i got a new induction-heater for my vape today.
There is enough detail and drama to fill a reality TV show. A modern feudal landlord clashed with his peasants. A tiny lively village is now a ghost town. Yet, unquantifiable value was still gained, regardless of how hard we were scammed. I invite you to come to your own conclusion. Ant village may be the perfect place for you to hunker down under a dictator, drink some rotten koolaid, and waste your savings.
In Fall 2015 I moved onto Paul Wheaton's property called Ant Village. I rented an acre to compete in the Ant village challenge. I built a cabin and lived in it. Two years later, at the end of this summer, Paul took actions to evict a couple of us in the village, threatened others, and most everyone has left. At one point I considered Paul a friend. But now, the guy forced us out of our self built houses. So I will attempt to share all the dirty secrets over the course of a few posts.
The tenants of Ant Village formed a union in the middle of this summer. We had three major concerns.
Be less secretive (aka culty). Residents were prohibited from making friends with neighbors off our property. It was presumed that all people in Superior were evil and were out to get Paul. And if we made contact with them, they would remember we existed and come to get us. At one point I mentioned at a potluck that I talked with a guy in town who was building a passive solar house about my underground cabin. Paul exploded at me, often yelling, for thirty+ minutes about his psychotic paranoia. Before moving onto the property I was not aware of the secretive rule. We were not allowed to tell people where we lived. We were supposed to say "near missoula" an hour away. Even when friends and family visited I was supposed to tell them they had to be secretive and give them a form letter to read.
Negotiate long term rental contracts. The plots were rented on a verbal contract. Which still qualifies as a contract in Montana. But it makes it much harder to have any future certainty. Paul threatened to raise the rent on one Ant when he came by to make a video for his profit. The Ant said Paul either had to pay or could not video. We had no idea what rent would be in a few years. It was likely to keep going up as we improved the village. We were likely to gentrify ourselves out because we had no wages.
Earn Wages. Residents were prohibited from holding a job in town. We were not allowed to leave the property more than twice per week. We could work for Paul, but he only paid in scrip. Paul created a currency called fysh. Fysh were stored in some unknown ledger. It was always a mystery how many we had. But at least I did not have to pay rent this year because I had some mystery fysh from repairing vehicles. Those fysh could be used to eat some rice and bean meals. Many residents resorted to eating at the food bank.
Montana Tenant Law protects tenants that form a union. We weren't doing anything illegal. We were just voicing an opinion. And pointing out that certain rules were illegal. It is illegal for a landlord to evict or retaliate against somebody for forming or joining a union. It is not like we called in some national unionizing body. This was an adhoc union just for the simple legal protection. Paul held all the power, and we felt that maybe, if we came together he would realize and reason with us.
Anyway, Paul's lawyer forced us to leave. He claimed we were not tenants and had no legal protection. He even did it during the Sunrise forest fire when we were away and it would be hard to get legal advice. Ant Village had been under evacuation for several weeks. Paul and his lawyer gave us 30 days notice when we could not even be in our homes. We did not have access to our belongings or know when we could get them. It took a few weeks before I was able to get some straight answers from a lawyer. The tenants lawyer I spoke to said we were definitely tenants. Paul had to file a legal eviction with the sheriff. It is illegal to pay people in scrip. A landlord cannot prevent you from holding a job. By the time I spoke to her I already made up my mind to get out and had planned a move. It was not going to be worth the costs to take Paul to court. Instead, I publish this information hoping that less people in the future fall for his scams.
Random facts, gossip, and opinions
In July 2017, the sheriffs department raided our property. A visitor had reported somebody's children to CPS. I think all 8 of mineral county's deputies, 2 highway patrolmen, and a forest ranger stormed the property with warrant. And hands on their guns. They kept referring to the property as "the compound." They would ask every new person they met where their guns were. They seemed to think we were a militia. It felt like this could be the next Ruby Ridge. We were all put under temporary arrest until all the children were found. CPS was willing to set this woman up with shelter in town for her and her children. They also said she could bring her kids back once she had 4 walls a roof and a door for them to live in. I hear that Paul said she could no longer be on the property because he did not want the government checking on them. Sounds like discriminating against a parent with children.
Nice things
We used to get along all lovely. But now I got kicked out. And maybe you guys wonder why all the ants stopped posting on permies. Its because wheaton labs is a slum city. And anything not inline gets us shadowbanned from permies. I am now off the property and can speak freely. Fuck permaculture and fuck my permaculture reputation.
Jim