Eden Spirit Rising 

What are the Agreements?

Mini Hydroelectric is not really going to be a personal option as all water sources will belong to the community, even if they do flow nearby someone's homestead. But the community itself will have hydro power to burn, so we won't have to sell the farm.

Small is Beautiful. That is the reasoning behind the small homes, and to keep people from building these giant movie star mansions that just go on and on for too long and that uses up too many resources.

The Homesteads in the One Acre Living Circles and center line placement up off the good farmland is for maximal spacing, and to save all that good farmland, just like you would use when planting fruit trees, or anything else. Privacy will be maximized, and the ecological impact will be minimized, by being spread out over a larger area that can absorb the compost.

The home is where your One Acre living Circle will be and the other 2 acres are to be left wild and natural, except for the planting of native Trees in the back acre, but we have decided that the front acre, might be a good place, for some food producing trees, as that might be a good place to direct all the greywater.

We have about the same slope all around the valley which is about 5 to one, one in five. Each Homestead will be laid out, with a specific central spot in mind, for the Home to be built, to make sure every one of them is worthy of the honor, that is Eden.

The Homesteads will generally be 200 feet wide on the center line, and 653.4 feet long, which is 3 acres, although there may be a few oddly shaped ones.  The plan has been ecologically designed, around these 3 acre Homesteads, and the separate 2 acre Farmsites which is superior to a simple 5 acre lot, if you catch my drift.

The centered spacing is so that your neighbors wedding party does not keep you up all night. Sound privacy can only be achieved with good spacing, of about 200 feet on center, and that will give us all plenty of room, for other non farming pursuits, like having a workshop or a greenhouse right there next to the home.

Farming pursuits will take place on the Farm Sites down below on the good flat farmland, even though some of them will have a creek flowing right through, but that is to be considered to be a positive feature of the land, and a beautiful thing.

It might well be considered to be a real drag, when someone next door to you, builds something right on the border line, as close to you as possible, because that is a passive aggressive invasion of your personal space, just like when someone sits down very closely or stands right next to you. That would be wrong to let people encroach upon your space, even though it is on their own side of the imaginary line, which might make them feel, they are within their rights, and so other people don't matter, but that is now how it works in Eden., where everything matters.

These are all good solutions, not problems. I am just the Organizer and so developing a workable plan we can begin with, is just one of my responsibilities, to come up with a good ecological design, that we all can live with in excellence,

The understanding has been there from the beginning, that we may also build a Cabin, of up to 700 square feet.

Need is a meaningless construct, that has not been found to exist anywhere in the universe. But any one who is a clean member in good standing, may submit a proposal, and that can be put up before the Council, after it has been talked about in the Main Circle, or after it has been worked on through committees.

It is all just management of natural resources and energies and it is all just about the integration of people into the environment in a way which limits the ecological footprints we will be making upon the face of the Earth.

The Cabins will need to be on the center line of the Homesteads to the rear of the homes. That is for Fire Safety, so a fire cannot jump from one roof to another, and that is for maximal privacy, and so therefore, we would be wise to try to achieve results without using any more land than necessary, that give us the same effects in privacy, as if you had lots of room in between the homesteads.

You can also have a Greenhouse or a Workshop of up to 700 square feet, which can be anywhere within the One acre Living Circle, which is shaped like an ellipse in the very center of the homestead which is about 200 feet wide, and about 250 feet long.

That is only to limit homestead development to right around the house, so everything is within easy reach, for efficiency and to minimize destruction of wildlife habitat, on the rest of the homestead, and to protect the appearance and the vitality of the environment, and that is why every home has to be tan colored and with a green roof, so none of the animals are spooked by all these weird colors.

Eden is only for those who can work within, what we have got a real desire to offer to them, which is the plan you see here today, that is red hot with Truth and Integrity.

Let's try to use a tan fire resistant material on the outside walls with no wood siding, or junk piles up against the house, and to use a green roofing color, no wooden roofs, and to have no glaring reflective surfaces, that would shine across the valley floor, causing blindness or worse.

Most solar panels are highly reflective, and so those need to be architecturally secluded, and to keep the homesteads free of debris and inoperable vehicles, or anything that could be deemed to be a fire hazard, or a visual obstruction.

Green is the color of the Trees around us. Using those colors is solely for the sake of blending, the appearance of the homes in with the environment, without casting a blind eye, towards a certain degree of fire prevention, and a clean orderly appearance, which is for good mental health.

Strategic placement of the panels, will work wonders to minimize glare and stare.

We agree that no more than 12 people may occupy each allotted homestead unit. What we want to avoid here, is an entire Tribe, moving on to one Homestead unit, just to save money on the Contribution Pledges, which is a real thing that we do have to make plans to avoid, or we will be swamped and overpopulated, and the land will be trampled under foot.

Otherwise people might take advantage of the opportunity, to get in cheap, by piling on to one small homestead, in an overcrowded pile, and that is just not sustainable. If you have more than 12 people, then you should get as many as 12 homesteads, but they all have to be in different peoples names, who are all over the age of 18. This is our way to help to control overpopulation as well, and to balance the impact upon the land.

We need to agree not to devote any more than 200 square feet to lawn space to conserve water. We don't want a lot of wire fences around, so we all must agree not to build any fences in between the Homesteads, and only living barriers like hedges along the Farmsite boundary lines, can be used.

Along with each full 3 acre homestead will be the use of a Two Acre Farmsite that will be laid out nearby. That is much more than most people can even begin to handle. You try working 2 acres one time besides all the work on your homestead to boot. Give me a break. And that is probably all most people can afford to mess around with anyway.

Seniors will get a chance do without the 2 acre Farmsite and they will save a whopping $7,200 or more in the process, which is about all it takes to throw a big old party in Eden.

Personal spaces are limited, to make sure people use them, as they were not all intended, to act as a buffer zone, between you and the outside world.

We agree to make an ongoing use of this land, that is set aside for the Farmsites, for the production of food and fiber, and we agree that if we were to leave it lying fallow, for more than one year, we will forfeit the use of that Farmsite forever, so this is a use it or lose it type situation.

These provisions do support a one year fallow time of no use here in Eden. We are just not willing to accept the deep neglect of the land over the long term. That is to support the community in its efforts to achieve self sufficiency in food production, and to keep all the land in some kind of production.

Anybody might need a year off from all farming pursuits, just to build their own passive solar home in Eden. But 2 years in a row and you could lose your Farmsite. These are rules that work, because there are consequences, as you can see, which is an enormous advantage for the Earth, which has been dying to hear about some real consequences, for such a long time now.

We agree not to raise more than 700 pounds of animals on each Homestead, and none of these will be kept overnight on the Farmsites, and  to avoid animal neglect, people should keep the animals on the Homesteads, and not out on the Farmsites, because we want people to take good care of their animals.

Large animals like cattle are therefore to be discouraged but authenticated miniatures may be acceptable.

Large animals can do a great amount of damage. That is why we have to have limitations. 700 pounds per homestead, does preclude larger animals, simply by the fact that most of them do weigh a lot more than that.

We agree that only one person from each homestead, will be needed to serve on the Stewards Council. That is just to manage the flow within a larger community. We are talking about 700 people. Some of them mentally retarded. And some others will have a serious case of dementia.

Some will be problem people who are always acting up just to get attention and to hurt other people using passive aggression, by hanging everything up over nothing, out of a need to bring attention, to their own personal needs and problems.

This needs to be controlled somewhat, and this could be our best way of limiting the size of the meeting, to more like 70 to 88 hard working well adjusted intelligent people, who can work together, one from each homestead, for better representation, and 18 from the Vegan Village, since that represents a community within a community, instead of trying to bring order to a group of 700 people, and that will bring us the most cooperative, and creative bunch of people who really can work together, instead of the constant interruptions, that we would otherwise have to be dealing with, every time we try to get some work done.

We all have to understand that we are contributing only towards the Community as a whole, and we are not buying land in the usual sense, and so we know that we cannot ever sell it like personal property, and we all may have other land stewardship responsibilities, as may be decided by the Stewards Council, which works by a three quarters Consensus.

The one exception would be that if a person files an intention within the first year, to transfer all stewardship, to some other party, where no amount of money is involved, then they may transfer that homestead within the first 3 years, to some other person or family member, who has been approved by the Stewards Council.

We don't plan to make any promises about the loanability of any of the homesteads. That is why we are self financing each one of them as a community, so that does come with a price tag, and so no one will have to go crying to the bank, for more blood money, when they have got their own two hands, to gather used lumber with, and a perfectly good homestead to work on.

There will be no titles handed out, like in the game of monopoly, since no one is deemed, to be entitled to own anything, because it is all considered to belong to the Earth, and to the community.

All title will be held as one by the community. People can build their own homes gradually, as they earn their way, and save the funny money, that will allow them to grow and to thrive on this planet.

We agree that the homesteads, may also be left to any of our children, who are old enough to enter into a binding legal agreement like this one, and that is going to be subject to the approval of council.

We do not care that much about those, who may be related, to someone who quit, but who have done nothing to earn a place among us here in Eden, which is an honor, that is not for relatives, to kick around like stocks and bonds, who have never even set foot in Eden, much less have they earned a real place among us, and that does include disconnected children from another world, who should not be dragged into this.

Even the primary children, will have to have lived in the community, or to otherwise be well enough known, and accepted by the council, as working members of the community, in good standing, and that means your debts are paid and your work is done.

All the land belongs to Eden in the Spirit of Oneness. That is not meant to be pissed away to satisfy some antiquated set of mistaken beliefs about the royal family.

None of it can ever be sold, or transferred in any other of the ways, that we have not provided for, or such as we have created, which are only for those, who might have an allergy to the plants and animals around Eden, or something, and just cannot take it.

It is not for those who have grown bored, and want to give it up, as quitters should not be rewarded, for their dereliction of duty, and the reckless disregard for the community spirit, or the willful misconduct, or especially when they are in gross violation of the laws of Eden, or are not in good standing, within the Honor Syustem.

If the homestead is abandoned, by some of these slackers, no amount of money will be returned, as that will have been deemed to be all zoned out, and it will be designated as community land, that could then be managed, in an entirely different manner.

It is not abandoned property. Never in Eden, because there will be no title extended, as we have set ourselves free, of all such legal nightmares, as we could ever conceive of.

Everything will be owned by Eden, as a not for profit community association, which is organized under the auspices of section 501 c 3 of the internal revenue code, so have a little respect for the work that has been done.

If a person was to leave, all improvements which may have been built into the homesteads, are to remain standing in place, even if they aren't any good, and may have to be torn down, to satisfy the building codes. That just means, that you do not get to gut your homesteads, of all the doors and windows, and pull the water heater, and the woodstove, and take all the copper with you as you go.

Even a Yurt or a Dome should be left in place, as it would be considered to be an insult to us all, for anyone to gut and run where they can have more fun.

You may take your stereo and your TV, and you computer, and your tooter, and all your other personal items, except for the ones which have been donated to the community.

We will all have to agree to pay our Community Maintenance Fees every month, on or before the first of the month, which will be 50 dollars a month per person over the age of 18. The reason for that is to make sure, that all good people and not just the primary homesteaders, will have to help to carry the burden of expenses, in an equitable manner, on a head for head basis, while they are here with us on Earth.

Even visitors to this planet, who are still camping out in a tent somewhere, or those who are staying at the Bus Village, will be asked at some point to start kicking in the Monthly Maintenance Fees, like about 30 days in, along with whatever rent they may have to pay, just  to set up camp in the Bus Village, which will probably be about $150. a month for 3 people.

We agree to do our fair share of the Community Service Work, if you can stand it, which will be 4 hours a week from each person over the age of 13, and those over 18 who do not show up for that will then be expected to cough up the $40. to $80. equivalent in US Dollars, or in Eden Hours, that would correspond to that 4 to 8 hour work per week. That is just another example, of real world consequences.

Everyone over 18 gets paid the equivalent of at least ten dollars an hour in Eden Hours. The rest will work for peanuts. Here the young people will be allowed to decide, when they want to join the community, and then they can ask for the honor and the right, to start taking this on, as a personal responsibility, that must be fulfilled, like any of the adults, so they can begin to feel, like contributing members, who have to keep their commitments, in order to earn their rights, and stay on the books, as members in good standing, because no one has any specific rights in Eden, not even our own children, until they have earned them, in accordance with the Honor System, and within the natural order of priorities.

This is basically what the emerging document looks like, that we will have to ask everyone to sign off on, just so we are all on the same page, before any homestead can be assigned to anybody, who just thought they would screw around with our heads, and then move on, with no consequences, which is the usual expectation.

No one will be able to deny they had a big fat chance, to read about the True basics that they all signed off on. And we will always have a hard copy of that on hand, at the administration, and even most of the meetings, of the Stewards Council, in case anyone might want to propose any new amendments to the agreements.

We believe that people cannot be driven to do things against their will. It is very much like water that will only flow if you create an opening for it. That is what we are doing.

We are replacing the temporarily over bloated equity in ordinary homes, and properties, that people should already own, if they don't already have some land, or a 401k, with a homestead in Eden, that will last for more than just one lifetime, since there will be no inheritance tax, or other real estate problems, having to do with land tenure, to worry about every time people have a divorce, or die laughing, or become reborn into Eden, as the next latest thing.

We are replacing the ordinary opportunity, to buy a randomly selected piece, of disconnected land, somewhere out in the middle of no where, that some real estate person had on some list of unwanted properties, only to have to go it alone, which usually fails, with a homestead in Eden, that most definitely can succeed, because of the other people, who are buying land together, which is why we will get more, for the very same price, you would have to pay anywhere else for less.