The Community Archive

Community Archive: Preserving Stories, Skills, and Sustainability for Future Generations

The Community Archive is our living library—a growing collection of oral histories, practical skills, traditional knowledge, and local lore gathered from the people and land around us. This project was born from our belief that the wisdom of elders, the folk practices of rural life, and the trial-and-error learning of modern homesteaders are too valuable to lose. Through recorded interviews, written guides, video tutorials, and field-tested documentation, we are creating an open-source resource for anyone seeking to live more intentionally, sustainably, and in tune with the rhythms of nature.

We’re actively interviewing older members of our community to preserve their stories and techniques—everything from canning methods and herbal remedies to local legends and forgotten trades. We cross-reference these traditional skills with modern research, testing their efficacy where applicable, and compiling the results into accessible, well-organized formats. This is not just about nostalgia—it’s about resilience. By connecting the old ways with the new, we’re helping create a toolkit for people who want to build community, reclaim self-reliance, and regenerate the land.

Eventually, the Community Archive will live both online and physically on the homestead, offering educational material, hands-on workshops, and a space for neighbors to contribute their own knowledge. It’s part library, part story circle, and part seed bank for cultural survival. Our goal is to ensure that this vital knowledge is not only preserved but actively used, adapted, and shared—freely and forever.