We recently completed negotiations with our neighbor to acquire the adjacent, up-river property.  This doubles our farm to 350 acres, with over a mile of private and very beautiful river front—with practically no flood plain.  Our neighbor, who had an interested buyer, insisted on selling the land to us because he loves our plans for the property and our way of interacting with the larger community in which we're located.  

Our current property and our neighbor's were once one large farm that was divided by family inheritance into two separate farms.  We are very pleased that we will now be able to re-integrate the original farm.

The new property is comprised of mountains dropping down through many different ecosystems to a series of exquisite "glens" or fairly level clearings that are interconnected by paths that run along a bluff above the river—much like jewels (glens) on a string (path).  Each glen offers not only some great farmland, for fruit trees and vegetable gardens and pastureland for sheep or cows, but also some exciting new opportunities for (limited) housing locations and shared facilities.  We plan to enhance the interconnecting trail network along the river bluff.  Above, higher in the mountains, there is an old Inca trail with really beautiful views that will be great for horse lovers and hikers.

Quite far upstream, there is a narrow ford across the river that looks like an ideal place to build a small bridge to enable vehicles to cross over into the new property, even when the water is high.  (The current ford there is only passable when the water is low.)

Three separate trails go from the lower part of the two properties to the top. So far, we’ve only gone up one of these—a wonderful hike—about a 1200-foot meandering climb up from the riverbed. The views are extraordinary all the way up and we took loads of photos during this hike.  The ones from the top yield a stunning 360 degree view and it almost looks as if the photos were shot from a small plane.  Alas, our photos don’t do justice to the majesty of the views.

Here is a bird’s-eye view (shot about a third of the way up) of our house, the round music studio and the animal stable (slighter lower, to the right).   Our roof surfaces are currently metal that we plan to cover with old roof tiles, which we’re in the process of collecting.  The blue pedestrian suspension bridge on the left side of the picture below, serves us and about 10 other families on our side of the river. 

Unexpected Road Upgrade...

When we arrived in Vilcabamba this trip on February 20, we headed out to our property and were stunned to discover that a major project is under way to upgrade the current road from Vilcabamba to our farm and a couple of kilometers beyond. The current road is a very pot-holed, one-and-a-half lane dirt road; the future road will be a two-lane paved road.  What this means is that instead of a slow, bumpy 15-20 minutes from town, very soon the travel time from Vilcabamba will be a smooth 7-8 minutes...or less. It will also make the trip a very pleasant bicycle ride.

We confess that we have some misgivings about the asphalting of the road and the (possibly) higher volume of traffic that will come with the new road. Nevertheless, the former dirt road was indeed a sacrum-buster. Fortunately, since our farm is on the far side of the river from the road, we will retain our privacy.

Local Progress

We moved into our new house at the beginning of March and being there has been wonderful. For the first week (till Norie built the bed) we slept on a foam mattress, quite comfortable, that we obtained in Loja.  We’re designing the rest of our furniture which will be built by the time we return to Vilcabamba in early July.

We were pleased to find quite decent quality appliances in Loja—refrigerator, gas stove, on-demand hot water heater, blender, juicer, etc. What a pleasure it is to make fresh juice and soup from our freshly picked organic vegetables and fruits!  As one friend here put it, “It is such a pleasure and honor to brush the dirt off your vegetables!”

For much of our time this trip, the workmen came in each morning at 7:00 AM to continue the detailed work of finishing up (putting river stones around the doors, etc.), although most work was focused elsewhere on the property.

We had a "five star hotel" built for them to spend nights in a secure and dry place.  We made the stable more than large enough to house the 30 baby chicks who arrived two weeks later...and also a room for the very sweet Holstein cow and her baby calf who arrived just as we were leaving. Everyone seems very happy with the new digs, even without chocolates on their pillows each night...

In conversations with our neighbors and visitors, we've been brain-storming a list of micro-enterprises to gradually launch here.  Our idea is to develop these businesses as cooperatives that both can provide employment and income to local people as well as help them develop a more entrepreneurial attitude.  (Richard’s comment: Norie is a former Peace Corps Volunteer...)

Re: the sheep, people used to have them up until about 30 years ago but back then, mountain lions became a problem—which is not the case now, as these have vanished from this area.

Another thing we've started is a “skills & interests” inventory of people in the local community.  For example, we've found a few older women who know how to make yarn from wool (this was a major factor triggering our purchase of the sheep).  With the help of other people, we're looking for various market niches to fill and have several that we think are quite promising.  In this regard, if you have any pet ideas, we’d love to hear from you.

Ten fluffy guests have arrived - nine female sheep and one elated male.

They have adjusted very quickly and immediately started mowing the lawn in the lower field.

And, a big surprise: one of the females was pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful and healthy

baby girl lamb on

Good Friday!

The rapidly growing interest in our project here has been a good impetus to put together a pricing structure—plus an "early bird" incentive, all described in this newsletter.

Community Plans

This one-time offer to two Early Responders is being made on a first-come basis.  As mentioned above, land values are going up rapidly here, both because of the beauty, wonderful weather and general desirability of this area—and because of the rapidly improving infrastructure (by this we mean both what we're putting in, as well as the road improvements being made by the government).  So, if you are seriously interested in participating and shaping the direction of the community, this is the perfect  time to come in.  These lots will not last at these prices.

We've done a lot of comparative ‘shopping’ and think we’re providing building lots at a very reasonable prices.  As of April, 2008, the prices for our lots range from $65,000 to $80,000.  As an incentive for Early Responders, we're offering 25 percent off the lots for the first two lots sold, regardless of their location, as long as the sales are completed with full payment by July 1, 2008.  This is far below the market price in our area.

After a two-hour trek (with frequent photo breaks) to the top with Jorge, our property manager, we were greeted by a spectacular set of views—hang gliding, anyone?— from the top of our mountain. Here are just two of them:

Things have continued to move forward remarkably smoothly. We have a wonderful group of people collaborating with us and have been moving forward on several fronts simultaneously, with small teams working on each project.  Jorge Abad, our property manager, is terrific and a lot of fun, too.  We team well in the overall coordinating—plus laugh a lot.  We can’t describe adequately what a pleasure it is to come up with an idea and have a team manifesting it—very professionally—a few minutes later!

While Norie oversees the building projects, Richard has been managing website design, using the many photos we are both taking, plus Rolfing people's "boo-boos".  Most recently, he worked on our 71-year-old neighbor who, 12 years ago, fell 35 meters down a mountain and gashed his skull, requiring 80 stitches. Don Cesar had suffered migraine headaches ever since—which, after two sessions of Rolfing, are gone.  (Richard is a little nervous that his Rolfing talents have earned him the reputation, "manos de Jesus".)

We just love being here on the farm, with the soothing river sounds of Rio Chamba (just down the hill) and waking up in the morning to the lovely music of a wide variety of birds.  Every week, our garden is "growing" stone walls and pathways, plus ever more garden beds of flowers, medicinal herbs and fruit trees.  All of this is attracting more birds and many species of colorful butterflies.

One small crew is working to complete the little round music recording studio / meditation center, which is looking beautiful. The windows and the door were installed this trip,

as well as the electrical and the river rock on the exterior.  Our future plan is to make (or have someone else make) stained glass windows to put on the inside of the windows. 

The acoustics inside the recording studio are fabulous. Click here to hear Richard’s test of the acoustics with his shakuhachi (Japanese flute).

A huge organic garden was put in while we were in the USA last fall and we've been enjoying a steady and varied stream of fresh vegetables and fruits, which we've been sharing with our many visitors.  Several visitors have expressed strong interest in joining us to form the kind of collaborative community we've been dreaming of.  They like the idea of working at their own pace, doing what they love, and being part of a truly mixed community of Ecuadorians and people from a variety of other countries. 

We've put in about 600 fruit, nut and avocado trees, about 50 grapevines so far (two varieties do well here), berries of different types, and a lot of medicinal herbs, more to be planted.  An irrigation system is being installed for the upper field. 

We recognize that the type of community we are building is not for everyone—but we also recognize that it will be absolutely perfect for some of you.  We're looking for about 25-30 wonderful people with great skill sets (see skills list below), who are self-starters, enjoy working alone but also like working with a wide range of people in a collaborative way.

We are looking for people who will both benefit from and contribute to this sort of community.   Above all, we want people who truly resonate with the kinds of ideas and activities that we’ve been describing—plus have ideas of their own, too. 

We are looking for people who have done much of their “emotional homework” and are interested in continued personal growth, are financially secure and are / have been engaged effectively in constructive work in the world. In short, we’re looking for people who will blossom in this kind of community.  NOTE: You don't have to be down here year 'round; indeed, our current plans have us here five months of the year—probably to increase in the future because it’s so wonderful! 

RENT YOUR HOME: When community members are not here, they can lend or rent their houses to friends.  Or, if you like, we can help you rent them to responsible people, with a fee for managing the process. 

HOUSE SHARING: We're also open to having several people go in together to buy a lot and build a house.

EARLY BIRD INCENTIVE!!!

I grew up with scientific and technical interests next to Stanford University in Los Altos, California, while it was becoming known as "Silicon Valley".  Following my sister Sharon’s lead, I lived at the Esalen Institute,

Richard Wheeler

Norie Huddle

I'm the second of five children and grew up in the middle of about 1500 acres of beautiful woods and fields in northern Virginia—which I watched being destroyed by suburban sprawl. This generated an early and very deep concern about

the future of the natural environment. At 17, I went to Italy for a year as an exchange student (AFS), which opened my eyes to a whole new world and way of thinking. After graduating from Brown University (Russian language major), I went into the Peace Corps (Colombia, South America) for two years, where I learned a great deal about problems in a developing country and where I was also trained in an excellent systems-thinking methodology—training that I've used ever since in my work. 

After returning to the USA, I spent a couple of years doing office work, realized I was getting addicted to the steady pay check, and "retired" at age 25 to do only what made absolute sense to me for the rest of my life.

During our time here in the “Valley of Longevity” we have met several people who have very nice properties for sale that might be interesting for those of you who aren’t interested in being part of an intentional community.  Information is provided for contacting the owners directly. 

We’re looking at creating two types of living situations:  Individual dwellings and an enclosed “Garden Community” for people who like the idea of living in a cluster, with smaller private units and larger communal spaces. 

Individual dwellings & building lots

We've finally figured out where the first building lots can best be situated so as to maximize both farmland while ensuring beautiful views for every house, so you won’t have to stare at your neighbors' roof tops or be cheek-to-jowl. Even though most of our lot sizes will be relatively modest—ranging from about a third to three quarters of an acre, they will be plenty large enough for a good-sized house and private gardens. (Also, you’ll be free to garden for private use in the common areas around your house.) And, of course, you will have access to the entire property of about 350 acres as well as access to the wide variety of common facilities we’re already starting to build.

If people really feel strongly about having a larger lot, we can accommodate that desire but the price will, of course, be higher.  NOTE: Our primary desire is to limit the number of private building structures scattered over the landscape and to leave the greatest amount of land in a natural state or in use as organic gardens, farmland, orchards and pastures. 

RETREAT CABINS: As mentioned earlier, we also plan to build a small number of very nice retreat “cabins” in places that have terrific views but, in some instances, somewhat challenging access, so that people in the community will have retreat spaces to go to when needed.  There will also be places for guests or visitors to stay at very reasonable rates.

INTERNET:  We are in the process of checking out three different types of internet service and probably will install a high-speed internet service sometime this summer when we return to Vilcabamba in early July.  Also, we’ve begun work on a lovely new stone and “Log cabin” style building to house an internet cafe / art gallery, with 2-3 rooms on the second floor to rent at  very reasonable rates (probably about $10/day).

COMMON FACILITIES: These will include both indoor and outdoor kitchen and dining areas, the healing center (with teaching areas and treatment rooms) and the music studio / meditation center. There will also be the spa (hot tub, sauna, isolation tank), wood working and metal working facilities, a book-DVD-videotape library, art studio (painting, pottery, sculpture, jewelry-making, weaving, handicrafts).  And, there will be a video, audio and film production facility.  Finally, there will be the above-mentioned internet cafe / art gallery to display our creations. 

Click on our entrance gate design to see individual building sites and our pricing schedule.

Is this for you?

The Huddle Wheeler Design Team was born out of the - duh - realization that we liked developing designs together in a kind of "ping-pong" mode of bouncing ideas and sketches back and forth till we both said, "YES!!"

Each of us has been designing things independently for years. Together we find that we cover the bases better, get to the "YES!!" faster and have a lot of fun, too.  We also enjoy collaborating with other people in every aspect of the design process. Currently, we've designed our house, the little round music recording studio / meditation room, our gardens and terraces (in collaboration with our workmen who've come up with some great ideas), an outdoor amphitheater, a sheep & cow and chicken stable and two wrought iron gates.  We're currently working on designs for the restaurant / internet cafe and for the Garden Community, as well as labels for future bottles of jams, jellies, relishes, wine, etc.

When the idea pops into our / your head, it's a dream. We love receiving those "dream gifts" and, just as much, turning the best ones into reality.

Click on the Papaya flower to see them. 

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Richard & Norie

Here are two locally produced Spanish language brochures about the village of Vilcabamba and the city of Loja. Click on each of them to see the entire brochure

Who Are We?

What kinds of skills are needed

in the community?

Here is our current list of desirable skills sets which is by no means exhaustive.  If you have suggestions, please let us know!

organic farming:  vegetables, fruit trees, vineyard

integrated pest management, composting.

enviro-friendly septic systems

veterinary skills:  cows, sheep, horses, chickens, goats

medicinal herbs

agriculture (permaculture), reforestation, terra preta

orchids, exotic flowers

architecture, landscaping

alternative energy systems

fish farming: tilapia, trout, shrimp

water purification, irrigation, plumbing

carpentry and woodworking

metalworking, welding

building, construction

cooking, baking  (bread, pastries...)

making preserves, jams, dried fruit

teaching, child care

computers: programming

engineering, electronics

tinkering / fix-it skills

inventors, scientists, techno-geeks, amateur scientists

video and film-making, editing

web design, multi-media

musicians, artists, writers

sound engineer

internet, satellite & global broadcasting

Outdoor adventure, trekking and survival skills

business management / administrative, accounting

knowledge of cooperatives, small enterprise organizing

management skills, coffee house and spa management

marketing, import - export

pottery, stained glass, jewelry, embroidery, other handicrafts,

knitting & weaving - loom construction and maintenance - for cloth & for wool rugs

healthcare (general / alternative practitioners, doctor, nurse, dental, childcare, eldercare)

medical, dental (available nearby but would be nice in the community)

counseling, psychology, spiritual

language teaching

Anything else?

Other Vilcabamba Resources

Big Sur, California where we met Dr. Ida Rolf and became Structural Integration and Movement Education (“Rolfing®”) practitioners.   Later Sharon and I participated in the founding of the Rolf Institute.  I now have 37 years experience in private practice and giving public presentations, professional seminars, lectures, and workshops. 

My structural work with clients led me to study anatomy, paleontology and functional morphology for 20 years at Los Angeles’ Page Museum (aka the “La Brea Tar Pits”) where I studied lots of bones, published original research on saber-toothed cats and was Senior Staff Excavator.  I also had the honor of being the first person invited by the Page Museum to exhibit art photography from inside the tar pits.

I’m a visually-oriented artist, trained in calligraphy and scientific illustration.  In addition, I use acrylics, airbrush, photography and computer to create images, paintings and drawings, many of which are on my website.  I also play a variety of musical instruments, have recorded one CD of original music for baroque arch-lute & harmonica.  I also play guitar, djembe (African drum) and the shakuhachi (traditional Japanese flute).  I’ve traveled to 18 countries, lived in France for 6 months and was fortunate to be able to circumnavigate the globe as a student with the University of the Seven Seas.  I attended Reed College (Portland, Oregon) and studied modern dance at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles, California. 

As a result of my "early retirement plan", I learned to live well on very little money and have been blessed to lead a widely varied life with a strong sense of purpose. This included living in Japan (1971-75), bicycling across the USA with a group of Americans and Japanese (1976), doing anti-nuclear and alternative energy organizing, participating in citizen diplomacy projects in the former USSR (during the decade of the 1980s) and writing six books (about the environment and about transforming human civilization). 

I've done a wide range of consulting and video and audio productions for an equally wide range of clients.  Over the years, I've read avidly and have conducted interviews with thousands of people, in an ongoing effort to understand as much as I can about our global realities, as well as how to create something new and wonderful within the (collapsing) old civilization. The basic story of this transformation is told in my book, Butterfly.

I do public speaking and seminars, do coaching in which I use the Voice Dialogue Process and several other psycho-spiritual processes I’m trained in.  I also love inventing processes and doing creative problem solving.  I enjoy art, music, gardening, cooking, carpentry, good conversation and interviewing, concept development & video production. I love helping to create and nurture effective teams to carry out worthwhile projects that can make a difference in society and in people’s lives. 

Beginning in the early 1990s, I built my own house (with the help of neighbors and friends) on 12 acres of land in a beautiful part of West Virginia near Harpers Ferry, about an hour and a half west of Washington, D.C.

All that said, we're available to help you develop your dreams and turn them into realities you will enjoy for a lifetime.

The Garden Community

The valley and town of Malacatos  behind us is just part of the 360-degree view. 

Big News, an Unexpected Upgrade, Community Plans & Solid Numbers

Greetings!

We hope you’ve had a good winter and are enjoying the spring. 

In this newsletter we have much to report.  Probably the most important item of all is that we are absolutely thrilled with our decision to be in Ecuador and the more we are there, the more we love it— and look forward to sharing it with people like you.  It was quite a shock to come back to the high speed, artificial hustle and bustle of the States and we’re eager to head south again in July.  We hope you’ll consider coming for a visit to "kick the tires" for yourselves! 

Thanks to all who came down to visit over the winter.  We very much enjoyed sharing the experience with you. 

Thanks, too, to those of you who've been in touch by phone or email.  We appreciate your insights into how to create a really special community!  Incidentally, we recently discovered the Wikipedia definition of “intentional community”: 

An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to promote a much higher degree of social interaction than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political or spiritual vision.  

For more:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentional_community

Meanwhile, have a great spring.  We look forward to hearing from you and any friends with whom you wish to share this newsletter—and welcoming you to Vilcabamba.

—Norie & Richard

Click on the image

to explore the

Garden Community.