The Onramp

A map for building skills, community, and economic resilience. Start where you are.

The Onramp is organized into six tracks: foundational skills, soft skills, community formation, cottage economy, health, and resources. The tracks that have phases run from household scale (you, in an apartment, this weekend) through group scale to village scale. You don't need land, money, or a community to start, and you don't need to follow anything in order. Pick the page that matches where you actually are and move when you're ready.

A word of honesty: I'm a software engineer. I've done a fair amount of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 work myself, but I'm not speaking here as an authority. I've drawn a map and I think we can explore it together. That's why every page has a space for the wider community to share their experience, what worked, what didn't, what the guides left out. Sign in to add yours.

Things you could start this week

  • Do a two-week waste audit. Track every item you throw away. It costs nothing and it will surprise you.
  • Calculate your roof's rainwater potential with the catchment calculator on the water page. The number is usually what convinces people.
  • Read Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway. If you only read one book from this whole site, make it that one.
  • Find one hands-on workshop near you. A permaculture intro day, a natural building weekend, anything that puts you shoulder to shoulder with people who are already doing this.
  • Have one honest conversation with someone in your life about what you're thinking. Notice who responds with curiosity. That's how the community track starts.
  • Take stock of what you already make or do that someone might pay for. The cottage economy track starts with one sale to a stranger.
  • Check the date on your first aid certification. If you've never had one, that's the single cheapest, fastest item on this whole list.

The six tracks

Foundational Skills

Food, water, energy, waste, and construction. Starts at apartment scale, ends at village scale.

Community

Finding your people, building trust, and forming a group that can actually hold together.

Soft skills

Communication, facilitation, and conflict resolution. The skills that decide whether the rest matter.

Cottage economy

From selling what you make at a market table to a community known for its craft.

Health

Household and community preparedness, with clear lines around what home practice can and cannot do.

Resources

The library: books, videos, workshops, and communities worth visiting.