About Us

A group of autistic people are building this retreat center from the ground up. The company, Divergent Labs, Inc., is a non-profit dedicated to the growth, empowerment, and inclusion of autistic people.

Star

The manager of this project is Star Ford, an autistic author and software architect living in Las Vegas, NM.

“I look at autism as an untapped potential for people to work and contribute to the world, not as a burden. The ‘treatment’
for autism is a supportive, sensory friendly and deeply accessible environment where a person is equal in power to the others around them, has autonomous control over their life, and has a social sphere that they help create. I started Ocate Cliffs to make that
place for me and others like me.”

Our board members are from around the country, and among us we have a variety of experience in construction, engineering, legal, finance, and non-profit management. (See board of directors.)

We’ve been featured on The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism.

For very detailed information about how the whole program works, see our Transparency page.

Also read about autistic worksapces, and our solutions.

Progress

It’s worth stressing that this is not just another “great idea” out there, but is steadily progressing. In the first few years we obtained the land – 139 acres – obtained county zoning approval for the project, completed a water system, built a 2-mile road, and built the first building – a staff house.

It is currently open, and can be rented out by groups such as churches, other non-profits, and family reunions. Larger groups will be accommodated in a few years when we get the first guest building completed.

We are located near Ocate, New Mexico in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. (See contacts and maps.)