Our Story
Our story begins in 2017 when Mr. Ryan Timmermans founded Veterans Off-Grid and purchased 50 acres in Carson, New Mexico. Since then, we have reached many milestones to help homeless veterans and promote eco-friendly living.
See what we’ve accomplished recently from the events listed directly below, or if you prefer, start reading at the bottom of the page and make your way back up to see how Veterans Off-Grid has progressed from it’s origin.
Join us at the Carson Sunday Market from 10am-2pm
Come try our microgreens harvested fresh at the market or take home some of our plant starts for your own garden!
Free Food, Fun and Family joy!
Save the Date in your phone, Wed May 31st! See you there! Family Fun day at TCA and Kit Carson Park. Everyone of All ages welcome. Families welcome. Babies welcome!
Come and go as you wish
Join us at the Carson Sunday Market from 10am-2pm
Come try our microgreens harvested fresh at the market or take home some of our plant starts for your own garden!
With permaculture principles, we’ll protect to perpetuate young trees and shrubs we just planted: pallet windbreak and water catchment for young trees, simple branch-woven “shawindbreaks”, rock mulch, 50/50 white latex paint on trunks, more super drought-tolerant shrubs, trellises for vines, swales for rain catchment, OH MY!
Join us at the Carson Sunday Market from 10am-2pm
Come try our microgreens harvested fresh at the market or take home some of our plant starts for your own garden!
We are excited for our first Farmer's market of the 2023 season! Come join us 10 a.m. April 23rd at the Carson Cafe off HWY 567 for FUN, food, crafts, and live music.
Taos Veterans Connection is a support group that provides connection with other veterans, local behavioral health services, and veteran service organizations.
We invite anyone who relates to veterans and/or suicide prevention to help us brainstorm about veterans, suicide, what we know, what we're missing, and how we can support our veterans, their families, and our entire community.
Taos Veterans Connection is a support group that provides connection with other veterans, local behavioral health services, and veteran service organizations.
Special thanks to Patrick and all the vets and volunteers from Not Forgotten Outreach for coming out to the Veterans Off-Grid property to help us as we finished the walipini and got a little closer to finishing construction on Earthship South.
Join us every Tuesday at 6:30pm for a Trauma Support Group facilitated by an experienced therapist. Veterans and non-veterans welcome.
Super excited to pour the floor today. This structure is coming along so well, we’re very proud of it. Come learn with us and put the finishing touches on the Hyper Adobe roundhouse.
Many challenges to overcome in the beginning as all of our adobe was wet and covered in snow; the sand was frozen in clumps, mud everywhere, etc. But it turned out really amazing as we overcame each obstacle! Kenny, Armando, and Ryan got the entirety of the final coat of adobe on the walls. They worked super hard, and we are so proud of how the super hyper Adobe is turning out.
We’re working on the Hyper Adobe; however, due to the snow and the road conditions, we are having people park at the Carson Cafe. Volunteers are welcome year-round and we’re applying the final adobe coat on the wall and floor. We are nearing completion, and we are so excited to move Armando in.
First day of the grand opening! Cant wait to see the progress made on day 2 and 3. Thank you to everyone who came out to show support to our mission today!
We’re getting ready for our 2019 Grand Opening by prepping the site for the volunteers, cleaning up for pictures, and ensuring we have as necessary equipment readily available.
A special thank you to Tyler Beesley with At Least Web Design for helping us launch our new and improved website. This will be a benefit not only for our followers but also for the veterans we’re serving and our volunteers.
Terry, one of the Board Members, traveled 1,700+ miles from Myrtle Beach to Carson, NM to join in on the fun with our 2019 launch starting on July 19th!
Check out Ryan Timmermans recycling some glass bottles that will later be used at Veterans Offgrid. These discarded glass bottles will be transformed into bottle bricks and used to build walls that are structurally sound and stunningly beautiful.
Colby had the unique opportunity to develop an independent study with a community-based faculty member for college credit. In addition to receiving college credit, he presented twice at the Johnson County Community College Symposium regarding leadership, veteran homelessness alleviation, holistic healing, and the mission of Veterans Off-grid.
Picked up amazing donations from Home Depot yesterday. They donated a wood burning stove, a pallet of ghost wood, and a pallet of pavers!
Three veterans selling baked goods to raise donations and awareness on the environmental crisis we’re facing alongside the need to give back to those who have sacrificed for us.
We’ve begun remodeling the existing Earthship to update the bathroom, flooring, kitchen, electrical, plumbing, and bedroom. We couldn’t be more excited about the outcome!
The NRCS sponsored HOOP house has arrived to begin our sustainable farming practices that will improve the soil year-over-year. A special thanks to our volunteers Keith and Kerri for helping with this new endeavor!
We faced the Bomb Cyclone that blew over the bathroom and shower structure. Luckily, we were able to put it back up, stucco the exterior, and cemented the structure to the ground.
We secured Congressman Ben Rey Lujan’s support for our great cause. We’re so honored that he stands behind us!
Ryan was given the opportunity to talk about Veterans Off-Grid with Senator Martin Heinrich, and we’re thankful for his praise and support.
The partnership with Taos County Solid Waste Department has proven fruitful. We received deliveries of grounded recycled glass to improve the road to Veterans Offgrid.
We received a large tire donation from the now dismantled Jihadist compound in northern New Mexico. These tires will be re-purposed for good to house a homeless veteran in need.
We completed the framing for the outdoor multiuse structure for dining, outdoor kitchen, and shade space. This will also help significantly for rainwater collection for agricultural programs to be implemented soon.
Salesforce corporate team came to visit VOG to work on our courtyard and our fig, pomegranate, and apple orchard.
Despite delay from the rain, we worked on getting the composting toilet and outdoor shower frame built, Earthship courtyard tire wall to the 3rd course, and excavated the shed floor for a concrete pour!
Taos County still has problems with illegal tire dumps. Veterans Off-Grid volunteers alongside with Taos County Solid Waste Department organized a tire site clean up day. We took usable tires back to prepare to build the first sustainable house for a homeless veteran.
With the help of NeuEarth Biotecture and volunteers, the new shed floor was poured and completed.
A special thank you to Jan McComas and family for there contributions to the completion of the Earthship greenhouse. We couldn't be more proud of how it turned out. Though a few modifications remain, we will be planting organic, and sustainable, food crops in the very near future!
Road repair Fridays went exceptionally well, and we made a tremendous amount of progress despite doing it entirely by hand. We have 1 mile of road to repair, and I am so thankful for our volunteers who are making a difference!
We are proud to announce that Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas is allowing our Content Manager Colby Carson to get college credit for working with Veterans Off-Grid! Colby, a member of the Honors Program and Phi Theta Kappa, will be enrolling in an independent study with a faculty member to further develop leadership skills by managing volunteer contributions to research, communications, and blog writing. Thank you JCCC!
A big thank you to Sam Coad and Rae Potter for their hard work putting up a 14 x 20 shed for Veterans Off-grid! This shed will store donated materials that will later go on to build sustainable housing for veterans in need of a community. Another big thank you to Jan McComas for capturing all that hard work on film! Veterans Off-Grid appreciates all of you awesome people!
"They were made for so much more, is something Ryan Timmermans, a U.S. Army veteran now living in Carson, New Mexico repeatedly says when referring to the millions of combat veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and battling to re-integrate into civilian life."
Say hello to Veterans Off-Grid's new home! This gorgeous 50-acre property is on top of a south-facing hill in Carson, New Mexico and is 11 miles from the International Earthship Academy and Gorge Bridge! It will one day be the home and workplace for 40 to 60 veterans in need of a community.
Ryan began his second step in his journey to create an organization dedicated to helping veterans in need of a community. He is proud to announce that Veterans Offgrid is now an active and federally recognized 501c3!
A month ago I left South Carolina armed with a signed land purchase contract, my trusty dog Savannah, a newly acquired truck plus a 5th wheel, and my dream to create a working prototype of an off-grid community for homeless, low income, and retired veterans. On the way, I ran over a deer carcass that damaged my 5th wheel, got hit in the parking lot of Walmart, and the sellers real estate agent died, causing the seller to cancel the land purchase contract! However, I am not giving up! This mission is too important for our veterans and our planet. I have made an offer on two separate properties and headed back to Taos, NM January 1st.
Today Ryan is proud to announce he has graduated from the Earthship Academy in preparation for establishing a national nonprofit dedicated to building Earthships and sustainable communities for veterans in need.
During yesterday’s launch day, we had Taos News Jesse Moya come to our site and take a good at all the work we’re doing to combat veteran homelessness. "Together, veterans are capable of accomplishing incredible feats," Timmermans said. "Together we will become world changers and protectors of the planet."