Early in January of that year, Dennis shattered his right wrist. The surgeon claimed that, “it looked as if a hand grenade had gone off in his arm.” During recovery and physical therapy, Dennis was on an extended medical leave from his employer, and on his return, he was told that his old position had been dissolved and was offered a new position working in the IT Help Desk. But something did not sit right with the offer: not only was this position an obvious demotion, but he questioned the ethics and legality of his employer’s decision. After several weeks of debate, Dennis and his employer agreed to part ways.

It was at the height of the housing collapse and unemployment was at an all time high when Dennis departed from his job, and it was at this point that he knew that he would need to make some immediate changes to his lifestyle. Like so many others at the time and still to this day, he was forced into a position that made him question the very system that sustained a lifestyle of debt and monthly bills: how can someone feel comfortable with their possessions and lifestyle when that source of income could vanish at any time? Obviously, there is nothing sustainable about it.

It was at that point that Dennis decided his best course of action was to reduce his monthly expenses and his possessions to only the absolute necessities. The largest monthly expenditure he had was like most people, the rent; it had to be reduced: drastically. Since he had really no idea what was going to happen and where he would end up, he decided the most logical action would be to purchase a travel trailer to live in; that move alone reduced monthly housing expenses to a third of what they once were. Over the course of the next year, Dennis renovated the Airstream so that it wasn’t just a place that he had to live but a place he wanted to live.

During that time and to this day, Dennis has relentlessly pursued the quest to reduce recurring expenses to negligible amounts. On this quest, it only seemed natural that the basic necessities of life were to be reevaluated: food, water, shelter, health and power. The quest could only go so far however before it was determined that in order to provide for these basic necessities, he would need a community of people working toward the same goal with their own diverse set of skills and knowledge to contribute. And that is where terra form came in.

terra-form.org was created as a place of connection with those likeminded people; it is a place where we can meet and transcend the boundaries of time, of distance, of language, and of limitation to come together and create something beautiful: a place where our knowledge collectively can improve the lives of anyone seeking to attain that knowledge in a loving, open and free environment. We believe everyone has something of value to contribute no matter who you are or what you do; if you are reading this, know that you are special and that the other members you find here value your thoughts, your opinions, your feelings and your advice as we all pursue a life free of the burdens to provide for the basic necessities for our families, our communities, and ourselves.

Will you join us on our quest?

Born and raised in the inlands of California, Dennis has always had an affinity with the outdoors and being in nature. Naturally curious about the world around him, Dennis strived for a better understanding by seeking knowledge. Blessed with an engineering mind, he fantasized about innovations and process improvements particularly in the field of electronics. Throughout his entire life, Dennis always knew he wanted to do something to help his fellow human.

In 2001, Dennis made a bold move to pursue an advanced education; he hopped on a Greyhound Bus to Seattle, WA with little more than a suitcase and a box of possessions to begin his pursuit. Four years later, Dennis earned a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering and gained employment as a Laboratory Manager and Professor at the college where he graduated. He managed multi-million dollar electronics, physics, and biomedical laboratory facilities and taught an extensive array of courses in the Associate Degree, Bachelorette Degree, and Masters Degree coursework for four years while simultaneously earning a Masters in Business Administration, a Project Management Certification, and a Masters in Public Administration. In that time he also began work on his own business to help small-to-mid sized businesses develop their strategies while increasing their operational efficiency and productivity through meticulous research and integration of technologies.

Shortly after earning his second Masters Degree, Dennis was involved in a catastrophic accident that threatened the mobility of his right hand permanently. After an extensive medical leave, Dennis’s position was dissolved while he was away, and instead of accepting an alternate position, he and his employers agreed that the position was no longer in line with what he wanted. Faced with a tough decision, Dennis realized that he could either attempt to stand up for his values or seek employment doing whatever he needed to in order to sustain his lifestyle. Dennis decided to stand up for his values. Since that time, Dennis has been constantly developing and evolving his strategy for sustainability technologies and freely sharing that information with others.

Your story here. We are currently looking for expertise to join our organization and to fill in the missing pieces. We’re not just about providing educational services; we’re also looking forward to developing the first of many sustainable communities, and it’s no easy task. We are looking to network with experienced professionals in nearly every field imaginable, if you believe in the cause and you have something valuable to contribute (which we are confident that you do), we encourage you to contact us so that we can begin a mutually beneficial relationship working towards the common goal of sustainability.