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- Work ·
Hemp – key off-grid industry, USA & global events 2018
Hemp is Hot! It is going to be a busy 2018 for Cannabis expos and conferences domestically and internationally. Below is a running list of…
How to Make a Great Campfire – Easily
Going camping is a fantastic way to relax and unwind. And it’s a first step towards a life off the grid. Its an activity you…
Come out of her! Seeking Christian Woman for Wife, and Friends
Lord God Almighty Bless your soul, and strengthen you up, gird yourself up and come on. Its getting late. I know what to do…. I…
- Water ·
Raw Water – big money – but should we take it?
It’s called water consciousness – a movement of people who drink unfiltered, unsterilised spring water and even rain water. Why? Well, for the supposed health…
Merry Pranksters go Off-Grid and try to Eat Free
Ben and Danny (pictured) are two of the merriest pranksters on the green scene. They have been spending some time in London and kindly agreed…
- Urban ·
Teri Hatcher living in a van for her YouTube series
In a great piece of self-promotion, actress Teri Hatcher first encouraged and then denied the story that she was down and out and living in…
- Food ·
Food, not supplements
Food comes after water in the hierarchy of the things you need to sustain life off-grid. First Water, then Food, then Fire, then Shelter, although…
- People ·
Tara Westover – Off-grid abuse
The shocking story of Tara Westover which she tells in her recently published memoir ‘Educated’ casts an undeserved shadow on off-grid-families and their ways of…
¡Comunidad Francesa necesita un nuevo líder!
¿Te gustaría experimentar las montañas francesas viviendo en nuestra comuna? ¿Te ves viviendo en una sociedad inclusiva y creativa? ¡Ven a colaborar con nosotros! Tu…
- Water ·
Zero Mass Water
A regular supply of drinking water is the holy grail for off-grid living. If you can get a bare minimum of water and heating of…
- Energy ·
The House with No Bills
An Australian housebuilder has launched a search for a family to live in its prototype Home with No Energy Bills. Mirvac is building the house…
Three Rivers
FIRST there were the propane lamps. Then came wind turbines, followed by solar panels that powered William Shay’s off-the-grid vacation home overlooking Lake Billy Chinook.…
It doesn’t feel like a sacrifice
After finishing school, Jocelyn and Jarvis had $96,000 of debt from student loans, credit cards, and buying a small rural property. This is the story…
- Energy ·
River mobile battery
Backup batteries? Got ’em. Mobile charging stations? Check. But I need a mobile battery that will keep my beer cold and charge my phone and…
- Land ·
Millonario fuera de la red renta su casa de Hawaii en AirBnB
Cada navidad, Graham Hill experto en tecnología vuela a Hawaii donde al principio se hospedaba en lugares pequeños como en un cabaña en Maui y…
- Land ·
Vamos a Ecuador
Me estoy mudando a Ecuador y tengo dinero para comprar tierras, pero quiero dividirme con personas de ideas afines.Las personas que respetan a la Tierra…
Artist Within a World
This amazing 360 degree work (only a part shown) by van-dwelling artist Emily Lamb is the product of her time in jungles and mountains around…
Water glass eggs?
One of the things that some of my neighbors have done when moving out to the country is get chickens, some do it for the…
Elk encounter 3 years later
Those who have followed me for a few years should remember my elk encounter from about three years ago, it did quite a bit…
10 years later…
It was 10 years ago on December 22 when PB and I (and our little chihuahua Pekoe) pulled up on our property, it was 3:30…
- Events ·
El Cáñamo esta caliente
¡El cáñamo está caliente! Va a ser un ajetreado 2018 para exposiciones y conferencias de Cannabis a nivel nacional e internacional. A continuación se muestra…
East Jesus
I think most everyone is familiar with “Slab City”, an abandoned military base in the Sonoran desert in California. This desolate place is a favored…
A day in the emergency room
I spent today in the emergency room, not for me, but for a friend. I had gone to church and found out my friend had…
- Land ·
Alone in the Peruvian Desert
Although every place on this planet is unique in its own way, Peru manages to stand out above the crowd because of its many natural…
Van life in Vancouver
Wow, that is my first thought about Atli and how she lives! She is a part-time bus driver, she can afford to work part time…
Privacy? They are listening
I grew up in the time when cable TV boxes were supposed to have a camera or at the very least a microphone inside so…
Stealth camping in the city
Most of the people I know of who live in their vans or other vehicles are travelers, they camp, they don’t tend to live in…
- Water ·
Great Barrier Reef – Coral Spawning
The world’s biggest living organism, the Great Barrier Reef, has held its annual Coral Spawning event, with trillions of eggs and sperm simultaneously releasing into…
Stealth van build and tour
Could you live in a van? I could if I had this one, it’s designed to be a “stealth van”, it has loads of space…
- Events ·
Psy-che: Off-Grid Raves Outside Beirut
Camping is a popular outdoor activity in Lebanon, but not many would undertake it as a permanent lifestyle. Every now and then, a young and…
- Food ·
5 tips on growing strawberries
Are strawberries your favorite fruit? Want to grow them yourself at home? Here’s 5 tips on how to grow more strawberries than expected! Practice makes…
Luxury Volkner Motorhome
The Volkner mobil performance s is the future of road living. The 40ft luxury motorhome comes with all of the mod-cons you could possibly wish for.…
Fantasy cottage by the sea
Do you remember the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel? Well, if they had a house today, this would be it! Located next to the ocean…
- Food ·
Low maintenance Chickens
It’s great to rear chickens – eggs, scratchy kind of companionship, and eventually a roast bird. But should every off-grid home have a few? They…
Electro Magnetic Pulse weapon threat to USA
For years North Korea has sought to be a nuclear power. Now it is thought that the hermit nation has another weapon which could wreak havoc…
- Energy ·
EU tries to stamp out off-grid living
The European Union (EU) devotes huge resources to delivering the power grid to every nook and cranny of Europe. Brussels is on a mission to…
Ducking and diving in a van
Izzy is a vandweller somewhere in England. She chose the life as it was a way of getting an affordable home as a low paid worker. …
- Work ·
Cannabis farmers battle Emerald Triangle wildfires
Off-Grid cannabis farmers continue to struggle against engulfing wildfires which threaten to destroy their entire crop. More than 200,000 acres of fertile growing land in…
- Land ·
Adapt your home to survive a wildfire
Devastation caused by the recent wildfire outbreak in California reminds those living off-grid to maintain awareness of fire safety. Especially those who live in rural…
Are you nuts? When can we come visit?
Friends, family, most of us have them, and for most of us they play an integral part of our lives and decisions we make. Making…
Essential Crafter
There was a time when if you wanted to learn how to do something, especially a trade, you found the person with the most knowledge…
- Land ·
Perfect little fixer-upper – $13,000
It’s an historic cottage in Wales, a listed building, that will make an ideal, tiny off-grid home for someone who is very handy with DIY.…
- Energy ·
Microsoft Opens First Underwater Server Farm
Microsoft has made bold moves to achieve their goal of having 50 percent of their power usage come from renewable, sources by 2018. Microsoft has steadily…
Confessions of a off-grid granny
I cannot believe it’s October already, the days are still warm but the evenings and nights are getting cooler, it’s almost sweater weather! I am…
Aircrete!
I’m certain that most everyone reading this is familiar with using concrete for building material, there are various ways to go about using concrete, from…
Never buy grain for your chickens again!
When I picture raising chickens, it’s always free range (of course!), I see a farmer walking through a flock of hungry chooks tossing handfuls of…
30 days and it’s ready
I had so much fun watching this couple condense a 30 day conversion into a short video, as I saw each part, I thought that’s…
Internet gone!
With all of the hurricanes and wildfires going on here in the USA, we haven’t been plagued by any of those tragedies, but we have…
Karen and her Casita
I spent some time today listening to Karen describe her life and how she ended up living in a small Casita travel trailer. I am…
Empty shelves
What is the first thing to disappear off the shelves in an emergency? Water, that is the main thing I heard people on the news…
- Land ·
Maine Lighthouse for sale
If you want to truly be alone in style, check out this private island and historic lighthouse for sale in Maine. Blue Hill Bay Lighthouse…
Van living is road to freedom
“Living in a van, I can make money, be an artist, and travel three continents,” says Nathan Murphy, an accomplished amateur rock climber from Cornwall…
Eclipse Monday
I suspect that unless you are living under a really big rock, you know about the solar eclipse that will be happening on Monday. It’s…
Manual counterparts
You decide you are hungry, you get up from the couch, you pause your TV show on the way to the kitchen, you get a…
- Energy ·
Aussies shocked by energy price rises
Rising electricity prices in Queensland are forcing a soon-to-be retired single woman to become 100% energy self-sufficient, storing renewable energy onsite. Homeowner Liza Jackson is…
Living here vs there
When we left the big city, well more like the outskirts of the big city, we lived in a trailer park on the edge of…
Hitting the wall
PB and I have lived off-grid for nearly 10 years now, by Christmas this year it will be 10 years. Have you ever done something…
Healing update
On July 10, I posted about getting bit by something, probably a spider, not likely of the recluse variety based on how quickly it blew…
- Energy ·
World’s largest battery in 80 days
Tesla is teaming up with French energy company Neoen to build the world’s largest battery within 80 days in South Australia. The state has been…
Going old school batteries
The Achilles’ heel of every off-gridder has got to be the battery bank. It is generally the most expensive part of the system, especially if…
What bit me?
Being sick or injured is one of the things that you still have to deal with when living off-grid. This summer we had a lot…
Prosnowboarder’s golden ratio
It took a little over 5 years for pro snowboarder Mike Basich to build his 225 square foot off-grid cabin, the work during the winter…
- Energy ·
Never leave full batteries
I planned to install batteries to backup to the rooftop PV system and for years have had misleading advice from many sources. I always thought…
- Spirit ·
Strictly for the Birds (book review)
Birds are the constant companions to an off-grid life. Alone, in pairs, or most mesmerizingly in flocks, birds are a distraction for the eye, they…
- Land ·
Remote Cabins Threaten Norwegian Wildlife
Norwegians love to unplug once in a while — disappear from civilisation into their remote cabins. Being in contact with the nature is one of…
Cooking with the sun
There are several different ways to use the sun in cooking, aka solar cooking or solar ovens. If you live in a sunny place, the…
Huge tiny home!
This has to be the biggest tiny home I’ve seen to date, it’s 37 feet long and 8.5 feet wide, 13.5 feet tall, it weighs…
It’s solar, what could possibly go wrong?
When you are doing your own solar system, the key words here are “doing your own”, you will have to be in charge of troubleshooting…
Showering felt so good today!
When one lives off-grid, you are generally your own fix it person, not always, but often. That is certainly true for us, we designed, built…
Unlocked: Traditional Norwegian Free Huts
From ancient times, simple households and traditional huts located in rural Norway was kept unlocked, so people could seek shelter in case of bad weather.…
- Food ·
5 tips para crecer fresas
¿Las fresas son tu fruta favorita? ¿Quieres cultivarlos tú mismo en casa? ¡Aquí hay 5 consejos sobre cómo cultivar más fresas de lo esperado! No…
- Energy ·
La Crisis de Energía en Sudáfrica
Las autoridades locales en Ciudad del Cabo, Sudáfrica, enfrentan una crisis energética debido a que el robo de electricidad, las facturas impagas y el cambio…
Missing my dad on Father’s Day
Today is Father’s Day, a bittersweet day for me. My Dad was instrumental in my interest in living off-grid, as well as actually getting to…
- Energy ·
Battery costs plummet
Huge advances aimed at the Electric vehicle market are slashing battery costs, changing the way the power grid works and bringing benefits to off-grid communities…
Camper Van Featured in UK Tabloid
The Sun is featuring Nate Murphy, a Brit who decided to turn his white van into an RV in just 17 days to travel the…
Farm stay, Central Vietnam
The couple behind Phong Nha Farm stay in Vietnam shows how you can live off-grid and make good money at the same time. Australian Ben and…
- Energy ·
Black Hills Energy Cuts Renewables Payout
Last week the South Dakota Public Utilities unanimously approved a 19 per cent reduction in pay for renewables – that is the generation credit rate…
Meet Gladys
She’s burgundy, discrete, low cost and can take you wherever you want to go in comfort, well as long as you are named Dylan Magaster…
Loving Couple Caravan Adventure
Loving couple Stian Berg Larsen and Susanne Madelen Larsen are having a DOUBLE celebration – their new daughter, Aurora Louise is one month old and…
- Solar ·
South Africa Power Crisis
The local authorities in Cape Town, South Africa face a power crisis as electricity theft, unpaid bills and switching to renewable energy puts pressure on…
Modern vs retro tiny home
From ultra modern to a retro 50s look, you can have just about any look and style you wish in a tiny house. My first…
- Hispanic ·
Agua y lo que viene
¿Qué es lo primero que desaparecerá de los estantes en una emergencia? El agua, eso es lo principal que escuché decir a las personas en…
What is? What if?
I watched a man die at one of the stores where I work doing merchandising. He just fell over and died right there about 15…
SkyCastle wall and updates
The last few weeks has been quiet around the SkyCastle, spring is here, flowers are blooming, the days are warm and the nights are generally…
What are your super skills?
How do you get what you need and want if you have little or no money to buy? I assume you have some sort of…
Truck garden
Growing up I had heard of truck farms, usually small family farms, when the produce is ready, the farmer takes the produce to a farmer’s…
When snakes attack
Earlier this evening, the sun had gone down just far enough to be called dark, but we could still see. PB and I (and the…
- Urban ·
Australians realise they are overhousing themselves
Over a century ago, Australia’s 1911 census registered the average household as 4.5 persons, compared to the average today of 2.6, yet Australian homes have…
Bug season!
Duck season! Wabbit season! Does that bring back memories of the old Bugs Bunny and Daffy (along with Elmer Fudd)? I grew up watching that,…
Another brick in the wall
It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update on the SkyCastle. This is going on our 9th summer out here, we started out with…
Build your tiny home like a boat
It’s a funny thing, I had always thought people who built tiny homes, especially the portable ones did build their homes like a boat, water…
- People ·
Coolio ‘preparing to live off the grid’
American Rapper Coolio has told a newspaper he is preparing for a social collapse and plans to end his days off-grid. “I’ve acquired knowledge of…
Frugal noodle
Let’s use our frugal noodle to come up with some frugal ideas. For me personally, I’ve grown up frugally, I didn’t know or even understand…
Planting by the moon, hype or help?
I was born in 1965 so I grew up less than one generation removed from those in my family who really farmed and those who…
- Energy ·
Govt warned must transform UK national grid
A new report from think tank Green Alliance warns that the UK Government needs to help the country’s power system catch up with the growth…
- People ·
Comic Con star yearns for Bora Bora
“Stranger Things” fans gave Millie Bobby Brown — the 13-year-old breakout star of Netflix‘s sci-fi series — pure and unmitigated rock-star treatment on closing day…
- Water ·
Water from thin air
Scientists have created a device that can literally extract water from the air using solar power. Solar Water could revolutionise off-grid living which currently requires…
Is it healthier to live off-grid?
Are there health benefits to living off-grid? I’d say yes, for me there definitely are. First, I find living in a more simple manner is…
- Solar ·
Solar sheds for sale
UNITY, Maine – 11 April – For Joas Hochstetler, manager of the Amish-owned Backyard Buildings, the idea of manufacturing a solar shed equipped with solar…
No go shopping
Are you ready for no go shopping? What is no go shopping you ask? It’s when you live out in the boonies and there isn’t…