An introduction to me and my adventure in Mexico. Is Cabin compatible?

👋 Introductions
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Not sure how cabin works, or if my place would fit into it.
Perhaps you can advise me.

In 2004 I moved from Seattle to rural Mexico to live off the grid.
I bought a big forest. It has been a heck of an adventure.
I have solar panels, composting toilets, arts studio, plant reproduction area, various cabins. Have raised rabbits and chickens.

YouTube channels:
Bosque Village - A quick introduction (youtube.com)

I write a lot on Quora and don’t monetize my answers so that they are not hidden behind a paywall.

I hosted over 3,000 people, which was mostly fun, though I got burned out and ran out of money. Hosted too many people who were takers; hippies, trustafarians etc.

The area is great: Brian Fey’s answer to What is it like to travel to small towns in the Lake Patzcuaro area? - Quora

I broke my legs some years back and then covid hit so I have been a hermit for a while.
Wondering how/if I will re-open and how to make sure I only invite high quality people
I have a geek background, so I have thought about inviting software developers or other remote workers. I have some software projects in mind.

The climate is mild up here in the highlands. The coast is way too hot and muggy for me.

How could this place partner with cabin? I am curious how you vet people to make sure that they are trustworthy and have compatible values with the hosts. Reputation management?
If you write me and are interested in my place, please introduce yourself in some detail. I am tired of talking with anonymous people.

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Hi Bryan. I am Dahveed - part of Cabin’s summer cohort, building my community in Haifa, Israel. I’ve spent time in Mexico several times and learned Spanish both there and in Colombia. I’m more of a city person so CDMX is more my style. But still sounds like you’ve really built something special for yourself.

And this is what I’d focus on “for yourself” – in the sense that, to me, the entire ethos of Cabin is for each Citizen to build a community they themselves would absolutely love to live in. It could be by bringing friends closer, by making neighbors your friends, or both. The important part (again, for me personally) is to start from yourself.

When you talk about quality people, what does it mean for you? You mention a frustration with takers (which I fully share - dealing with it here too). So let’s talk about givers.

What “gives” are you most looking for? In very practical terms: are you looking for people to build or people to pay? People to create or people to perform the necessary tasks? And so on. These are the questions I’ve been asking myself.

From my personal experience, I can share that I started very randomly by meeting people who are interesting to me, becoming friends, and inviting them to potluck dinners I host every Friday. Those who had the right vibe, I keep inviting. Those who don’t vibe – sorry bye.

Some of these friends are fun to hang out with but don’t do much in the way of helping. It’s frustrating. Others are super helpful. There is tension. I’m learning how to ask for help, how to assign simple tasks, how to step back from trying to do everything myself, and so on — to give them a chance to contribute and feel useful. People do want that.

But certainly, it’s a process. And at the end of the day it’s still about: whom do I want to hang out with, whom do I want in my community.

In terms of partnering with Cabin, I’m not part of Cabin Labs, so won’t speak for them. But as a cohort member (aka Neighborhood Steward), it sounds to me like you could be a Neighborhood Steward in the Fall cohort. Neighborhoods can be as small or as large as you’d like. So maybe you want to make this pretty vast but sparsely populated area of Mexico a Cabin neighborhood?

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Thanks for the thoughts.
They are in tune with what I am thinking.

I will look more into what it means to be a cohort member.
I am making a long list of questions now to ask people to help us determine compatibility.

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@BrianFey welcome to Cabin!

There’s more info on the cohort program here.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to post them here

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