Food
Eating off the grid – book review
food, cooking, survival, outdoor stove, outdoor cooker, …
April 27, 2005
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food, cooking, survival, outdoor stove, outdoor cooker, …
Hockerton Housing Project Master Class/Tour is a one day a practical case study of sustainable off-grid living, on July 14th 2005.
The Hockerton Housing Project (HHP) is an innovative residential sustainable development in the village of Hockerton near Southwell, Nottinghamshire. The architects were Professor Brenda Vale and Dr Robert Vale, whose own ground-breaking home in Southwell provided much of the inspiration and know-how for this project. HHP was completed in September 1998 after three years of planning and 18 months of construction. They have been designed as one of the first zero energy residential systems in the UK reducing life cycle energy to a minimum and are amongst the most energy efficient, purpose built dwellings in Europe. Maximum use of benign, organic and recycled materials has been made in the construction and the development is designed to be, to a large extent, self-sufficient. …
So it IS true.
We broke the story TV chef Jamie Oliver ‘s production company denied — and today it was confirmed.
On 24 Feb we announced that Jamie was going to live in a camper van in Italy for his next series. Today he set off on his trip. We wish him well.
Jamie Oliver and wife Jools make a meal of their tearful farewell – as he set off on the six-week cooking tour. The gossip in London’s Primrose Hill is that Jamie is not a happy man. Whether his marriage is truly on the rocks or it is being done for the benefit of the cameras remains to be seen.
Jamie has become a national hero since he reinvented school food, and a knighthood cannot be far off.
Now he will reinvent off-grid cooking. A new TV show will follow Oliver on a trip round Italy in a converted camper van carrying all his kitchen kit.
It is no coincidence at all that Sainsbury’s is overhauling its Italian food range under the single banner of Simply Italian.…
If you want a high-quality, low-cost household wind turbine, go to St Petersburg. Toomas Pungas, Project Manager, ElektroSfera, explains.
Russia is the world’s biggest country. Almost 70% of it is sparsely populated. That means 70% of the country is off the grid, including European North, Siberia and the Russian Far East. Power in these regions is usually by diesel generator. Thousands of small and big diesel power plants consume 6 to 8 millions tons of fuel annually. Some of the regions are very inaccessible, and the fuel is ferried by planes and helicopters, which is wasteful and expensive. There are villages where electricity is available only a few hours a day for morning and evening milkings.
The total population of these regions is about 10 million. Annually Russian state and local budgets spend more than $3 billion to provide distant territories with fuel.
Now they have started paying more attention to wind resources.…
The Rich are meaner than you and me.
Solar power for homes is so subsidised, some high-end home owners, never afraid to take whatever handouts are going, are shifting to innovative energy practices–and not for environmental reasons.
The wealthiest American families are using geothermal heating and cooling systems; efficient wind turbines make it a breeze to generate electricity.
“Some of our high-end clients literally never see their energy bills,” says Steven J. Strong, president of Solar Design Associates in Harvard, Mass. “They are putting a higher value on having more control over their energy destiny. This is a hedge against uncertainty.”…
This is a REAL HOUSE! If you know the locations of any like it, please email us (news@off-grid.net)
They are called Futuro Houses — designed by a leading Finnish architect, but no longer in production. They were manufactured around the world.
Off-Grid is delighted to assist in the mission to find remaining examples of these rare and beautiful structures. The Off-Grid team want one for an office and to live in.
Rick Pisani of Futuro House, takes up the story: In 1965 Dr. Jaakko Hildenkari asked the Finish architect Matti Suuronen to design a sky cabin. Ploykem Ltd. of Helsinki, Finland began producing the final design in March 1968. …
The Alpujarra with a Difference is a truly off-grid multi-activity rural retreat based at a secluded farm 5,403ft above sea level in the Sierra Nevada Natural Park. In the high Alpujarra, rush hour is a herd of goats! Off-Grid have negotiated a 10% discount on the published tarriff. Just mention us when you book.
Water is from two springs which are fed from snow melt on the mountains. Hot water is heated by solar panels. Power is from solar panels converted to 220 volts by an inverter. In the winter hot water is backed up by butane gas and power by a generator. Effluent is via septic tanks.
The chalets sleep four and cost 500 a week in high season. The discount applies to room only. British hotel owners specialise in catering for walkers, runners, ornithologists, horse riders, and athletes seeking high-altitude training.…
Wild Camping puts the free into freedom. From Chicago to the Lake District, from the Rockies to Rouen, whether you want to sleep in a cave or in the more traditional tent, wild camping is the best way to see the world — when the weather’s good.
Lower down the page, Simon Willis tells you how to get started and where to go in the UK. And Climb365 web site tells you all about interpreting the weather and knowing what to carry and where to camp as a result …… essential to your enjoyment.
And wherever you go you need to know the local laws and customs as regards pitching your tent in any quiet spot that takes your fancy. …
There is a sense of purpose and accomplishment that comes from living off-grid, whether you are in a motorhome or a backwoods cabin. Being food and energy self-sufficient, not being affected if the area has a power outage, no utility bills…..
Lest some think it’s a problem-free idyllic life, be aware that when grid support is removed, and you are the primary repairman for a variety of systems, there can be many trials of character, and marriage.
The following links are a few off-grid articles and diaries of folks who walk the walk, and live off-grid. We will carry others in future stories…
BBC Radio had a great dive into the archives tonight (Saturday), with a show about our past visions of the Future House.
From the 1970s it featured the first well-developed idea for an off-grid home — The Autonomous House designed by Brenda and Robert Vale. And from the 80s – Biosphere 2. Both were off-grid ideas that were ahead of their time. The Vale’s ideas are just coming to fruition all over the US and the UK
Jules Dervaes and his family who live an almost completely self-sufficient life are about to be featured by the New York Times, with their own video on the newspaper’s web site.…
Presenter of new BBC2 eco-series gives us a sneak preview…
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