Seeking Help - StP HQ / Punk Rock RV Park | Page 4 | Squat the Planet

Seeking Help StP HQ / Punk Rock RV Park

jimi

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I understand. Personally, my issue when trying to start projects like this in the past was the exact opposite; basically everyone picking the idea apart because we didn't have an answer for every little possible scenario. Everyone got so bogged down in the details that the larger picture was kind of lost.



I'd say we have a group of 3-4 solidly invested people so far. There's been a lot, lot more people interested in helping/participating, but those 3-4 are the people I would count on to make this happen.



damn that is a fucking miracle. good for you!



well, it sounds like maybe we can help each other out? seems like you have a lot of experience in the non-profit sector and I believe I have some pretty solid ideas on how to make things work logistically, so maybe we should continue the discussion but maybe take it one subject at a time? what do you think would be best next step in the discussion?

Hell yeah, 3-4 is a great size for a starting group! 4 to 6 would be my personal goal if it was me. Tbh you're probably good to go. You might already be doing this, but meeting regularly with those people to lay out each of your "needs" and establish agreed-upon goals in regard to the project would be a great start, then you can prioritize and delegate from there. Really focus on making that core group as strong as possible. Once you feel ready, I'd suggest having meetings with the less-core group as well. You may well already be on this, but I'm going to way over-explain it anyway, but only because it might be useful for others to read in the future.


Probably the first things I'd recommend deciding on are location and then organizational structure, and to what extent each of the core group members is realistically willing/able to engage with the project.
Establish hard boundaries, really be clear and honest with and get to know each other if you don't already. If someone has commitments, like a budding romance for example, that may make them hesitant to actually move across the country to make this work, they should be honest about it. Someone may be unable to invest in this unless they have a guaranteed housing situation. Someone might have a health condition that they might have to deal with soon. Someone might fucking hate the desert. Someone might not be comfortable being on the board of directors and being legally liable for the project. Someone may only be able to do this for the next 2 years or so, but will eventually have to take care of an aging family member. Communicate, build trust. Teamwork makes the dream work. All these things can be worked out and you don't want a big blow up or to be left hanging later when things inevitably get a little stressful. If you have people in mind you'd like to potentially join the core group, invite them in and get them on board.
Knowing what kinds of locations will work for your core group will narrow down your choices, and some parameters will be helpful when asking for input from the larger community.


Some good questions for the core group: What are our accessibility and location needs? Are there any places or types of environment that are OFF the table for any of us? What is our agreed-up "mission" with this project? If we were to start a nonprofit or similar entity, who is potentially comfortable being involved to that extent, and under what circumstances? What do each of us want get out of our involvement with this on a personal level to feel fulfilled? What are each of our biggest hesitations or things we want to avoid seeing happen with this project? What is going on in each of our personal lives where we may need to take steps back or be supported by the group in the future?


In the process of discussing and sorting these things out, you could take input from this thread or another you create and share it with the group, invite people who have been giving input into the conversations directly, or make discussions public and include everyone on here who wants to be involved. Sometimes in situations where broad ideas need to be narrowed down, our decision making meetings at my spot are run by a core group (elected committee, board, etc), but anyone interested is welcome to come and offer input and get involved. Once a solid outline is created by the most interested parties, the ideas are brought to the larger group for crit and adjustment. This saves a lottttt of time and stress and prevents key participants from feeling overwhelmed, so is my preference, but you may want to just do open public involvement from the get-go.
A lot of activist and cooperative type orgs I've been a part of use a system that holds open-to-the-public meetings, but doesn't permit new attendees to "vote" or take on tasks until they've attended at least 3 meetings to avoid wasting time with casual participants who show up a couple times and never again.
You may want to consider establishing accountability processes if there are any members in the group who take on tasks or positions that may put them in positions of power or that the group is relying on heavily.


However you decide to do it, get your core organizers on the same page and have a basic outline, then bring people into the fold and get them involved where they're comfortable, prioritize next steps, delegate tasks/research to individuals or form "teams" and just regularly discuss on here and meet up until you've eventually got everything I mentioned sorted and a place found!


Sorry for the long ass posts, hope this helps somebody someday~~
 

Tobiko

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Do you know of “wagenplatz” sites in europe? It is an idea of mine to have something similar here in northern california
 
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Matt Derrick

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Do you know of “wagenplatz” sites in europe? It is an idea of mine to have something similar here in northern california

I've heard of them and seen pictures that a friend of mine took visiting one. I love the aesthetic, I'd like to interview some of those folks one day.

@jimi thank you for the advice that all sounds like good information. i'm curious though, you've mentioned several times that someone needs to be 'legally liable'. i thought the point of non-profits and LLCs in particular (and having a board of directors) was so that no one person is 'legally liable'. can you explain this in more detail?
 
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Beegod Santana

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If you run your 501c3 or LLC properly and don't go nuts it should be fine. If you do something way outta bounds with negative consequences then someone could sue you personally. Liability insurance would cover it in theory which could run anywhere from $500- $50000 depending on location, setup, ect... In my limited experience insurance isn't always as much as you might think, I've purchased million dollar policies for $500 before.
 

jimi

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I've heard of them and seen pictures that a friend of mine took visiting one. I love the aesthetic, I'd like to interview some of those folks one day.

@jimi thank you for the advice that all sounds like good information. i'm curious though, you've mentioned several times that someone needs to be 'legally liable'. i thought the point of non-profits and LLCs in particular (and having a board of directors) was so that no one person is 'legally liable'. can you explain this in more detail?
Well, for example, if the entity is taken to court or has to deal with the government for any reason, maybe the chairperson or other rep or the whole board may have to be involved, if you've got a treasurer, they'll need to tie their name to any bank accounts or whatnot to be able to act on behalf of the org, just things like that. I don't know nearly as much about land trusts and I don't know how you would plan on structuring your board. If things are running smoothly it's nothing to worry about, but it can be a lot of responsibility and work if anything happens to pop off.
 

staywild92

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Have you considered the south east? Property is cheap af, it gets kinda hot but there's plenty of water to cool off in. Being part of the punk freak diy community in nola that ain't getting any younger I know some of us are thinking about magnolia mississippi as a possible gtfo of town spot. Drawback is locals are kinda backwards in they're thoughts about politics and race. Me and a few people are considering an trailer park in the big easy too. Cheap lots down here and little to no law although the thought of buying something that will be underwater in the next twenty years is a practice in impermanence. As far as income goes were getting people with some skills (blacksmithing, bicycle builds and repair ect) and being close enough to the city allows us to get creative. Good luck!
 
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NewMexicoJim

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This place has potential. 10 acres with house, barn, well with irrigation rights. $147K

1602025823311.png
3/2 home with barn and 10 acres, Deming NM
 
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Matt Derrick

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it's definitely enough space, but i dunno where im going to get 147k from :(
 

NewMexicoJim

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it's definitely enough space, but i dunno where im going to get 147k from :(
I guess I like to dream big. With irrigation rights, this place could be put to work making money right away. A small organic farm could feed residents as well as make money in local farmer's markets. Or grow native plants for landscaping. Residents would donate time to the farm according to their skills and the money could go toward mortgage, taxes, bills, and infrastructure improvements. RV park, campground, farm, music venue for dirty kids.
 

Matt Derrick

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this might be a silly question, but any squatting/homesteading possibilities out there?
 

NewMexicoJim

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I have only been looking at land/houses for sale so my knowledge on squatting/homesteading is limited. I have seen quite a bit of abandoned buildings in various states of disrepair. BLM owns an astounding amount of land in the area and most of the land is leased to ranchers but open to camping. The only way I know of to legally live/squat on public land is to stake and work a mining claim. There are fees and paperwork and minimum requirements but it is possible for a small miner to work a 20 acre claim, erect buildings, build roads, improve the property and live on it. I haven't researched it in depth but it does seem to be worth investigating.
 
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Potts

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So this thread is for discussing an idea I've had for many years now, that I would like to share with the community and get some input on.

This thread is for discussing an extension of the Squat the Planet website into real life by starting a homebase/headquarters for the StP community in the form of a physical location with full time live-in residents, as well as accommodating a rotating cast of visiting travelers.

The core idea

The location would take the form of a plot of land that would be turned into a residence while also giving a space for other projects. The residence portion would take the form of what could be best described as an RV park, where residents long term and short term alike could come and go as they please between travels. There would also be more permanent structures in place, such as teepees, tents, yurts, and possibly more advanced alternative building structures like shipping container houses, etc.

Amenities would include shore/house power, potable water, public showers, a travel-specific library, mail boxes, and others.

The space would also be designed to have an open performance area/stage, campfire hangout spots, a bar for special events, and other areas such as gardens and a blacksmith shop. Other ideas are possible based on what the residents want to pursue.

Apologies for the vagueness at this point, but location, monetary and social logistics are all things that will need to be discussed in this thread, and as we work things out, i will update this first post with the latest information that is decided upon; eventually, the goal here is to have an exact outline of the project and what we hope to achieve and why.

At this point though, I just want to get the discussion started so feel free to post your input, concerns, and ideas for how we can make this a reality.

Who would own/run the space?

The idea would be that the land would be owned under a land trust with a board of directors essentially, so no one person owns the land. it would definitely be owned and run collectively.

How are you going to pay for this?

In terms of getting it paid for, I am open to ideas, but my main focus might theoretically be a kickstarter of some kind, where we could sell weekend visits/parties at the land to raise money for it. we did this when I created an indigogo campaign for east jesus and it did pretty well.

For the most part though, financing is still under debate/research.

Similar projects

Just to give you an idea of what I'm going for here, I'm going to list a few places that I feel are at least somewhat similar:

Where would something like this be located?

Locations are still up in the air since I just haven't found that one perfect place that would make me want to settle down long enough to make something like this happen. That said, some considerations would be:
  • Kansas City, MO (KCMO): I keep hearing there's a lot of punk houses here and a good community. Not sure about land prices though.
  • Tucson, AZ: I hear rumors of a burdgeoning anarchist/punk/activist community here and there's lots of BLM land in the area. Suggested by @dumpsternavel in this post.
  • @TheUndeadPhoenix has suggested some of the more remote areas of Pennsylvania.
  • @NewMexicoJim has suggested some cheap land for sale between Albuquerque and Belem, NM; more info and a photo in this post.
  • Morgantown, WV - " Morgantown area still has cheap land in the hills and it's relatively close to Pittsburgh"
  • "there is cheap land around Taos/Tres Piedras NM as well. Taos mesa is somewhat of a all diy houses built in the desert, mostly punks and hippies before them, being there since the 80s. sounds like your project would fit right in. just buy a few acres and all good to go"
While not totally impossible, it seems like both the east and west coasts are probably going to be out of the question due to land costs and other factors, but if someone wants to prove me wrong, please do so. For now, I'm mostly concentrating our search on somewhere in the mid west / four corners areas, preferably along a major train route (again, to make it easier for folks to visit).

I'm avoiding areas that are overly remote (no matter how cheap/free they may be) due to logistical hurdles and the fact that we'd like to have a space where folks could optionally have jobs to save up for their next leg of travel or finance projects in the space itself.

For now, I'm asking any travelers that are interested in this project to keep a look out for good locations that might meet these requirements. If you come across something let us know!
I may be partial since I've called it home(ish ) for awhile but on kcmo behalf...its fairly centrally located in the lower 48. There definitely are a fuck ton of punkhouses and other bandos ripe for the takeover. Aside from the fact that they are cops regardless, KCPD, are mostly laid back. Panhandling is accepted and supported almost by civilians.plenty of resources as far as showers shelter and if you go hungry in KC, you want to be hungry. Laid back yards and workers; its a good hub as far as I know...although in 20 years I've only hopped 10 or 12 times with 5 or 6 of those being outta KC. Winters are fairly brutal or can be and summers are wickedly humid..but in all I think it would provide a great spirit and climate..even accepted..for this type of venture.
 

KrimsonDCLXVI

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Those amenities sound fantastic. Hopefully zoning laws and permits won't get in the way.

The idea of a blacksmith shop is ingenious - not only is that a great skill to have, so are any that can be shared among travelers.

I remember some of the early days on the 'net where I learned some basic HTML; anything I couldn't figure out on my own I learned from some others on a discussion board, and the unofficial rule was to pay back by helping to teach others what you learned before you moved along. That kind of camaraderie and willingness to help others is rare these days...

Any place that people can come together and actually share knowledge and skills is a great place, as there are a ton of skills that different travelers posses that would be great to pass along to others. Perhaps something along those lines could be added to the name, to keep people from thinking it's just an RV park and a place to use/abuse like so many these days.
Sounds like a great addition! I really like this idea!
 
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CouchPunx

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this might be a silly question, but any squatting/homesteading possibilities out there?
Just saw this. I'm having similar thoughts. Buncha friends rich on unemployment and crypto trying to buy a house in Pittsburgh together, housing market is wild and trying to do it you realize it's all exactly as racist and fucked up as you always knew it was. Anyways the plan was to buy a house on this block full of abandos then use that as a homebase to make the rest of the block into really legit squats. But now I'm thinking why not just start with a squat? There are a huge amount of listings that say "price reduced, squatter occupied" ... Boom, why not outslum the slumlords? Squat the place then buy it at the discount rate. Rinse and repeat. No clue how feasible this is in real life but we're all getting together tomorrow to try and make something work.



While I'm at it I feel like travellers don't squat much anymore. Why is this? Cell phones? I guess we can just call the homies of the homies and find a floor these days. Ok old man rant over thanks for listening
 

Matt Derrick

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Just saw this. I'm having similar thoughts. Buncha friends rich on unemployment and crypto trying to buy a house in Pittsburgh together, housing market is wild and trying to do it you realize it's all exactly as racist and fucked up as you always knew it was. Anyways the plan was to buy a house on this block full of abandos then use that as a homebase to make the rest of the block into really legit squats. But now I'm thinking why not just start with a squat? There are a huge amount of listings that say "price reduced, squatter occupied" ... Boom, why not outslum the slumlords? Squat the place then buy it at the discount rate. Rinse and repeat. No clue how feasible this is in real life but we're all getting together tomorrow to try and make something work.



While I'm at it I feel like travellers don't squat much anymore. Why is this? Cell phones? I guess we can just call the homies of the homies and find a floor these days. Ok old man rant over thanks for listening
yeah pitts always treated me well every time i was there, but it's been a good decade or so now since i've last been there. i should scout it out for something like this though!
 
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