Liberstad - one month after

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:

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

In addition to this, we also have front loader and wood chipper for the tractors, firewood-machines plus lots of smaller machines, tools and equipment.

We also have a stationary sawmill that has been upgraded with a new  saw blade and new transmission belts. The timber we have taken out from the forest has been cut into different materials on the sawmill and smaller timber has been made into firewood on the firewood-processor.

Our machines and equipment may look a bit small and modest compared to what the major construction companies have, but we are very pleased with the machines and equipment we have and we have almost everything we need for the initial development of Liberstad .

But there is one machine that we do not currently have and which we are completely dependent on getting, namely an excavator.

Donation-campaign

We have all the equipment we need to get timber out of the forrest and clear areas for vegetation. But we are completely dependent on an excavator for the construction of roads and construction of plots in the central district, the campsite and the concert area. As we do not have any earnings in the company yet, we do not have the opportunity to loan money for an excavator. We have therefore started a comprehensive donation campaign in an effort to raise all or parts of the funds we need to purchase a used 20-30 ton excavator.

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.

PayPal

Bank-transfer
to Liberstad Drift AS
​Bank account number: 28014184629
IBAN : NO3428014184629
Swift/BIC code : SPSONO22
Bank name : Sparebanken Sor​

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BITCOIN

LITECOIN

ETHEREUM

DASH

CLICK HERE
for complete list of crypto-currencies we accept as donations

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.

Espen Holmesland is our newest team member in Liberstad

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 together with my nephew, Espen Holmesland, with the construction and development of the project. Espen has a long and broad experience as a construction worker and also as a mechanic, forestry-worker and sawmill operator. Espen's effort, knowledge and experience are an incredibly valuable resource for the Liberstad project and he is now a permanent team-member in Liberstad Drift AS.

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Our youngest team-member, Thor-Aksel Holmesland, is also working long hours with the construction of Norway's first private city. And despite his relatively small size he is compensating with vast amount of energy and enthusiasm to build a better future for him and his big sister.

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Thor-Aksel is in charge of HSE and is making sure that everyone is using protective gear.

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.

• We have started clearing the forest where the camping and concert area will be built. In total, we will clear 60 000 sqm of forrest and prepare for the construction of the campsite and the concert area.

• All of the branches, twigs and small trees left behind after the tree felling have been ground to chip with the wood-chipper and driven to large compost  mounds where this is to be converted into soil. Next year, the finished compost will be mixed with sand and will be used for lawns in the camping area, in parks and other common areas.

• We are almost done clearing the trees in Liberstad's first park. At the entrance to Liberstad we are building a 2500 sqm park that will be designed as an anarchy-symbol seen from above. The walkpaths in the park will be designed as an A with the top pointing to the north and will be seen on google earth and other maps next time a flyover-photo is taken of Liberstad

• All of the trees we have cut and taken out from the forrest have either been cut to materials on the sawmill or made into firewood and put in bags. The materials we manufacture will be used for various construction projects and restoration of existing buildings. The materials are mostly 2x4 ", 2x6" and 2x8 " in addition to various planks and cladding.

• We have started the renovation of the old chicken house where we are now building a reception desk, several offices and a kiosk. Outside the building in connection with the kiosk we are building a 140 sqm terrace where visitors can enjoy food and refreshments that will be sold in the kiosk.

• The water-well located in the central area has gotten a new pump and pressure-tank and we have put new pipes from the well and into the chicken house where we are now building a kitchen for the kiosk.

• The old residential-house that came with the property had extensive water-damage in the 1st floor and was due to mold and fungus completely uninhabitable. We are now renovating the house which will be converted into 2 separate apartments that will be rented to tourists or residents. Both apartments will be about 65 sqm each and will have 2 bedrooms, complete bathrooms and an open plan kitchen.

The property which we have entered into an option-agreement is approximately 40.000 sqm and contains a residential house, a guesthouse and a workshop / garage of approximately 350 sqm. Here marked in red

• Because the residential-house that came with the property was in such a poor condition and was not habitable, especially for children, we were completely dependent on finding another place to live while we were doing the reconstruction. We were initially only interested in renting a neighboring house while renovating the house on the farm but after we were offered to buy the neighboring property, we made an option-agreement with the owner and we will now also buy this property.

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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