"I have not been afraid of excess; excess on occasion is exhilirating.  It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit."

--W. Somerset Maugham

History

Since the late 1990s we had hosted monthly meetings at our farm in Michigan.

Our topics and speakers ranged from how to get grants to starting a sideline business in order to become more independent.

The primary goal is to pool our knowledge and resources.

We also held several picnics, spaghetti dinner socials and other special group events including several Y2K expos.

Foolishly, we gave up the farm to move across the country for a job which fizzled before we arrived at our destination.  Our goal now is to return and set up a teaching farm - showing folks how to become more independent, teaching new/old skills, DIY alternative energy projects and more.

Surviving several financial and health disasters has taught us that the lack of money is the root of all evil.  Apparently, all that one experiences in life is for a good purpose however.  We've improved our personal thrifty living skills tremendously and plan to share those at a future expo called Living Well on Less - dates to be announced.

Lessons We Learned

Always have a plan B, C, and even D!

We submitted a business plan for the creation of a small teaching farm to universities, publishers and the state government.

We never received a response from any of these sources.

This is one reason why we started this site.  We had a site in the late 1990s and eventually stopped its production upon moving.

As a not-for-profit group we're not quite eligible for most grants (that is due to change in 2010).  However, this site and our sister site (see below) is raising awareness and funding for the completion of our plan.

Our sister site offers a variety of useful, how-to CD ROMS for sale rather cheaply.  Visit that site at:

www.poormansurvival.com

To make a donation to our cause, use the Paypal link below.  Even if you do not have a paypal account, you can use this link: