Mission Statement

The Blackflower Collective LLC is a worker-owned and operated enterprise dedicated to the creation of a world in which individuals have the autonomy, knowledge and resources to create fulfilling lives and communities free of oppression. Our mission is to learn together the ways in which to healthily relate to each other and our environment. We seek to sustain and nourish our collective through fulfilling work, personal empowerment and equitable compensation while providing a hub for political thought and culture in Grays Harbor County.

The CampUS – Destination Campground and Learning Center

• Everything from basic BYO tent/hammock sites to fully equipped yurts, micro-cabins, and luxury tents on a functioning permaculture farm/learning center.
• Forest sites – stay nestled back in the forest for a quiet, cozy experience. Sites on the ground or in the trees.
• Campfire sites – stay at these sites if you want to have your own campfire to snuggle up next to or cook something over.
• Pond sites – stay in the overgrown cabins by the pond for a relaxing, more private experience.
• All guests receive first pick of reservations and a discount on tickets to all dinners, tours, workshops, concerts and events offered on the premises.
• All campers have access to casual dining options at the kitchen, composting toilets, solar showers, covered communal fire-pit and grill area, and communal picnic tables.
• Design courses offered for additional fee and minimum registration requirements. Parties of ten or more can rent the entire grounds for a personalized retreat and two week intensive course. Anyone can sign up for our regularly scheduled quarterly courses as well.

THE CENTER – Social Center / Business Incubator / Commercial Kitchen / Makerspace / FabLab

• Sustainably designed functional kitchen/light manufacturing space that is rentable to the public and accessible to village residents and campers.
• Used to add value to our farm’s products in the form of baked goods, canned/dry goods, sauces, furnishings, bedding, utensils, equipment, etc.
• Helps in creating things to be used in the village and at the camp, as well as things to sell to the public on or off-site.
• Lets us use slightly blemished or otherwise unsalable produce for higher yields
• Allows us to offer kitchen and light manufacturing space to other small local makers.
• Helps get small public businesses the training, office space, and micro loans they need to get their ideas off the ground.

Social centers are community spaces. They are buildings which are used for a range of disparate activities, which can be linked only by being not-for-profit. They might be organizing centers for local activities or they might provide support networks for minority groups such as prisoners and refugees.

A FabLab is a small-scale workshop offering digital fabrication. A fab lab is typically equipped with an array of flexible computer-controlled tools that cover several different length scales and various materials, with the aim to make “almost anything”.

A makerspace is a room that contains tools and components, allowing people to enter with an idea and leave with a complete project. The best part is that makerspaces are communal. The goal is to work together to learn, collaborate, and share. Most importantly, makerspaces allow us to explore, create new things, or improve things that already exist.

A business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a full-scale range of services starting with management training and office space and ending with small business loans.

Permaculture Food Forest Farm (THE FARM)

Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principles in fields such as regenerative agriculture, town planning, rewilding, and community resilience.

Sustainable farm forest that produces annual and perennial vegetables, grains, fruits, nuts, eggs, milk, herbs, wild edibles, mushrooms, honey, wood, fibers, charcoal, fuels and other products to be used by the on-site restaurant and/or sold to the public on and/or off site. This is the base layer of our business and along with other local farms provides the raw materials needed to operate the other layers of the business. Profits from the other layers are reaped partly because of savings provided by this layer and should be invested back into the community.

Permaculture Design Services

For every design we will complete the following:

• A detailed, colored computer generated design concept in “plan view”.
• A 3D “site view” design of the property, video presentation of a digital walk-through of property.
• An extensive design report including:
  • A vision statement which encapsulates your dreams and aspirations for your property,
  • A list of networks, organizations and relevant businesses to source information, skills and resources from,
  • Site analysis details outlining slope, aspect, prevailing winds (and more),
  • Plant lists and planting plan, and
  • An overview of basic soil remediation approaches relevant to your landscape.
  • Other information relevant to your property.

For an additional fee, we can offer the following services

• A detailed water and irrigation plan.
• Site survey (with a third party surveyor).
• Soil testing and analysis for both heavy metals and minerals.
• Upon request, we collaborate with architects to design both your house and landscape to create the ultimate, integrated home.

What’s the process?

• Residents complete a pre-visit questionnaire via email, this provides us with good insight into you, your lifestyle and home.
• We develop a scaled base map. Please note unless you have a professional survey this will be approximate only – but darn close.  If you have existing property plans we can use these as part of this process. While onsite we will make needed measurements and adjustments as needed.
• A 2 – 4 hour site visit takes place which includes;
• • Approximately 1 hour meeting with residents,
  • 1 – 4 hour solo walk to conduct site assessment and analysis,
  • 40 min – discuss concept ideas and possibilities and options and agree on the design direction.
  • Offsite, we create one black and white draft concept sketch and provide this to the clients via email for feedback which informs the final design. Please note, this is restricted to only one design sketch.
  • We have a second meeting (in person or online) to workshop the draft.
  • We develop a final concept design and report, send it via email and talk you through as needed to ensure you understand everything. If we are in the same geographical region a site visit may be arranged for this final meeting.
  • If appropriate and required, we organize follow up phone meetings to provide insight and clarification into the design. Please note, this is not an open ended offer, an agreed time frame (or amount of meetings) will be provided.
  • We also post you a hardcopy of the design and report on completion of the job.
  • If desired, we can organize some amazing, talented contractors to implement some or all or your design.

Design fee

• We provide tailored quotes for each job which tend to vary from between $2,500 – $5,000. To organize a quote for your property contact us today. In this quote we’ll provide a clear break down for each stage and/or item of the design process.
• Travel free: $50 per hour to get to and from your site outside the Aberdeen municipality.

Design implementation

We work with a range of wonderfully skilled landscape contractors who can implement your garden for you. If interested, ask us for more information. We pair our expertise in permaculture design and teaching with coaching to nurture you along the path as you design your site. When we work together, you choose the pace! We can either meet weekly or bi-weekly (in person or online, depending on location) so that you get the information you need in digestible chunks, then you can work on your own between sessions.