Who WagonDAO token holding membership is drawn from a decentralized network of interested homesteaders, literati, rebel coders, ascetics, founders, political skeptics, freedom lovers, doomer optimists, wilderness foragers and such. Our community has multiple levels of engagement: members, residents, and allies.

A maximum of 300 token holders represent the DAO membership, and each will be approved by a consensus of existing members. These members are committed to the project, the place, and the core values and key questions, and guide the project direction, member responsibilities, and access to all benefits. Members will be connected to each other and to the project through regular discussion, responsibilities guided by smart contracts, and in-person at the property.

The DAO can offer Residencies to members or non-members for specific time periods. Room and board at the Wagon Box, and possible stipend on a case-by-case basis, with the goal of a mutually beneficial undertaking in the unique atmosphere and environment the property affords. These residencies may result in induction as token holding Membership. Residencies will be open to explore new models of building, thinking and dwelling, to include: artisans, tradesmen, farmers, coders, writers, artists, teachers, researchers, founders, musicians, families, ascetics, organizers, auxiliaries, whose project or presence contribute to the overall goals of the WagonDAO.

The WagonDAO acknowledges Allies: persons or groups who declare a level of solidarity with the project, and we will have a system for promoting mutual benefit. Among potential benefits, allies will get preferred access to all the public aspects of the WagonDAO– the restaurant, community events, publications, etc.

The WagonDAO is not for everyone, but the myopic employment of shibboleths to tune the perfect echo chamber is also not the goal. Human organization is organic and often superrational. There’s something inarticulable binding any community. If you are interested, fill out the secure form linked below. If nothing else, you can opt to receive regular dispatches: brief and colorful updates on the project.

While the project is grounded in physical presence, we observe discretion in respecting the identity of our pseudonymous members.

‍What and Why WagonDAO is a project on the Ethereum chain with a gathering place in Story, Wyoming. The property presently consists of 20 acres in the mountains of Wyoming with a full restaurant, log cabins, lodge, vintage RVs, camperized school buses, tipis and wall tents, with near term plans to build a chapel and a gym, and to purchase the town gas station. This set-up will be able to host gatherings and residencies, engage the public, and will have the resources to sustain Members should events require the DAO to “circle the Wagons.” The library is a critical component, with collected works of key thinkers, as well as out of print volumes that pertain to the project.

WagonDAO combines the oldest ideas with the best technologies to explore new models of community, cooperation and organization. The last several centuries has seen the dissolution of ties that held folks together in mutual trust and commitment to mutual benefit. Increased reliance on the good graces of ever larger impersonal government institutions has left us atomized and vulnerable to at best the whims of the majority, at worst the dictates of unelected bureaucrats. Many memberships–Peleton, Discord threads, Rotary, Hunting Clubs–though rewarding are often shallow and temporary.

In the tradition of guilds, leagues, fraternal orders, intellectual communities, and mutual aid organizations, the WagonDAO will be a physical resource, an intellectual hive, and a social wellspring. While members will always have the option to sell their token back to the DAO, many will see it as a long term, even inter-generational project.

It can be thought of as a gym membership for the mind, soul and body with a retreat in the mountains of Wyoming, where all members are your friends.

The Wagon Box is presently a functioning restaurant and inn, which creates a pleasant interface with the public and allows daily participation in the project to all members. The water is free of microplastics, the menu free of bugs and the profits from operations will go to the DAO.

The project connects the best of Web3 with the concrete:

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• The Token will give members access to online discussion: high level discourse on ideas, books, investments, and events.
• Token holders have a custom pewter mug with a QRF code linked to their token etched into it that hangs on the wall of the tavern, to be filled for free.
• Token holders can host private events at the property.
• Token holders will always have access to the property and its resources.
• Token holders are the beneficial owners of the property with all the advantages of land, water, food and friends.
• Curated events will be open to token holders.

Notable guests who have already expressed willingness to attend such events are: Paul Kingsnorth, Eustace Conway, James Pogue, Seneca Scott, Mark Mitchell, and others.Mountain trails, clean water, local food, these things cannot be counterfeited or conjured up in a moment. Cryptographic access, accounting, and governance ensures that the systems for allocating access, resources and executive function are transparent to members. The human network of real connection and verified interaction is the bridge between these two worlds and creates the value of membership in the WagonDAO.

‍When The property was acquired in the fall of 2022 by Tom Bombadil, LLC. The first six months have been spent putting together an all-new restaurant staff, developing local supply lines for meats, greens and drinks, upgrades to all the buildings, addition of a library/study, bringing in vintage RVs and Skoolies, ordering canvas tipis and wall tents, connecting with the Wyoming crypto scene and building out a nascent network of collaborators.

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We have hosted several gatherings so far, where discussions have focused on questions concerning the course of the Western tradition, and the possibilities of parallel systems in their social, economic and technological aspects.

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As the beautiful mountain scenery emerges from the melting snow, the project will attract visitors, in person as well as online where folks will be able to join in remotely and coordinate plans to visit. Events will be announced by email, and on the WagonDAO password-protected website, access to which is granted by signing up below.

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The DAO formally launched in the Spring of 2024. Once there are 50 members, WagonDAO token holders will be assigned a minimum residency requirement, with a system for compensating another token holder to take their place if they cannot fulfill the obligation. Once there are 100 members, any token holder can expect two fellow token holders at the Wagon box at any time they visit.

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January 2024 the WagonDAO launched a Substack publishing essays and stories curated and written by members.

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The first Annual Gathering of actual members will be in the fall of 2024.

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Smaller curated events will be occurring throughout the year.

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‍Where The existing location was chosen for strategic and aesthetic reasons. It is nestled in the Bighorn mountains, but easily accessible year round. Its streams are fed from mountain lakes and full of trout. Multi-generational ranchers are part of the nearby community. National forest is within walking distance, and the deer, elk, moose and bird hunting is top notch. Wyoming has a rich heritage of independent thinking and is taking the lead in the Blockchain/Crypto frontier. The Bighorn mountains are a rugged swath of beautiful wilderness, long recognized as a sacred geographic center of the continent.

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‍How The WagonDAO is a unique concept that is looking to forge a new model of land ownership and community organization. The exact build-out remains a work in progress, and the dispatches will describe the process as it unfolds. The structure must accommodate the necessary layering and scaling that accompany any successful economy and polity. The land and improvements are planned to be held by a trust, which will have the WagonDAO as trustee and token holders as beneficiaries. The WagonDAO will be organized in Wyoming under WS §17-31-10 as a member-managed project on the Ethereum blockchain, governed by token holding members. These initial tokens, capped at 300, will perform multiple functions. The 300 token holders will be the beneficiaries of the land trust, giving them the exclusive access to the property and right to profits and/or distributions. The tokens will also grant a vote in managing the project. There is a 1-1 mapping between NFTs and members (this means 1 token max per person). The tokens will be linked to smart contracts that will map distributions to eth wallets connected to token holders, and will also require verification of certain obligations by another token holder.

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The NFTs will be auctioned in succession in a Dutch Auction style, with bidding available only to approved persons. Proceeds from the sale, after all debts are paid off, will go into an ETH wallet controlled by the DAO. These funds will be used to manage ongoing property/restaurant operations, host events,  incentivize project involvement through grant programs, and fund expansion. As each new Membership NFT is minted, the current holders will hold a vote on whether that auction winner should be inducted as a member. If after winning an auction, a potential member not voted in, their funds will be refunded and the token will be auctioned off until a new member is accepted. This auction process will continue until all 300 spots are filled. If an existing DAO member wishes to resell or transfer ownership of their token, a similar “voting in” process will take place to similarly ensure proper stewardship of the project.