The city allows building houses and camps everywhere without having to buy land.

Salvation Mountain in Slab City. Photo: Documentalium — Salvation Mountain in Slab City

Slab City is the nickname of the land located in the heart of the California desert (USA), 160 km from San Diego. Here, people can camp and build houses anywhere without having to spend money to buy land or rent a house. People from far away can drive here to choose any empty land and start setting up tents, camping through the winter or as long as they want without paying any fee.

Slab City has all the basic infrastructure to serve the residents' needs such as libraries, burger shops, internet cafes, art galleries and solar power systems. The free life in the desert with the scorching sun in the summer attracts the attention of many tourists. Many people have visited this place to better understand the inner world of Slab City and called it "one of the last free places in America".

Filmmaker Ryan Twomey visited the Slab in late February, hoping to find out what inspired hundreds of people to make the desert their home.

“I think the freedom brings people here and you don’t have to pay any bills except for your own electricity and water,” said Wolf, a resident of Florida. Six years ago, the Wolfs ran a small restaurant in Florida and regularly gave out free meals to the homeless. When the state passed a law prohibiting feeding the homeless, the Wolfs were fined for violating it. So they decided to move here.

Wolf said the main attraction of Slab City is its "freedom," its lack of rules but its close-knit community. Instead of using expensive materials, residents recycle trash to build homes and artwork.

The first art installation Twomey visited was Salvation Mountain, built by the late Leonard Knight. Knight had spent years building a clay mountain with a giant cross on top. Wolf said he was the caretaker of the structure, providing information to visitors and making sure they didn’t cause any damage. “Quite spectacular,” Twomey said of the work.

City from above. Photo: Dronestock — "City" seen from above

After saying goodbye to Wolf, Ryan Twomey drove deeper into the neighborhood and was drawn to a structure that looked like a “rusty metal igloo.” DNA, the owner of the igloo, said he moved there because he wanted to “escape city life.” Now, he spends most of his time creating art, building things out of discarded trash.

The most surprising location for the filmmaker was the city's bookstore, which was lined from floor to ceiling with books of all genres. "It was better than any other library I've ever been to," said the tourist. Twomey also stopped by one of the city's internet cafes and met Charlie, a car mechanic. With Charlie's help, Twomey arrived at the House of Dots, a house that resembles a work of art by an amateur artist named Dot. Dot said she wanted to do something to attract tourists to the place and share with them her quirky, unusual but interesting messages.

Dot, a resident of Slab City, sits in front of her house. Photo cut from video — Dot, a resident of Slab city, is sitting in front of her house.

Some of Dot's more "bizarre" art installations include a "stuffed dinner party" with stuffed animals sitting around the dining table, next to a refrigerator filled with various fish and animal bones. Leaving Dot's house, Towmey continued to visit another outdoor art gallery. This visit gave him "a wonderful experience" of walking around, looking around and meeting people.

Slab City began as a World War II training camp populated by convicts. Today, it is a safe haven for thousands of transients, migrants, and retirees seeking a quiet place to call home. The 1-square-mile area is located just north of the U.S.-Mexico border and is public land. Depending on the season, the population ranges from 100 to 4,000.

Towmey said that this is where the people are "the friendliest and warmest". After the trip, the male tourist realized that people can be happy anywhere, as long as they are surrounded by good people. The people Towmey met at Slab City may not be normal by normal social standards but "they are definitely good people". "I really enjoyed the conversations with them", he said.

TB (according to VnExpress)

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