For the last 4 years we have been trying to find somewhere we are allowed to home educate our children and somewhere we could settle down and call home.
It has always been a dream of ours to live in an Eco-village, we have travelled far and wide in our tinyhouse but never quite found the ideal plot to start growing our future. Luckily for us, we have not been alone on this mission, on our travels we have met two more families who have joined us on this quest and one of the families has come across a little piece of heaven in Portugal that is just right.
Where to start?
Through a friend, I was introduced to @marionjoe, who I later found out was into cryptos and also happened to be on steemit, as an anthropologist, @marionjoe and her young son lived in a pre-industrial isolated Pacific Island village. over a couple of decades, she has observed and studied how communities succeed and how they fail. you can soon read her articles in a new Medium Publication titled Bit Nation : Bit Village https://medium.com/bit-nation-bit-village
Through steemit and @marionjoe I was introduced to @everlove from the @gardenofeden I had the most wonderful 2 hours with these two amazing characters, we chatted in the Village (Bit Nation : Bit Village) discord chat about how to build a successful eco-village, this phone call really helped me fill in the gaps and has made me confident enough to have a solid vision on how to make this a success.
Our Community Vision.
We have many idea's and dreams for this community, the great thing is we always make our dreams come true, no matter how elaborate.
In this community, we will have activities projects and experiences such as:
- Permaculture, which is basically an intelligent and more natural way of managing the land and crops.
- Spirituality, various types of meditation, , healing and my favorite, a dark room retreat.
- Workshops where people can come and learn how to live in harmony with nature.
- The education centre, a place for kids to learn and grow into individual creative beings.
- A refuge, this is my idea, and this will set us apart from most eco-communities.
The refuge is going to be a yurt or a wood cabin that will house guest's who are in serious need of help, for people who've had a rough life and need the love and support of a community to help them back on their feet.
Some might say this could be disruptive to the community but I disagree, it's part of life to be able to help others in need, and a community as a whole is in a great position to help others.
It will start off as an experiment and if it works we will expand the idea, my ultimate dream would be to eventually have a type of rehabilitation centre, as I strongly believe people who are lost and in pain, need to be around love to find and sooth themselves. I know it will be a challenge but I will make it work.
What do we need from the steemit community to make this a reality?
What we really need are followers & steempower.
Followers.
We need you to follow us, we already have over 400 followers but on closer inspection, I would say half of these are auto adds. We want more of the real followers we have who are interested in our lives, who interact with us in the comments, who enjoy following us on this amazing journey and want to see us build this community, and in return, you will get step by step detailed and daily posts on our progress, and an open invitation to visit or join our community.
Steempower.
This is my vision, I want to build up more SP, this is not to spend in the community, although if an unforeseen crisis arises then some of it might, instead this SP is to help our blog to grow so that we should be enable to make more SBD and Steem from our posts, which should give us that little steady income we'll need, This SP will also enable us to reward our followers with healthy upvotes, thus creating more of a buzz around our blog and especially in the comment section.
I have already started this week by investing around $6,000 into SP to show you all that I am serious, I would invest more but we need the rest to build our community. So all I need now is some "whales" all though I prefer to call them "pioneers" all I need are some pioneers to help this vision become a reality, by helping me with an SP delegation loan, or an SP donation, or just by resteeming and helping our blog reach a larger audience.
Thank you for taking your time to read this post.
I am not an educated man, and I didn't have the best start in life but what I do have is the heart and the determination to never give up and I know I can make this a success, and you are all welcome along for the ride.
Peace and love to the World.
Mark, what's your best source in having a trustworthy list of countries where homeschooling is allowed?
hello eric @deepwatercrypto supplied a link in above comment
To be honest I think it's just Germany and Sweden where it is not allowed.
This post received a 1.1% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @ericwoelk! For more information, click here!
Such a great post! You have my support! I hope we can live in a similar place one day. First finding a spot on this planet where we want to stay. Good luck!
Thank you @amy-goodrich we feel blessed to finally be on our way towards the life we always dreamed of, at to be able to share it with like minded people is what going to make it so much fun.
Thank you for the support
I will be visiting your blog on a regular basis to check out that lovely looking food too.
Thanks @markwhittam! I'm so happy for your family... nothing better than following your heart and dreams! Again good luck to you all!
Hey Mark, thanks for directing me over to this post. This a wonderful and ambitious project. I wish you and everyone involved much success. As I grow within the community myself, I will try to help when I can.
Yesterday I came across a post on ways to support Steemit members, Minnow Support Project, etc. You may or may not know about some of these, but I figure I would share them with you just in case.
https://steemit.com/minnowsupport/@ilyastarar/increase-your-steemit-rewards-by-using-these-5-amazing-minnow-support-initiatives
The one that may lead you down a path for support is @minnowbooster, They have a Steem Power delegation program, but maybe they would be willing to participate more than what is publicly offered for your cause. https://steemit.com/minnowbooster/@minnowbooster/introducing-minnowbooster-beta
Mark, first of all THANK YOU very much for the gift. I appreciate it more than I can express. :)
Second, this is one of the most interesting posts I have ever read on Steemit. You're obviously very serious about doing this, and I can tell you have a great heart and the resolve to carry this through all the way.
Kudos to you. I can't help you get a whale. My resteems aren't supported by the super powers on this platform, but I'll help you with resteems that will get you more followers, and some of them may become your long term supporters.
I'll be watching your progress closely. It's truly interesting and unique and deserves the support of others, imo.
Resteeming this to 10,000+ followers. Hope it helps.
Wow @joanaltres thank you so much, you don't know how much this means to us, I had so much hopes for this post reaching a bigger audience, but it only reached 30people. I think what you are doing is amazing, you are truly blessed with a heart of gold. Thank you for reading my post this is a giant project we have in front of us and we will share every step of it with the steemit community. :)
You now have one more follower to add to the list :)
Yes, this takes a lot of courage to do what you are doing. I'm also a strong believer in shucking aside both government and country when interference with your beliefs becomes an obstacle that cannot be surpassed.
Definitely share your progress, because even though everything might be going slowly for you here right now, there are a lot of people who will come to appreciate what you are trying to achieve in time.
Your account will grow, your followers will grow, and your income also. Keep steeming, Mark! :)
Words of wisdom spoken with a true heart, you are a very special and I feel blessed to have met you, thank you.
I always read @stellabelle articles and when I read the one featuring you I was blown away by how helpful you have been and now I believe all that good karma will be coming back your way.
I wish you all the best in the future.
And thanks again.
I'll do what I can. Upvoting and resteeming. I wish you the best @markwhittam.
Much appreciated @coolbowser you have always supported us my friend :)
You bet!
very interested to see you guys grow. keep your blogs coming.
Thanks @hgmsilvergold we enjoy sharing our lives here on steemit, September is when the real adventure begins, so expect daily posts of our progress.
Thanks for stopping by
thanks, Mark. Your generosity is not going unnoticed... Since you are also into silver and gold, you should consider joining #steemsilvergold. I think you will like it and it will get more people (like-minded) onboard your ventures. You can join here, if you are interested: https://steemit.com/steemsilvergold/@hgmsilvergold/steemsilvergold-s-first-silver-and-gold-trade-fair-to-team-australia-and-australians
Wow, well I am sure everything will be illegal soon. I will resteem this for you. Good Luck.
Yes the laws on this planet are becoming a joke, Thank you @teaandkisses for resteeming
I homeschooled my children for a decade. All the best to you in your journey! Upvoted & following. Looking forward to seeing more of your adventures!
Thank you @denisechips homeschooling is a must for us, so much so we are willing to give up everything we know to pursue this for our children. Followed back :)
You have my support, for sure! It is not much, but you have it. :)
Thank you @rigaronib we welcome all the support we can get, big or small. and I hope in return you all get to see our community grow right here on steemit. :)
oh thanks for the resteem
I can hardly wait to see where you all end up!
You bet, bud. :)
wow, this is quite a powerful post. Thanks for letting us all know about your plans.
Thanks @stellabelle your words mean a lot to us, huge fans :)
This seems like a super worthwhile goal! I'm excited for you and your family ;)
There are lots of options for working online. I have recently started to utilize more of them. Online tutoring and writing etc. That could help if sufficient income on Steem isn't made? I have a bunch of tips if you're interested. I don't have a family, but I am a digital nomad, and have been for 5 years.
Good luck on all fronts!
Thanks @jessandthesea
Sounds very interesting :) we are really looking forward to our new life in Portugal, but for the first time I'm not guaranteed an income, I know it will work out in the end, it always does :)
I am not very good with computers and I only have very basic literature skills, but I'm a quick learner. Yes I would definitely interested to explore all avenues. Thanks for stopping by :)
Interesting! Upvoted! Wishing you the best and and for all your dreams to come true!!
Thank you @sylviategan you are very kind to wish us well.
Hello, you always have my support. I like the goals for your eco-village! The places dedicated for spirituality and learning sound beautiful one day. Once you have the foundation anything is possible. Resteemed - in the hope that you will find quality Followers :)
Thank you @creativesoul
Yes I agree, we are not going to rush anything, first we will start with the basics, and then bit by bit we will build it up from solid foundation of love and mutual respect. Thank you for your lovely comment and your support.
Nice to see another Swede in here! I've spent the last couple of hours reading some of your posts and you do amazing work, my friend. I hope that you find happiness somewhere else in the world where you can homeschool your children.
I've always been different from the other kids in school, that's why I did choose to drop out and chase my own dreams instead of becoming another "rat in the wheel". I've made both myself proud and also my family with what I've achieved and I would also like the opportunity to homeschool my children when that day arrives.
Peace and love to you and your family!
Hej! Thanks for taking the time to read my posts, sounds like we took a similar choice in life, which can be a hard thing to do especially in Sweden where being different is frowned upon.
I am following you now and look forward to sharing stories here on steemit.
Har det så bra :)
Happy to have discovered your profile ! Inspiring reads ;) Thanks for sharing ! You have my upvote for this post . I've the same hopes as you regarding steemit and alternative ways of living ;) All the best !
Thank you @pokyah, that's very kind of you, and I wish you all the best with your plans, dreams do come true :)
You are welcome. I wish we will have constructive and inspiring exchanges on steemit !
I don't really get it. Some time ago I thought that Sweden is a model country. Now I am starting to realize, that maybe it is not really the place I'd like to live at.
Good luck!
Don't get me wrong Sweden has a lot going for it, the standard of living here is one of the highest in Europe, but it feels like you are not allowed to be different here. As long as you follow the silly rules and don't stick out to much then it's fine, but we thrive on individuality. Thanks for stopping by
That is the other thing I am curious about. I know that earnings to house price ratio are very low in Sweden. I've seen some 5 beds with huge areas of land going for around 50K $. But... But for a foreign persons swedish goverment policy is pure lunacy. Regarding migration and family policy. When you read about that, it is not that appealing any more...
Dude. I am reading almost all your post when time permits and I love them. we share the same goals so you have my upvote support for now. Maybe help you in the future some more. I will check in on my friends who will be glad to support you too. God bless.
Thank you @thedanzel, you are a true follower and we really appreciate it, thanks for taking the time to read our posts and supporting us, and we will return the favour :) Bless
This post received a 2.6% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @thedanzel! For more information, click here!
Amazing. Ill comment properly very soon. Im on mobile right now so cant type.. i wish u every success!!! I know an amazing yurt builder , may u know him, jon from brighton.. he works in stanmer park..
Is that the nature John you mentioned in your last post? He looks familiar, he must know some of my friends, community Chris the midwife is a very close friend of mine, We know all the van dwellers and have lived in Stanmer Park in various vehicles on and off from 2002-2016 usually during winter when we are escaping the harsh Swedish winters.
yes its nature-jon.. jon knows everyone around there! he lives in Brighton but spends a lot of time at Stanmer
Oh yeah I tagged my last post with eco train, is there anything I need to do? Like an initiation or sign up? How does it work do u have a post about it?
Hey mark! Would be wonderful to have you on the ecotrain. If you can email me i can explain everything and show you our community area..
[email protected]
Sweet, my email is [email protected]
Hi Mark, What an adventure! I wish you and your family all the best! Have you been homeschooling up till now? I am a trained Waldorf school teacher and have been homeschooling some children for a parent who was busy, here in India, for a while with help from a really good waldorf homeschooling website. It was a good experience, totally different from teaching in a school. Let me know if you want to know about this homeschooling website or anything else, I'll look it up for you.
Hi @clara-andriessen, yes we have been UNschooling our children :)
We have some German friends that run a steiner school in Orgiva, Spain were we usually spend our winter months, I think that's similar to Waldorf?
Yes, that is the same, in some countries they call it 'Steiner school' and in other 'Waldorf school' as Waldorf was the first place where they made one. Oh so you get support from your friends then, is that what you are saying?
It seems you overcome much hardship in life. I am not an expert to give you advice, only want to say you have much will power which will give success in life. Wish you all the best for your good work and thanks ones again for your sweet support.
Wow thank @maya7 It really means a lot to me, will power is all it takes in the end, and yes I suppose I have been blessed with plenty of it :) thank you for your continued support
What a ridiculous law!
Best of luck!
You are right it is very ridiculous, but we won't give in to silly laws.
thank you for stopping by
I will certainly continue to follow your journey and upvote your posts (only worth about 3 cents for now, but it will grow). Hopefully we can visit your community in Portugal in a few years.
thank you @fanstaf, every little helps :) you and your lovely family are more than welcome to visit whenever you please. :)
You are quite right. I will follow you because you are someone smart and I like your way of thinking.
Thank you @izbing i hope you enjoy our future posts. followed back
Wow!! I will definitely start following and supporting whenever I can :)
Y'all keep it up!
Yayyyyyy Thank you @katgualy that's all we need, and are very thankful for all the support we can get :)
No homeschooling in Sweden? I suggest moving one of the other easy home schooling countries here: http://www.mothering.com/forum/96-europe/1199026-homeschooling-europe-easy-countries.html
Thank you so much for this link! Wow!
This post received a 1.5% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @ericwoelk! For more information, click here!
Thank you, we have found a place in Portugal where we will be able to realise our dream. :)
and thanks for the link, we will be taking a closer look later
All the best on your new adventure! I will be following your stories! After many years of traveling I have just landed in the Netherlands with my family and we don't feel comfortable living the 'usual' life at all. So we just started researching setting up a community in the south of Europe or becoming part of one that would fit with our ideals. If it was up to us we'd leave tomorrow! safe travels
Thank you @cryptomam
Yes, it can be tough settling back into the 9-5 life when you have been free, we tried but could never go back now.
Portugal seems to be the place for cheap land and there is communities popping up all over the place :) once we are all set up then we will be open to visits and such :)
Bless.
I'm very happy for you and your family, way to go!!
Cheers @robertchr :) feeling the love :)
I must say absolutely splendid!! I don't carry much weight here in the steemit community but you definitely have my vote! My wife and I are minimalists and live a whole food plant based diet. For a little over 4 years we did our best to live off the land on the Big Island of Hawaii. It came with a mass of difficulties and even greater rewards. Our produce found its way to the farmers market and our community of friends came together to make our lives full of love and wonder. I know that you will make this work, for much like us, you have the determination to see it through; and now you have Steemit as well!
Peace,
The Last Sage
Splendid indeed :)Thank you for your kind words and I am very intrigued about your way of life, the choices you made. It must have been a wonderful experience. Hopefully we can get some tips in the near future for our project. We are now following you :)
Thanks for stopping by
Good luck on your journey!
Hope you find a good place to settle down, grown your own and be closer to nature and to do what you think is the best way to live life. That's what it's all about.
Found you trough a resteem so I'm now following you so I can follow your journey towards your goal.
Until next time!
Vote @sc-steemit for Steemit Witness.
Proud Supporter of the Cryptocurrency Gridcoin
Thank you @sc-steemit that's just what we need, people who are interested and willing to follow our whole journey. :)
What an adventure! I wish you the best of luck my friend. Upvoted and Followed.
Help is very important when making our dream a reality
sometimes it is yes, I never usually ask for help, but this time is one of them.
thank you for your comment
You got my upvote @markwhittam
And many more for lifetime :)
Thank you @tabea I know I can always count on you, it really feels like you have been supporting us from the beginning, and I feel blessed to to have made it into @steempearls not just once but twice.
Thanks again my friend :)
Would love to follow you on your endeavours. Here's my bit.....
Welcome on board :)
Thank you @samnix
My family is looking for something similar for our family needs. The United States says homeschool is legal.. However it is only legal if you follow their format... I don't want to waste my daughter's early years learning propaganda instead of real life skills..
do you have reference on how to make text be in the center of the page? Sorry, I know your article doesn't relate to this matter but I need to figure it out ASAP. Thx
https://steemit.com/steemit/@scrooger/pimp-your-post-2-or-formatting-and-editing-your-blog-made-easy-or-cheat-sheet-included-or-just-copy-and-paste
This is absolutely beautiful! I kinda want to come visit your community in Portugaul once it takes off. I really want to start an eco village here by the river I work on, because there's nothing i can find here already started. So stoked to read more about how the village goes.
Thanks @acrobutterfly
Go for it, all you need is a bit of land, grow some vegetables and invite some people. Thank you for your continued support
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STOPYay @markwhittam!! I love that you have such a vision and investing all of yourself into making it happen. Our chat with @marionjoe was of great benefit and I'm so grateful to know you both and the treasure for which you seek. We have so much to share on this journey. May we be blessed with many opportunities to engage a holistic life based on love!! Go Big Green Steem Machine!! I imagine hugging you at Steemfest 2. Perhaps we will get to visit your eco-village while we're there.
Thank you so much @everlove, This adventure we are about to embark on is going to complete us in every way, we are as ready as we'll ever be.
We know it's going take hard work and dedication but the end result is going to be so worth it, this I'm sure you know all too well :)
Feel so blessed to have connected with so many well wishers here on steemit and even more blessed to be able to attend Steemfest, until that day I wish you the success in life, love and happiness.
Thanks you very much for the resteem.
A very blessed journey to you and yours @markwhittam. I'm sure you will dig deeper into everything once this next layer of freedom begins. I'm excited to hear of your adventure. Thanks for the well wishes--sending them back a bazillion-fold.
Upvoted and Resteemed.
I just found your account and am following now. I understand where you're coming from because the governmental control over families in Europe is insane. I personally would move but I'm not convinced your community idea can work in the long run. This is mostly because any community exists in a larger world and unless you've got the money to put a guarded fence around it, it will be influenced by the outside world. Particularly in Europe where there's a massive migrant crisis and poverty, both of which trigger instability, criminal activity, and intolerance. If I misunderstood and you're not setting up in Europe then please correct me and I'll reform my opinion on this. Regardless, following you and looking forward to more updates.
Been following some of your journey-- and trials and tribulations-- through your sharing here; wish you well with your plans.
I know you have longer term plans and goals-- but since you are exiting from Sweden and "have your own house," it made me think of a really nice group that was just down the road from where my family has had a summerhouse north of Copenhagen for 70 years. If you needed, it might be a place you could at least visit/park temporarily on your way out:
http://www.dyssekilde.dk/
With you in spirit-- for now, all I can offer is an upvote. Safe travels!
You received a 3.00 upvote from @worldclassplayer
AWESOMENESS
THE DREAM ARE ALIVE!
STEEM ON
Am giving you my votes to support your community. I've been in the microfinance for 11 years and were serving the community to empower women. We have given them the team building activity, values formation, skills training and a lot more trainings. So, i could feel you. Good luck and God bless you.
Educating your children at home takes heart and dedication. I don't understand why any country would want to prevent it. I will be following your journey and as my SP grows I will dedicate some of it to your blog using my SteemVoter.
Keep posting your inspiring story and I will continue to be an avid follower of what your community is up to. My husband and I don't have children yet but one day when we do I'm sure we will want to visit! I'm no whale but if I ever get to be I'll already be a steady follower.
XO to you and your family and the whole community. I'm so excited for you guys!
Thank you @jayjayjeffery
You are very kind, look forward to reading and supporting your blog.