mile drive to Willits. The difference is going to be in the drive which will then be a lot nicer.

Take a drive out 162 to Round Valley and stop at the view point and you will get a pretty good idea of this beautiful land that we call the Middle Fork of the Eel River Watershed. This is where we are laying the groundwork for forming an Eco-Village Community right in the middle of the Middle Eel watershed where we have just recently helped to get some 50,000 acres protected as the Yuki Protected Wilderness Area which incidentally runs right along one side of Eden Valley linking us up with an even larger block of Mendocino National Forest lands which is huge.

Population

We should have about 700 people on about 2,240 acres overall which is a comfortable one person for every 3 acres and that is a fairly well balanced and sustainable population for this kind of land with this much good farmland and water.

Eden will be a Sustainable EcoVillage Community that is about living in harmony with the natural world but with a close connection to the Earth as a whole like the native peoples both here in the Americas and throughout the world have always lived and with a real deep connection to the Eel River Watershed and to the North Coast Eco-Region and to the Land that we call Eden in particular which we fell may have an important role to play both politically and ecologically.

What about schools?

We will make great use of the many existing courses and materials that are already now available to set our children free from the confines of the public school system until such time as the numbers of children merits the creation of various other learning possibilities. Then we will experiment and implement. There will be nothing that we can't do in this regard.

How are decisions made?

What is the Stewards Council?

Later that will go up by Three Hundred Dollars every time, which is a less than one percent increase, for those who are slow to respond to the call for action or who are to follow for whatever reason. In this way we will reward those who will be among the first to take the risk.

Those who come later for whatever reason will still be getting a good deal because it really will have just that much more value at that point as we will already have begun to build this community. As things progress the value of what people are joining really does go up.

Solar Power

What about Building Codes?

The rest of the land is to be left as we find it for the most part except for the planting of Native Trees to protect the natural quality of the land. We also have agreements about things like that there not be any large shiny metallic surfaces and that we should use only Earth Tone Colors on the Homes like Tan colored fire resistant walls and Green fire resistant roofs which do need to be kept up as well as that the land which does have to remain free from junk piles and with defensible space around it.

How cold does it get?

The downside of those benefits is that the mountain pulls down the icy coldness of the night skies that have lost their heat to some of our friends from Outer Space and then that cold air flows right down to Eden Valley.

What that means is that we will have some stone cold frosty mornings that will sometimes even extend on into April. But we will still have an excellent growing season of about 6 months out of the year. And even that can still be extended by greenhouses and taking advantage of microclimates.

Land Tenure?

We will then all have a good place to build our own Passive Solar Homes on and to use for life and to pass on down to our own children who are old enough to sign into a legally binding agreement. But you cannot sell that homestead because it is not going to be your own property.

That all belongs to the Earth.

What will happen when you die or leave is that you will leave it to your children or other significant person who has been approved by the Council, or it will be left to the community which will manage it for the greater good. Everything that has been built or has been set in the ground remains in place.

Trailers and Buses will be tolerated for the first 3 years only. After that time they may have to be moved into the mobile home park.

The Homestead will not normally be transferable either except during the first 3 years. If within the first 3 years you can find some other person to take your place as a land steward you will be allowed to make a one time transfer if the Council approves of the person you have found as long as you have filed an intention to transfer your homestead to someone else within the first year of signing on.

Community Service?

Will there be Animals?

Dogs must remain confined on the Homesteads or they can be walked around on a leash. Cats must be controlled in the same way to protect the birds and wildlife around us.

What is the Next Step?

Where is Eden Valley?

Kindly Speaking

Who are We?

What is there now?

Some of the roads may need to be changed. But that will help us all out a lot to be able to make use of what is already there. There may even be some power and water systems already in place. This is not like it would be if we were starting with vacant land.

There is a nice big fat central shady area near the central ranch buildings which has Trees and the creek and a pond and some of those buildings we may be able to put to some good use such as for housing visitors. That will be called The Village.

We will make that area where the old ranch is into our Community use area which we have been calling The Village and where visitors and such will be welcome to come and enjoy some of our good ole country hospitality Eden style.

Buying the land

What I believe you should do if you are serious about buying land for a community is to make a very serious hunt for the land you want to use and then you get your people lined up like we are doing here and then you take your offer to the owners in that order. You do not go to some realtors out of the newspaper and expect anything but the worst of what they need to unload fast. On the other hand we have to have our finances in order when we do get a chance to talk turkey, or they could become quite hardened off to the idea.

There is a natural order of priorities. Any deviation from that order will cost you a good place in Eden Valley and a lot of other places will go down in flames before you begin to learn anything about the natural order of priorities.

It is best for us all to learn to work very quietly towards our goals until the time of the year is just right and we are well enough prepared to show up ready to sign the papers and follow through with everything immediately before anyone gets a chance to change their minds. You can't leave things sitting around. Everything has a shelf life.

T happens to know about a few things about land like this which is reflected in the fact that it was T himself who first rediscovered Eden in the first place. Big land owners don't like to be put off or made to wait so no one is to ever interfere in the fragile relationships we intend to form with those who could help us out on this. We do have an official spokesperson for these reasons. His name is T. He is the organizer of this Project.

Don't even think it would be fine to just drop by and take a look at the place as that could endanger this project. Some ranch folks don't like the idea of a bunch of hippie types always coming around uninvited like they had a right to go snooping around anywhere they might like to and what's worse is that they might take it badly which would only hurt our chances which are otherwise only about 50-50 as it is.

Never just show up uninvited or the price could only go up and the whole deal could go sour if we were to keep the owners waiting for the money to materialize. We are currently still building towards that point. And the money is there. We know it is. This is a huge undertaking and a lifetime of success awaits us. I know people think it is up to them to decide if Eden Valley is the place for them but it is not. That is such a huge fallacy. I have not laid Eden Valley out there for anyone to touch in any way or to set foot on the uncompromised lands of Eden. Eden is private property. Please stay far away for life until such time as we have acquired the land at which time you will be invited to come in at about Forty Five Thousand or something more like that for your troubles.

How much will it cost?

If we have chosen to reward those who will make the commitment earlier on by giving them a slight break on the deal that is because the early support is worth something sweet.

Later on we won't even need to worry about it but there really is a significant risk involved in the early stages. That is why a lot of people are still holding back. This will stimulate the project coming together faster and it rewards those who will take a chance in the support of this project.

All that money comes right back to each of us without exception and for some people it may come back 3 times over.

This will reward those folks who have enough faith and love for what it is that we are doing that they are willing to count themselves among the first to become members of the Stewards Council which alone can make the decision to buy the land and to proceed with this project.

How old are the people?

That is why the Children of Eden will inherit the homesteads and the entire community will be all paid off, easy to maintain and always ready for all to enjoy instead of always having to start from scratch again every generation like we have been doing. That is why we say that Eden is progressive. We are change makers.

Everything we do here is for the Children of The Earth and it might even be true that Eden is the Earth. We do good things for good people.

All good people will be welcomed here. Everyone is seen as having their own personal perspectives, most of which will be more Earth Centered, Child Centered and Womens Centered and will be largely Self Educational in Nature.

What we mean by the new Womens Centric perspective could be said to be that the solutions are naturally more human scale and local and that we are all family and it's about working within the natural relationships like the people we know are doing good things in the local community and to work with what we have and that Social Justice needs to be seen in terms of the Human Scale Communities and brought back home again.

The more traditional perspectives of dominator culture in contrast might be to have the central government drop the big one on the bad guys fast even if that means putting an end to All Life on Earth, as long as we win. It could also refer to cutting down the Amazon rainforest for money and then buying votes with that money by acting like the generous one who wants to buy a disposable home for everybody. But don't get me started. You know what I mean.

How will decisions be made?

Sustainable Micro-Economy?

The other half will come from the private sector, and the natural jobs that we create with each other in our mini-farms and self created work that come from individual and collective resourcefulness.

What about the Houses?

No work is ever to be farmed out to the global marketplace. And that will create even more jobs and flowing money for all to share when you hire the people that you know right there in Eden. And it is nice to know where your tomatoes comes from.

There will be those from amongst ourselves who will take on every kind of work so that all of it is done by our own people as much as possible so the money stays here in Eden circulating around and around forever and that too will become more and more valuable as time goes on.

Towards that end, we may have some different kinds of money in Eden like Eden Hours and Mendo Greens. This is what will make Eden largely self financing. We don't need to depend upon grant money from anybody.

We know we already have the money just like a Tree who doesn't need the money because this whole project works with the ordinary money a lot of people have in sufficient levels to build this community and it will continue to just flow like a river if we manage our resources wisely. And now all we have to do is to begin to put it to work for us instead of watching it all evaporate into thin air. Enough with all the mixed metaphors.

What about the Land?

At 2,240 acres, that will make us one of the largest EcoVillages in the world. But that is not even counting all the lands that surround us which is an invisible resource base for hiking and trekking and outdoors adventures of all kinds. The Ancient Valley lakes and woodlands will be well over 500 acres. And that will all be protected forever.

But there will also be a fairly large influx of visitors and interns and trainees coming to learn about Permaculture, Solar Energy, Natural Building, Small Farming and any number of things we will have to offer.

This not only allows us to make some money but it also ensures us of a steady supply of the new energy that will keep us alive and well for thousands of years. We can also offer other things to support the Right Livelihood of the entire community.

What about getting old?

What you get for that is a 3 acre Homestead and the right to build a house and a cabin on that so it is still more than enough for most people who don't really need the 2 acre Farm-Site which normally would go with every homestead. And you can rent the cabin out to bring in a little cash flow which is all you ever will need in Eden to cover maintenance and a few minor expenses. You can still grow a lot of food right there on your homestead.

Is there enough water?

Water will be free in Eden. But that doesn't mean that we can afford to waste it, not year around, and so we will have to keep an eye on all water resources during the summertime months when we may have to ask people not to use more than about 300 gallons a day per homestead and 200 gallons per day per Farm-Site so all plantings and irrigation systems must be considered carefully. Drip irrigation is best for surface plantings.

Deep rooted Vines and Trees will probably be able to tap into the ground water table quite nicely once they have gotten well enough established and so they may not need much in the way of any further irrigation after the first few years. Most plantings around the homesteads will have to be drought tolerant or native plant species that will not need any irrigation.

What is Next?

We do need to know who has got the True Spirit and what that they have to put into the Permaculture Credit Union which is earmarked for Eden by putting the name Eden in the business or association area of the application form box.

That just shows that you are associated with this emerging new project when you open your account, not that you have transferred that money into the Eden Account yet which is account number 385 if you want to make a direct contribution.

That money is in your own account in your name and your privacy is fully protected by them even to the point that we will not know who has what unless you tell us something like, you just deposited $36,000 into your account so you want us to know that you are onboard here and ready to go at the drop of a hat.

We will then hopefully be able to determine how much in total there is in all the accounts that are voluntarily self connected with Eden in this way as a whole which will give us some idea of how far we still need to go.

Eden is a not for profit Association. Our account with the PCU is number 385. Anyone may deposit anything directly into that account who really does feel the urge to merge.

We will not be able to do anything with any of the money that is put into your own account until you decide to make a neat little transfer of say $1,500. over to the actual Eden Project Account in order to join in with those who are already now on the Council and who will be among the very first decision makers in this community. Only one person has kicked in the first $1,500. so far.

We ask people to get started on that now, opening up your new account and saving up whatever you can for your own experience of Eden and to be able to make your Fair Share Contribution of $1,500 which will put you up on the Stewards Council like a genius in the order of your arrival. What does is it saved you money later on because of the importance of the order of arrivals on the Stewards Council which has a lot to do with how much your equitable Contribution Pledge will be.

The Voice of the Feminine

We are actually making a whole new series of beginnings that will start right here in Eden to change the world and to Save the Earth.

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