Riverbed Ranch Community

Has the pandemic and current climate crisis made you rethink where you live? You're not alone. 

COVID-19 and severe weather has caused a significant shift in the status quo, as people have decided that coastal city living wasn't all it's cracked up to be. Families have moved to smaller cities and towns in droves to pursue a more sustainable lifestyle.

At least 180,000 families live off the grid in the United States, with that number increasing every year.

Off-grid living means that you don't rely on public utilities, such as water, gas, and electricity, and the home or community is self-sustainable. Off-grid is achieved by using renewables, like solar and wind, and relying on a natural water resource, such as a river or a lake.

This way of life has become more desirable as many of us seek a sustainable lifestyle that takes us back to basic living, one that is more affordable and is more akin to our ancestral roots of living off the land. Many off-grid pursuants also seek a lifestyle that removes hyperconsumerist behaviors, is healthier, and is more connected to our planet.

Like many, you may have dreamt about uprooting your family and moving across the country to live a more meaningful and sustainable life. Perhaps you've looked into the costs of buying a block of land with a renewable tiny home, some chickens, and a vegetable garden, only to realize the financial investment to get started was out of reach. 

Fortunately, there are now entire communities built for people like you that cost a fraction of what it would cost if you did it alone.

Riverbed Ranch is a new off-grid community constructed by the Utah OSR Land Cooperative, designed to accommodate 250 families. They can produce organically-grown food, have access to chemical-free drinking water from a water well, and share the renewable energy sources on the property.

The co-op has built several barns, is constructing ten homes, owns 1,245 acres of farmland, 2,854 acre-feet of water well, and has around a dozen gardens thriving on the land.

Riverbed Ranch's goal is to create the world's first agricity, with plans to build five sustainable communities along the Rocky Mountains. This agricity will model agricultural harmony and sustainability while giving opportunities and solutions to some of the biggest challenges humanity faces.

Taken from Riverbed Ranch's website:

Our mission is to establish a safe, healthy, family-oriented culture of self-reliance through community Farm-steading. We are helping those who want to learn and to become self-reliant by stepping away from a lifestyle of dependencies into a safe, healthy culture with like-minded neighbors. Our intent is to build a foundation of knowledge, skill, and wisdom, coupled with integrity, love, and appreciation for all of God's creations.

Farm-steading is a little different from Homesteading. Both are the same: you live and provide for your family from resources produced on the property. The difference is that Farm-steaders run their homestead like a business. Riverbed Ranch is Utah's very first and only Farm-stead community.

Going off-grid has endless perks, from:

• Saving money

• Eating clean and unprocessed foods

• Adopting a slow-living lifestyle

• Learning new life skills

• Connecting with like-minded individuals

As mentioned earlier, the financial investment to set up your sustainable property is out of reach for many of us. But for an off-grid community like Riverbed Ranch, it will only set you back $25,000. For $25K, you'll get your own 2-2.5 acre block of land, at least two acre-feet of water rights, and become a voting member of the community.

Off-grid living utilizes renewables, so you'll be saving thousands of dollars every year just on utilities alone. This lifestyle also removes the temptations of hyperconsumerist behaviors that society has influenced upon us, spending less money on "stuff" you don't need. You'll become a producer rather than a consumer.

The health benefits of going off-grid are quite possibly the biggest reason why all of us should seriously consider this lifestyle change. 35-37% of adults in the US are obese, which is mostly due to sedentary lifestyles and the Western diet of processed, high-sugar, high-calorie diets. 

In an off-grid lifestyle, you won't find McDonalds. You'll grow and harvest your own food from the land. Food is clean, wholesome, and better for you, and you'll live a longer, healthier, and more active lifestyle by default.

Living off-grid gives you life skills you can use to survive, much like our ancestors did, like farming, and using renewable resources to survive.

Another valuable reason to join an off-grid community is you'll be building a life amongst like-minded humans. Off-grid seekers are generally more conscious, mindful, and open-minded than most. 

Sustainable living can be a lonely expedition when you live amongst the general populatio