I know the plan is to earn money as a Co-op or as businesses under the Co-op umbrella. Would the selling of produce be able to sustain a family?
If so, are there any estimates for when that point would be reached?
My next question is in relation to getting into the homestead debt free. OSR have expressed that the goal is to help individuals become debt free.
We are a young couple with limited resources. Would it be against your policy to get loans in order to join the community?
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Good questions.
- Like any new business, it’s going to take a year or two (or maybe even three) to get fully up to speed generating income by selling produce. (It takes time for fruit trees, asparagus, etc. to generate produce). Though, with planning, a lot could happen the first year. There are multiple examples of families generating six-figures off less than 2 acres. Search ‘six figures farm” on YouTube.
The co-op itself is not in a position to market any produce yet. That is likely not going to happen until there’s multiple families generating a good amount of food. I would think the soonest that will happen is the end of the 2022 growing season. Families are 100% welcome to sell their goods via farmers markets in the meantime. - Loans. You are welcome to have personal debt. It’s just that traditional banks won’t loan on a land co-op (there’s no way for them to foreclose on you if you don’t pay). Some shareholders have gotten quite creative in order to afford their share and to build out their homesteads. One single-mom with two teens recruited her parents and siblings to help her out. They actually ended up getting two shares and are going to build a family retreat on one.
Jesse Answered question
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