I was out on the lake—it was peaceful. Yet behind all that, there’s this wooded area just sitting there, full of potential. If they listed the property on Worldpackers, HelpX, and Workstay, they could bring in a crew of work-trade travelers and build out an entire mountain bike park in the woods. It’d be sick—all powered by people looking to trade labor for a place to stay.
There are already some hippie types turning part of the land into a sustainable, organic farm. They could list that on WWOOF and grow it into something big. That old Airbnb building? Perfect for a farm-to-table restaurant. Bring in the guy with the smoker, use the produce from the farm, bass from the lake—bam, gluten-free, lake-to-table, farm-to-table cuisine.
You’d have hang gliding, mountain biking, organic farming, all built and run by workstay folks. It’s a story people want to be part of. They could host RVers through Harvest Hosts too, share the whole story and let people experience it firsthand.
If I owned that land, that’s what I’d do. You don’t need cash to get started—you just need people and a vision. I’d hire a promoter and say, “Fly your plane down to our airstrip, grab some BBQ, enjoy the trails, try hand gliding and eat fresh from the land.”
Tell ’em: “We built our own Valmont-style bike park—powered by travelers and vision.” There are tons of people out there looking to build something real. That land is just waiting.