Ben Badawi

Mission: To establish & maintain a small neighbor-feeding farm community, both agriculturally and socially.

From www.ic.org/directory/ben-badawi/:

NOTE: My original intent for forming a small farming community has changed dramatically in the last six weeks, as has the location. Things are moving FAST and I'm having trouble finding the time to update this description, but I've changed the basics in order to avoid misleading interested others:

There is work to do while healthy, intelligent individuals are daydreaming their lives away, so instead of “starting” a community, I’m inviting interested others to share in the difficult jobs & responsibilities of developing a community-based market farm (to feed our most vulnerable neighbors with little or no money changing hands) in rural Matagorda County, Texas. Whether your commitment is short- or long-term, the community can form itself however it forms.

Participants’ active physical/intellectual/emotional involvement is more important than their material assets, so unless you’re an ax murderer or a religious nut, we can exchange your work for a place to exist outside whatever rat race you feel is slowly killing you. My bank account hangs just above zero more often than not, but I have extensive knowledge & experience in different elements of establishing & maintaining a holistic/sustainable garden system and, as a career public school teacher, I’ve gotten pretty good at fostering community out of whatever motley crew walks through the doorway. Right now, though, it’s just me. Another plans to join me in August 2016.

It doesn’t really matter what part of the system you currently live in that irritates you enough to make you want to escape it, but it’ll be energizing to talk about it over a meal at the end of the day. There’s only a place for adults & older teens right now, but the only established rule for living is that we not apply our favorite religions to others, so everything else is pretty flexible.

It’s going to be a while before this unusual idea becomes more than a grassy shelf above the coastal plain, so we’ll want to discuss the substance of your interest before you commit to anything (your only “posh” accommodations will be your sleeping bag & tent, for instance, but we can easily build adequate shelter before winter... which lasts a couple of weeks, tops). Regrading a couple of trouble spots and establishing a trial food source are the current priorities, but I know a lot about low-impact, climate-responsive construction so you’ll learn a lot about passive cooling in a hot/humid climate & how to swing a hammer, depending on the number of participants at any given time.

If you can cook or play an instrument, you’re automatically at the top of my wish list; however, your strong back & willingness to share ideas & responsibilities is the dealmaker.

If this isn’t your idea of fun & fulfillment, then peace and best wishes to you. If it is, contact me.

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.