What the commune of Slab City, the last “free” city in America, looks like (11 photos + 1 video)

In the Sonoran Desert (California) there is one unusual settlement - a self-governing commune of squatters and hippies. It is called Slab City, covers an area of 260 hectares and serves as a home for those who believe that the main value in life is freedom.





There was once a military base here, but after the end of World War II the military left and the site began to fill with squatters, migrants and other people marginalized.

Located just north of the U.S.-Mexico border in Imperial County, the area attracts anywhere from 100 to more than 4,000 people depending on the season. Many people come here to live during the winter months, “overwinter” in the warmth, and then return to the north of the country. Such people are called “snowbirds.”



Slab City is a place on the periphery, both geographically and philosophically.

Of the hundred or so permanent residents, most are forced to live here due to poverty and survive on welfare. There is no electricity or running water here.

From the outside it appears to be nothing more than a collection of ramshackle caravans, rickety buildings and filthy tents. But Slab City gradually turned into a whole community with cafes and restaurants, a nightclub, a library, a church and even a golf course. Slab City gets its name from the giant concrete slabs on which it is built, all that remains of a World War II training camp.



We'll see Slab City through the eyes of video blogger Ryan Toomey. He was always interested in seeing what this place was like, and he went there for the whole day to chat with the locals and document the life of the commune.

The amazing film takes viewers to an alternative off-grid camp in the heart of the California desert, about 100 miles northeast of San Diego, as its residents talk about what inspired them to make it their home.

At the beginning of the video, Ryan Toomey stops by a colorful piece of art known as Salvation Mountain, which was built by Slab City resident Leonard Knight (now deceased). He built it from clay over several decades. “It’s a mountain with the words ‘God is love’ on it and a giant cross on top,” Ryan says. “Quite an impressive sight.”

Ryan meets a man who says his name is Wolf and he is the caretaker of this monument. His job is to present information to visitors and make sure they don't cause damage. Wolk says he moved to Slab City six years ago after “the laws in Florida started changing all the time.” He and his wife had a small restaurant business, but the state passed laws prohibiting feeding the homeless. And he fed the homeless every Sunday with food from his restaurant. He was once handed 26 fines... “What attracts people here is the freedom and the lack of bills to pay,” he says. “If you brought a van here, parked right across the road and set up a little camp for the winter, it doesn’t cost you anything.” The only thing you have to pay for is electricity and water... and there are no law enforcement officers here.”





Having said goodbye to his new acquaintance, Ryan returns to his van and drives on. He notices a structure that looks like a "rusty metal igloo" and decides to talk to the owner, whose name is DNA.



He says that Slab City has a lot of trash that can be used for construction, and some of the materials he used to build his home were metal, mattresses, wood and wooden pallets. DNA plans for the igloo to become a restaurant called The Last Resort. The guy says he moved to Slab City to get away from city life and now spends most of his free time making art and creating things from discarded waste.



DNA advises Ryan to visit another Slab City resident, Dot, who lives in an area called East Jesus. Dot has a large and interesting collection at camp, which she dubs the "House of Dots."

On the way to Dot's place, Ryan makes several stops at places that pique his interest. For example, at the local library. Looking into it, he is amazed by what he sees: many rooms filled with books from floor to ceiling. “Wow, there are so many books in different sections,” Ryan tells the audience. - This is an incredible place. It's incredible, it's all built by the people who live here, and most of it is free. It reminds me of where you pay $10 for a coffee in some city... It's way cooler than any other library I've ever been to."



After visiting one of the Internet cafes in Slab City and meeting a man named Charlie, who repairs bicycles, Ryan finally makes it to the Dot House.



Its resident, Dot, says that she has lived in Slab City for five years and decided to move here to make her dreams of creativity come true. “I've always wanted to do something like a crazy tourist attraction... create art... show my art... share my messages that are weird and different, but fun to me,” she says. “And then... to be able to do what I really want without anyone telling me I can’t do it.”



One of Dot's strangest art installations is a "taxidermy dinner party": several stuffed deer sit at the dinner table, apparently eating human entrails, and the refrigerator contains fish and animal bones. In the back of the artist's house there is a bus, which she has converted into a second-hand store for her family, where you can exchange old clothes or simply donate them.



After visiting Dot, Ryan's final destination in Slab City is East Jesus, home to an open-air art gallery. A man at the entrance to the gallery announces several rules: “Rule number one - you can touch everything. Rule number two: If you touch something and it breaks, tell them it was broken when you got here.”

Wandering around the gallery, Ryan is quite impressed by what he sees: “There's an insane amount of art in here, and unlike other art museums, the rule here is to touch everything.

Some things here are so incredible that you just can’t believe it.”



Summing up his visit to Slab City, the filmmaker says, “If you think about it, it's the last free place on Earth because you don't have to pay rent, you don't have to answer to anyone, you can claim your own land, there's no paperwork to go through. It was really nice to walk around the city, meet everyone and just see the culture and art that is here.”



Although Slab City has a reputation for being home to misfits and criminals, Ryan says it has "the friendliest, most welcoming people." He concludes: “You can be happy almost anywhere if you surround yourself with good people, and everyone I met today may not have been normal by normal society standards, but they were definitely good people. I really enjoyed talking with them."