
Five years ago Dan and Shayna Cohen took early retirement to live off the grid in the wilderness of Catron County, New Mexico. They are looking for like-minded people to join them on their 40 acre ranch which can be seen at www.placeofrefuge2012.com. They wrote this heads up about “Survivalist Tourists”.
We’ve met more posers or what my son likes to call “survival tourists” than anything else. By this we mean those who know something bad is about to happen and think that if they do a few mundane tasks, it will be a panacea for all their worries.

PB and I have been living 100% off-grid since December 2007, we have done most everything ourselves, mostly by hand, it’s cheaper that way. Over these last couple of years, we have discovered a few favorite items that really work well for us. These are items we actually use on a regular if not daily basis, these are things I wouldn’t want to live without. Many of these items we salvaged (ie FREE), some we purchased and were worth every penny. …

This weekend the Castaways meet again for the first time – back on Taransay, this time without the cameras present.…

Living in the high desert means having to deal with long periods of dry weather punctuated by periods of mega-rains. We got one of those yesterday. I was not at the skycastle when this occurred, I was at a friend’s house. My drive home was a bit tricky, our roads are dirt, some gravel, some boulders and several places are clay. The clay is the problem, when it gets wet, soaked, it becomes a car eating muck pit. There are several places I have to cross that have lots of clay, one place in particular is a S-curve just before my place, I avoid it when it’s wet. That means going over an even steeper, higher, rougher road, but it’s worth it to miss the mucky S-curve. As I was going over the alternate path, I noticed a couple of cars that were abandoned on the road, not a pleasant thing to see where I live. That usually means a long, rough walk for the occupants, unless they are lucky enough to find someone else driving though or are close enough to walk to a friend’s house, that usually means at least a half mile or more walking either up or down steep hills. Did I mention that cell phones don’t work out here?…
The best three posts published by August 31st will get the book, and be featured on www.off-grid.net thus increasing the visibility of their own entry.…

Companies in smaller counties, such as Fresno/Tulare (43), Chico (28), Santa Cruz (36) and Truckee (10), are providing innovative solutions and creating jobs…

As the Banksters continue to draw their massive paychecks, the rest of us are hunkering down for what looks increasingly like the end of economic growth…
In a post TEOTWAWKI or SHTF world, having a loving partner will make live much more enjoyable as well as safer. You know the old saying, many hands make light work, it’s very true, and having someone that you can completely trust with your life just may be what saves your life. Having someone at the homestead most of the time makes the homestead a more secure place, while one of you is out hunting or doing what needs to be done, the other can be at home, taking care of things there and being security. You can also take care of the other if one of you gets sick or hurt.…
Vonnie left a top job to live a quiet life off the grid near Taos – video interview…
I have a confession to make.
I’m British. But before you lynch me – please listen to my problem. Penguin will soon be publishing my next book, Off the Grid: Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government, and True Independence in Modern America.
The cover blurb states I’m British, and its too late to change the cover. But believe me I would like to. What was once merely a statement of fact now feels like an insult.
When the Gulf oil accident first happened, back when we all thought it would be over in a few days, President Obama was blaming BP – now he heaps the opprobrium for the environmental disaster onto “British Petroleum,” conveniently forgetting that almost half the shares are owned by Wall Street and two thirds of employees are American. Its like suddenly calling Mohamed Ali by his old name – Cassius Clay. …