Together We Function (TWF) is a project to plan and build a self-sustaining supportive community in Alberta for neurodivergent and disabled people, what we call our “part-time functional” population. This population falls into a difficult gap — unable to qualify for disability support, yet unable to sustain traditional employment. The result is chronic underemployment, reliance on emergency services, mental health supports, food banks, subsidized housing,.and family support networks. Their potential goes untapped and their contributions to their communities go unmade.
Together We Function is being designed to provide housing, meaningful work, and economic opportunity. Many of our future residents currently rely on provincial disability assistance and social support systems. TWF creates an alternative model where accessible infrastructure, flexible agricultural work, peer support, and shared profits enable greater independence while significantly reducing the economic burden on Alberta’s social services. People who were a cost to the system become a benefit to it.
The project integrates diverse food production systems—including grains, livestock, orchards, and specialty crops—that provide majority food self-sufficiency supplemented by select imports for variety. Each resident has private living space within our residential buildings, while purpose-built accessory structures (10-15 buildings total) support agricultural production and community life: workshops, food processing facilities, storage, and shared gathering spaces. Our commercial garlic operation is expected to generate the primary revenue, with additional income from dairy products, honey, mushrooms, and eggs—all profits shared among residents. Solar energy, accessible design, and zero-fossil-fuel heating keep operational costs minimal, allowing residents to build financial stability while contributing meaningfully to food production.
How you can help:
Right now, we’re looking for 3 to 5 additional co-founders — people who feel this as part of their purpose and want to be part of making it real.
You don’t need to move in. You don’t need to write a cheque.
What we need is your mind, your heart, and your drive to make something real. We’re especially looking for people with knowledge or experience in:
🌾 Farming and agriculture
🔨 Construction and trades
⚖️ Legal and nonprofit structure
📊 Business and finance
⚡ Utility infrastructure
🗣️ Social organization
🏛️ Local and rural politics
If you don’t have any of those skills but you feel called to this work anyway, please reach out. Passion and commitment matter just as much.
Project Highlights:
Mission: To provide neurodivergent and disabled individuals with a farm community which honors the full cycle of human capacity: combining private space for individual expression with collative agricultural work to cultivate contentment through purpose not productivity.
Scale: An approximately 10 acre acreage, with accessible infrastructure and private living spaces
Economic Model: $2,500+ per capita annual profit potential shared among residents after necessities are acquired
Production: Majority food self-sufficiency plus commercial garlic sales
Infrastructure: 10-15 purpose-built structures designed for accessibility and efficiency
Impact: Reduces provincial disability support costs while increasing resident independence
Timeline: Phased development beginning 2026
For more detailed information about TWF’s agricultural systems, accessibility features, financial model, or partnership opportunities, please don’t hesitate to reach out
Founders
The Road so far…
Learning abut Garlic
We have a test crop of 3 varieties of garlic currently growing in Thorhild County. From this we are learning about planting and care procedures and eventually yield, marketing, and sales procedures for the viability of garlic as a cash crop.
A lot of books
Over the last more than 6 months, the founders have been reading and studying green infrastructure, permaculture, homesteading, and more. A little experience in reading land use bylaws has come from work on the family land in Thorhild County. This book smart knowledge brings a certain value to the project.
The start of a beautiful community
We have published 2 newsletters and have a functioning website, obviously, and have made contacts in the real world. Along the way, at nearly every step, nearly everyone who has heard about TWF has shown their support for the endeavor.
Roadmap for Implementation
The beginning of our journey must begin at the beginning. Planning, discussing, testing. This phase is slow, long, and very, very important. We are using every resource at our disposal to get through it as efficiently and accurately as possible. at the end of this phase we should have:
- A fully rounded digital presence
- 5 to 7 committed founders
- Charity or similar organization status
- Implemented and ongoing funding sources
- Necessary professionals on retainer
- A complete Business Plan, bylaws, etc.
After we have all the professionals and founders on the same page, we will need to acquire an acreage, in a county or municipality in Alberta that wants to host us. TWF brings jobs, reduces provincial disability costs, and puts the county on the map as a progressive rural community. And we want to be wanted and appreciated for that.
After we have a home plot, we need to add the infrastructure necessary for construction: water, power, and temporary shelter. This may be manufactured buildings and a well, or a water tank and a sea can with wind power, or any combination of these or other systems the founders can develop.
This phase is expected to construct raw material production infrastructure such as greenhouses and chicken coops, as well as the construction of the community building and at least a couple of the residences for pilot residents to move in to the community. But the phase will not be developed by the two original founders, but by the collective wisdom of all founders and the professionals on retainer.