The Environs: The Frith (wood or copse; peace) of Paianim is 17 acres, encompassing two hills and a long valley, in Lake County, California. It is located three miles from the village of Loch Lomond and 19 miles from Harbin Hot springs, near Middletown.

The Land: The 17 acres is mostly oak savannah with a spur of chaparral along one edge. Two seasonal streams flow, one for six months and the other for nine. In one corner of the land is a 20-foot waterfall, and that stream, the Donderill, runs diagonally through the plot. The other stream, Sulphur Creek, runs along one edge of the land. The two creeks meet about 200 feet from the corner opposite the waterfall. There is a two-acre valley where the creeks meet. There are two wells, a stone circle, two hillocks, a flood plain for gardening, a young orchard, a fifth-wheel trailer, and electric power. At least half the project will be left wild and natural.

The Problem: In the 1980s it was becoming apparent that the ideas of “common good” and “community self-reliance” were being replaced by “greed is good.” Meanwhile the environment and the economy continued to become degraded for the common folk.

A solution can be found in “Tree Crops,” by J. Russell Smith. Trees offer food, as well as answers to many environmental ills. Basic cooking needs—fat, flour, and sugar—can all be met through trees: fat from olive oil, flour from chestnuts, and sugar from maple syrup. Redundancy will be built into the system through creek-side marsh gardens with such plants as cattails (flour and vegetables) and bulrush (sugar and flour), along with mulberries, honey locusts, and figs, and the standard almonds, walnuts, pecans, apricots, apples, etc.

A windmill on a bluff over Sulphur Creek and solar collectors are to be included. A lodge and communal housing are projected, but are dependent on water, composting toilets, and funds. An aquaculture project for fish and fowl is also envisioned.