It is now one month since Liberstad was established in Bjelland in Marnardal municipality, and here is a small update on what we have been working on and what has happened in Liberstad during this first month.
Machinery
The first thing that had to be done was to get all the machines, tools and equipment that we need for the initial phase of development. Liberstad Drift AS is a newly established company, and in the same way as the city itself, the company also have to be built from the ground up with the funds and means we have at our disposal. But we already have a small, solid machinery-park that has been used diligently this first month. Some of the machines and equipment we had beforehand and some have been bought. For now, Liberstad's machinery park looks like this:
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Truck - Scania 1976, Tractor - Ford 4000 1972, Timber trailer with crane, Tractor trailer, Tractor - Case with timber-claw, company car - Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4, ATV - Polaris 700cc, Garden-tractor - Jonsered, cartrailer, Clearing saw - STHIL, cultivator - Jonsered and a selection og Husqvarna and Jonsered chainsaws
Donation-campaign
Through the donation-campaign we accept all of the most popular crypto-currencies, in addition to NOK, EUR, and USD that can be donated via PayPal or traditional bank transfer. You will find more information about the donation campaign on our website. We are deeply grateful for all donations we receive regardless of amount and currency and even small donations from a few bucks can amount to a lot when many contribute. All donations we get will go directly to the excavator and we have already received more than 40 000 kroner in donations to Liberstad Development Fund which will now be added to the donation campaign.
If you do not have the opportunity to contribute financially, we are very grateful if you can share the campaign on facebook or elsewhere so we can reach out to as many people as possible.
New team-member in Liberstad Drift AS
Everyone working on the Liberstad project and in the company Liberstad Drift AS is working voluntary without pay. In the first few years of development we will have minimal revenue in the company and the little revenue we receive will go to fuel and maintenance of the machines, electricity for sawmills, insurance and other expenses. Working full days without any kind of income is a big challenge for both me and the family, but this was something we were prepared to do right from the start of the project in 2015. A project like Liberstad will not be realized without anyone willing to sacrifice their time, money and energy.
We are only 2 people who work full time with the development of the project in addition to 3 others who work part-time. I, John Holmesland, is now living permanently in Liberstad with my family, and I work full time with the construction and development of the project.
What have we been doing this first month?
Although the official acquisition was on June 1st, it took us a week extra before we could put the spade into the ground and begin the development of Liberstad. But in just four weeks we have already done a lot of productive work in Liberstad.
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Inspection and mapping
We have also started the mapping and a more detailed exploration of the 150 hectare property. It is a challenge to get around on the large property that consists of 90 percent forest. The forest roads are completely or partially overgrown with trees and shrubs, and the only way to get around the property is either on foot or by using an ATV. Currently, we have a Polaris ATV 700cc, and even with that, it was difficult to get around the large property through the dense forest. The property is 2 kilometers long from north to south and a trip around the eastern parcel is about 6-7 kilometers which took approximately 4 hours on the ATV.
Below is a few pictures from the property inspection
Welcome party and information-meeting
We wish to invite all the buyers with family and friends to a small welcome party in Liberstad on Saturday, 19th of August. There will hopefully be live music on stage, and food and refreshments will be served from our newly opened kiosk. Unfortunately, we do not have the opportunity to offer accommodation to all the guests, and we recommend those who have the opportunity to bring a tent, caravan or RV. It is also possible to stay overnight in the cities nearby, Mandal or Kristiansand, and we can arrange joint transportation for those who wish.
The same day we will also organize an open information-meeting for local people, politicians and anyone else who wants more information about the Liberstad project. Everyone who wishes is hereby invited to Liberstad on Saturday, 19 August. Information meeting will start at 12:00 You can read more about the welcome-party in our last blog-post. More updates
Now that Liberstad has been established and we are in full swing with the construction and development, there will be less time for me to write blog- and facebook posts. But in order to keep everyone updated on what's happening in Liberstad in the future, I will do my best to write at least one blog post and one newsletter per month about the development in Liberstad. The next update will therefore be posted around mid-August.
Until next update, we want to wish all of our followers and landowners a happy summer.
With kind regards
John Holmesland and the rest of the Liberstad-team
4 Comments
Marius M.
15/7/2017 16:52:02
This sounds exciting! The best of luck to you guys with your endeavor. Hope to visit your community this year or next. Cheers!
Reply
Mike Wolske
17/7/2017 11:12:49
John,
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