The historic site brought together over 100 families in Central Georgia to build a Self Sustaining Community.
ATLANTA: "It's surreal that we're actually doing it," stated Hereafter Farms Co-Founder Farrakhan Ali.
The design is to create a self-sustaining town where they and over 100 families will grow their own food, teach their own kids, build sustainable housing, and create businesses to create a favorable economic ecosystem that expands far beyond the community itself.
"When I started there were only a few of us. It was the height of the pandemic and I think we were all forced to think differently. I thought to myself, if there was ever a time to move towards self-sufficiency, this is it. It's time to do what I've been thinking about all these years. What I couldn't plan for was that there were thousands of people who were thinking the exact same thing I was at that time," says Ali.
After months of searching, they found the suitable location.
Their 460 acres in Georgia has water, roads, existing tiny homes, and enough infrastructure for them to get a few projects off the ground fast.
The secret, according to Ali, is keeping God at the center of everything.
The 100+ families are a diverse group of farmers, educators, health professionals, builders, tradesmen, seniors and millennials, and from the looks of it, they have the people they need to make and manage their town.
When asked why they chose the name "The Hereafter," Ali explains it to us, "It's a new environment. Hereafter means something new, right here. We're building something new, growing something new, because we have a safe environment where everyone can be free to think and live creatively and peacefully."
The plan is to farm their own food using organic techniques, greenhouses, tower farms, row crops, and harvesting natural energy to create sustainable growing systems using solar energy. Animals are in their future, and they have timber for expanded home development.
Their school seems to be a top priority. "Studies show mental health in children has had a downward trend. We are neutralizing that by offering them a safe space and an inclusive educational experience, reconnecting them with nature, with themselves, with God, and with their neighbors."
The revenue model is to create commercial activity that circulates currency within the community and expands outward into a public sales system.
Their plan is to build in phases. The first phase includes clearing property, purchasing agricultural supplies and farming equipment, renovating the preexisting structures on the land, and covering the costs to get the development started vigorously.
"We're not just building this town for us, but to leave a legacy for the next generation, so they can create a better world than the one we grew up in."
Image: Hereafter Farms