Plant the Village
  • The Essay
  • The On-Ramp
The Onramp
The Onramp
Foundational Skills
Phase 1: Foundation
  • Food
  • Water
  • Energy
  • Waste
  • Construction
Phase 2: Intermediate
  • Food
  • Water
  • Energy
  • Construction
Phase 3: Advanced
  • Food
  • Water
  • Energy
  • Construction
  • Governance
Community
Formation track
  • Finding your people
  • Building trust
  • Alignment conversations
  • The forming group
  • Governance models
  • Health and care
Soft skills
Interpersonal tools
  • Nonviolent communication
  • Consensus facilitation
  • Conflict resolution
  • Meeting management
  • Emotional intelligence
Cottage economy
Phase 1: Individual income
  • Validating what you make
  • Pricing for sustainability
  • Legal basics
  • Sales channels
  • Reinvesting in your craft
Phase 2: Group income
  • Collective production
  • Cooperative structures
  • Shared brand
  • CSA and subscriptions
Phase 3: Community identity
  • Signature product or craft
  • Community brand
  • Apprenticeship as product
  • Specialize vs. diversify
  • Reinvestment at community scale
Health
Phase 1: Household preparedness
  • First aid and CPR
  • Home herb garden
  • Nutrition and food as medicine
  • Mental health first aid
  • Home pharmacy
  • Knowing when to refer out
Phase 2: Deeper preparation
  • Wilderness medicine
  • Expanded herbalism
  • Preventive health systems
  • Health record-keeping
Resources
  • Books
  • Videos
  • Workshops
  • Communities to visit
The Onramp›Cottage economy›Phase 1: Individual income

Phase 1: Individual income

Validating what you make

There's a world of difference between someone accepting a gift and someone handing you money. The first tells you about …

Pricing for sustainability

The most common failure in cottage production is underpricing, and it usually comes from a decent impulse: 'I was going …

Legal basics for cottage producers

You don't need a lawyer to start a cottage trade. You need a working grasp of five things: business structure, cottage f…

Sales channels

Where you sell matters nearly as much as what you sell. The rule of thumb: start as close to your customer as you can ge…

Reinvesting in your craft

The first money a cottage trade earns shouldn't just dissolve into the household budget. Put it back into the craft, int…