Ranger I think that is one way to go for sure. There is lodge near us that was somewhat similar. When it was sold it was purchased by a group (not preppers) that took a cabin each but all chip in to maintain the main building. Nothing fancy as you say but the group has been operating for about 15 years I would say, with no upsets. They use them more as summer camps rather than hunting camps but it does go to show that these arrangements can work with no one getting financially shafted.

Just to weigh in here I've read that your land should have two to three water sources. eg: lake, stream and well. Our short growing season is also a big consideration. Does anyone know where in Alberta is the best land with the mildest weather?

Look at how and where the Natives use to winter and live in the summer......Out on the prairies in summer and the foothills in the winter......There is no one perfect spot in Alberta, for year round primitive living but the Crowsnest pass would probably have the best climate year round, you just have to put up with the wind.....

Welcome Ladycostumer and greetings from Northern Ontario.

...A self sustainable community isn't a "temporary bug-out location" such as an RV park for when SHTF...

Mountaineer I dont think the other option was ever to be considered a temporary BOL for when "it" hits the fan. It was just a different idea in how to get a community started and running that people could contribute to and start working towards now rather than later or after they won the lotto.

Ranger's comments sound interesting but I am guessing again would fit in more with the "other" group versus your idea. I am basing this simply on the link you had previously posted in this thread, which type of subdivision literally costs millions.

I have some experience in my current line of work in sub-divison development, as well have family members who have previously done full out subdivision developments from A - Z. So I can tell you it is a big under taking, but if it could be accomplished to suit a true self sufficient community the reward of living in and taking part in such a community would be huge.

I look forward to your posts that further expand out your thoughts.

Mountaineer,

Maybe you can visit this new thread and provide your insight and valuable opinion. Please. http://internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=1994&p=22018#p22018

Maybe we both have been thinking too small. Instead we should be looking for a ghost town to re-inhabit. With the infrastructure already in place.

I look forward to you joining the discussion.

Mountainman.

Gost towns; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ghost_towns_in_Saskatchewan

If you want a cheap place to buy a lot put a home in for a bugout location check out mannyberries Ab actually you might be able to buy the old school house and its residence from the county of 40 mile....

Thru the prairies there are a number of semi-ghost towns where the economy has dried up the homes abandoned. Prairie life is not easy and enough people have perished trying to homestead the area. Unless you have some deep lakes about, than you have to look at drought or flood, (Red River Valley). The land there is brown not black like the southern area below the 48th. You have snow storms, dust storms, and mud storms. So be wise on where you homestead, or they will find your reminisce when you leave or die. 😐

Not sure what happened with this thread....it sort of lost gas! We do need to be talking more on this topic of small groupings of folk getting to know each other and making connections with other groups within a days travel. We have 20 acres but surrounded by crown land. You don't need lots of land, just strategically placed land!!! We've been bustin our humps getting this piece prepped for five years now but like most have been saying, you can't do it all. Our group is very small now because we haven't met people of similar mind set that we would want in our group. We are looking...so it would be good to meet people who want to contribute work, time, and add to preps here. On top of this I would love to meet a group already setting up their homestead close to ours. People with different types of skill sets are the key! I realize no one wants to give up locations and such but perhaps-a vague idea for the time being. I'll go first....We live central Alberta. We have 20 acres with crown land surrounding us, a creek, never ending fire wood and loads of natural medicinal plants growing in the area. Some of us come from military, police, and medical backgrounds. Some from teaching, therapy and farming backgrounds. If you were to ask us if we were religious-most of us would say, not really church goers but spiritual(though a couple of us are atheist). We believe everyone over a certain age should learn how to defend themselves but we also believe they should be able to know what type of mushroom won't kill them. We believe all persons in our group has something to offer and we believe in a group vote. We don't go around looking for people to add to our group-it sort of happens during discussion that typically don't take place too often (for obvious reasons). We would welcome more people if they were a good fit with the group we've started. But we'd also love to know if there were any other groups around us that we could make alliances with in times of need.

Great to hear of similar efforts !
Best to get this done while it's easier in all ways....establishing collaborative precedents of selfgovernance in selfselective communities.
Sufficient and required dialog by members in the beginning and throughout is extremely important....and takes time, depending on the numbers envisioned, and needed financially.
Most folks have little basis in effective communication protocol in intensified situations, and the great potential which is at first so exciting can be destroyed by misunderstandings around premises, values,implementation, priorities, etc.
As soon as possible, develop an outline , a set of parameters as your basic envisioned requirements, inviting others to complement that .
As a very helpful guide to clarification of issues and/or conflict resolution, i would recommend this manual : http://www.circuscontraption.com/consensus/on_conflict_and_consensus.html
Any group can develop variations on the principles outlined, but it's essential for larger groups to have an expressed acceptance of such and a developing understanding of it. Folks who reject it out-of-hand are usually the ones who will display unreasonable behaviour and immature force, either verbal/physically and/or financially, to have their own way, and avoid the disciplined self-scrutiny required by this default process.
Anyway, all the best in your endeavors!

I'm interested in this how do we meet up

Duffman, were you referring to me above, or Dakota's project ?
I'm in ontario. We hope to acquire land in the central area.
....villager

Thanks villager for the manual. It is exactly how we work!

Hi All
After reading most of this tread I think I could help. 1st I am a licensed realtor for sask and alberta. 2nd I am a prepper. 3rd I have actually been through the whole buying a strategic plot of land for My own bug out. It has half mile of lake front and it borders 1000's of acres of crown land that I am free to access and use for free besides my own plot. My plot can only be accessed from one way other than water or bush.
Anyway you get the point.
My only downfall is cold weather in winter. But I have wood burning stoves and all the wood I could possible burn in a life time.
I too was looking for like minded people to share because I know in a SHTF situation I would never hold down my place by myself.
Right now I have spent a pile of money on infrastructure etc and I use it mostly as my recreation spot, waiting for a bug out situation that doesn't seem to be happening. Oh well if the world isn't going to go to shit soon at least I can enjoy my solitude and hunting etc. (Can't believe some of us preppers kind of secretly want something to happen)
Any whodly dodly.
Take care folks and pm me if you would like to shot the bull.