20 acres, a half hour from the twin cities metro, there is a piece of land that has yet to be chosen. It has access to direct water, it is on a hillside with a steep angle towards the water, possibly not even buildable. Possibly it is just heavily wooded to the water. There will be a long stretch that will “work” for the rest of it.

We will use the “waste” produced by Meritage to “regenerate” soils, pave pathways, create art, grow ingredients, feed animals, educate our team, and develop another vien of growth for our people. This will give us the opportunity to offer educational seminars, experiential exposure, that is a retreat for the mind, body and soul, as we reconnect with the land.

The goal is to become stewards of sustainable whole life practices that just might inspire a new way to live, even beyond just our project here in the US.

Curious? Read on…

This land supports Meritage.

There is a track of it, divided in 4 like the seasons. Each quarter receives the organic waste from Meritage for a season. Then, it is buried from the soil moved to make access for the second quarter and the second season, and on and on.

Crushed oyster shells will be combined from the Meritage Oyster Bar, then tilled in and allowed to decompose for a year, when it will be bagged and used for compost to develop beautiful organic gardens.

We will build a chicken coop, and source our own eggs. We will have a couple of goats that will keep the vegetation at bay, and we will learn to make cheese. There is ambition for development of a small farm environment, over years, that will grow with the program and respond to its development.

Another longer track of it will be dedicated to organic vegetables and artisian vegetables we have a difficult time sourcing, or are prohibitively expensive.

We will supply Meritage with these beautiful elements, while we will learn and teach how to grow.

We will build a green house to grow year around from. We will use our own mulch to create a purely organic and biodiverse growing method.

There will be greens grown for the animals, and an annual harvest.

We will grow our own staff, and create a place for students to see if this is their place. Learn things like growing, hard work, harvesting, cooking, cleaning, taking care of animals, and more. Maybe they move into professional hospitality and start learning at Meritage, while they have grown and produced the things we will source directly.

As we develop Maison Meritage, we may have the opportunity to grow programs in butchery, gardening, cheese making and more.

It’s about how we live and work, and integrating the two for a happier and purposeful future.

In order to support this project, we are creating a future for it and a lifestyle folks choose to support, maybe even join.

Tiny Homes, will be built throughout the property. Each individual and private.

These tiny homes will be the residences of students visiting and staging, from France or areas of the US who want to be part of Meritage and the joie de vivre we are creating.

The tiny homes can also be AirBnB &/or vacation stay options for investors or to the public through similar apps.

Long-term, these little properties may in fact become retirement options in a self sustaining little community. But, that’s getting ahead of ourselves. First, we need to build it, and that is where we start.