Considering Off-Grid Living in Utah? You Don't Have To Go It Alone!

Modern families can now consider giving up their life of gridlock, mortgages and utility bills in exchange for a self-reliant, off-grid farming community where they can be surrounded by others like themselves who are producing all their own life-sustaining food, water and power.

Riverbed Ranch is a resident-owned, off-grid, agricultural community with the goal of providing real security for the members of the Utah OSR Land Co-op. Over 125 shareholders in this non-profit agricultural co-op are all stakeholders who contribute to making sure they can all prosper at Riverbed Ranch even if the nation's economy falters.

In the 1800's, Zion’s Cooperative Mercantile Association (ZCMI) brought early Utah merchants together to import everything valley residents could possibly want at reasonable prices, has been a part of Utah culture for generations.

Following in that path of mutual-benefit, the Utah OSR Land Co-op is helping families transition from a lifestyle of dependencies in the city, to a country culture of self-reliance, surrounded by others doing the same. One of the functions of the Co-op is to act as a non-profit land developer. Whereas traditional land developers are in business to maximize profits, the Utah OSR Land Co-op works to help it's members minimize their costs.

Jesse Fisher is a Social Media & Events Coordinator for Riverbed Ranch, and he worries that some people may misunderstand the true intent of this project called, “Operation Self-Reliance”.

“As I speak with people about our project,” Jesse says, “I’m amazed at how many have no understanding of the difference between a cooperative and a cult. You can google the attributes of both and find that there is no commonality whatsoever. Cults are top-down hierarchies created for the power, gain and glory of their leader. Cooperatives are the opposite! They’re groups of people who work together as equals for their mutual benefit. That’s what Riverbed Ranch is doing. In fact, our founder is already retiring from leadership, and we’re just getting started! I’ve worked closely with him for three years now on this project and know that he has no interest whatsoever in being a ‘glorious leader’.”

The community is envisioned to have a wide range of amenities including hiking trails, honey bee-friendly trees and bushes, an equine/canine therapy barn, a retirement home, a K-12 agricultural school, a co-op store for importing and exporting goods, and even an RV park. The latter two are already in their infancy.

The 100th shareholders to join the co-op were quite skeptical at first. When Jonathan & Cheryl Olson first heard about the self-reliance project, they thought co-op members were probably just a bunch of “crazies”. “But the more we looked into it, the more we realized it had everything in it that we wanted,” Cheryl explains. “We could be self-sustainable and self-reliant. I could do all the gardening and the herbal medicine I wanted, and my daughter could be outside all the time if she wanted to be. She wouldn’t have to be stuck inside watching TV. She could be outside having adventures and learning how to garden with me, and to build things with her dad, and it just seemed like a great way for us to be together as a family, but also just to get away from the craziness of life. We’re really excited to be out there.”