One very appealing solution for making a simple homestead a reality is land sharing. I’ve met a few people who have done this in the past and it requires a different way of looking at property ownership. In one case the residents divided up the asset (land) into shares and had verbal agreements on boundaries instead of physical or legal property lines. When a member wanted to move they would have to sell their shares to another resident or an outsider approved by the community.

While this kind of arrangement has it’s potential disadvantages it has many benefits too. For example a community garden or larger flock of chickens would be easier to manage for a small community than a single family. Sharing the costs of an alternative energy system, water system, property taxes, and general maintenance would also lighten the load on each individual family or individual.

I’ve been thinking I’d like our next move to be to a property big enough for a few family and even friends. Finding the right larger community would be tricky because zoning rules don’t normally allow for such developments. Most planning departments think in terms of dividing land into lots and single family zoning. Finding a community and piece of land that is already zoned multi-family is preferable. Better yet would be a community that already understands how land sharing works and is open to newcomers.

I’m not the only one thinking this way; also read these recent articles on RowdyKittens and The Tiny Life. Photo credit to RowdyKittens.