What is a "sustainable, survivable community"? What is a preparedness network? What's the difference between a "survivalist" and a person seeking general preparedness?
These and other questions are on people's minds - and in the media - in the light of recent natural disasters worldwide and in the course of the constant barrage of information we receive about terrorism and war coverage.
As frequent Workerette readers know, I have a personal focus on being prepared. To sum it up, I've been through a house fire, multiple tornado seasons, severe storms, earthquakes and fire seasons here in the USA, and plenty of bomb threats overseas. Fun stuff (and yes, that's sarcasm *chuckle*). To understate things, I've seen reasons throughout my life to be prepared as an individual and to try to make sure my family is prepared. I know I have a lot of areas to improve upon, and one of those is in networking with like-minded folk who are willing to share their wisdom. I like to think of it as homeschooling for grown-ups, instead of just my kids. 
That's why I thought I'd share the interesting letter I received today with you gals. No matter what your marital or familial status, you may be interested in learning more about preparedness; you may be seeking folks who can teach you to be more self-reliant. You may even have hobbies or professional skills - and an itch to head to a self-sufficient, sustainable community - like the one described in the note I got from the Tim Guiney, founder of the Greater Arizona Preparedness Project. And just in case you are, I asked Tim if I could share his letter with you Workerettes. Note that this isn't my endorsement of his program; it just sounds super interesting to me. Do your due diligence, of course, but it may be up your alley, whether your personal focus is more on sustainability practices or disaster survival. If nothing else, this planned community's focus may give you ideas for a network of your own in your hometown or business area.
Read on - and feel free to share if you're already involved in a similar project. The more information we share, the more prepared we can all be, at home or at work.
[Ed. Note: Bold by editor]
....I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to you. My name is Tim Guiney and my wife is named Viola. I am dad to 5 wonderful young people, and Poppa to 12 precious grandbabies. We live in Phoenix, Arizona. My wife works for the state, and I am self-employed in the alarm business. We are pretty prepared for most eventualities, but as in all things, it is possible to make improvements.
We are a part of a group called the Greater Arizona Preparedness Project, or GAPP for short. The purpose of this organization is three-fold:
1) We intend to educate the public concerning the need for individual, corporate, and community preparedness;
2) We are developing a sustainable, survivable, and thrivable community that includes all the principles of preparedness, and that can be duplicated by others with out costing an arm and a leg;
3) We intend to plug into several different organizations which are creating a network of communications between like communities across the country.
I would be happy to e-mail you our promotional material, which includes our Mission Statement, Position Paper, FAQs, Dwelling Unit floor plans, and pictures of the shelter, to anyone who would like one. We have 2 different parcels of land in Northern Arizona:
#1: Is a little over 8 acres on which we are going to construct the Farm and Ranch using a sustainable thrivable platform. We will be constructing all the necessary above-ground buildings needed to meet that purpose. It has an existing underground hardened NBC shelter at 8,800 sq ft that is in complete working condition. We have chosen to call this property Mesa Butte Ranch, Inc.
#2: Is a little over 6 acres that is about 10 minutes from #1, and we will be constructing the dwelling units in that location. At first, we anticipate a working community of approximately 100 adults, plus children that will work Mesa Butte Ranch, and maintain the properties. The remaining 75-150 families will probably continue to operate as normal until the balloon goes up. At that point, the remainder will gather to Mesa Butte Homestead (our community's name, currently).
We are currently seeking for residents those who want to be a part of the solution, and not a part of the problem. All will own shares in the ranch and community, according to the amount of capital they put in. This way no one can be shut out of their investment, etc. Not everything is cast in concrete as of yet, because we need more heads involved in the planning of the project to get it right.
Also, we are looking to network with individuals and communities across the country for mutual benefit, which will fulfill step number three of our Mission Statement.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like further info concerning the GAPP project. My E-Mail is: azsurvive111@gmail, and the office number is: 602-595-2526. My cell number is: 602-290-4784.
We have also created a yahoo group called: gappgroup1@yahoogroups.com I invite you to go there, join up, network with other members, and peruse all the material we have placed at the site.
Sincerely,
tim and viola guiney
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