Community

Vandweller at the wheel of her vehicle

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. …
  • October 19, 2017 12:29 PM·
Controlled CA blaze creates windbreak against wildfire

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…
  • October 15, 2017 1:09 AM·

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…
  • October 12, 2017 12:59 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…
  • September 24, 2017 8:15 AM·

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…
  • September 10, 2017 4:16 AM·

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…
  • September 7, 2017 4:46 PM·

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…
  • August 27, 2017 4:06 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…
  • August 26, 2017 4:50 AM·
Red and white C19th lighthouse on island in Maine

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…
  • August 24, 2017 9:01 PM·

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…
  • August 22, 2017 8:47 AM·

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…
  • August 20, 2017 12:31 AM·

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…
  • August 13, 2017 10:22 PM·

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…
  • August 11, 2017 12:10 AM·

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…
  • August 5, 2017 3:50 PM·

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…
  • July 30, 2017 4:33 AM·

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…
  • July 28, 2017 7:16 PM·

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…
  • July 13, 2017 8:49 PM·

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…
  • July 10, 2017 8:07 PM·
Woman with large battery

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…
  • July 6, 2017 9:51 AM·

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…
  • July 3, 2017 9:42 AM·

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…
  • July 2, 2017 8:18 PM·

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…
  • June 23, 2017 11:55 PM·
Woman growing strawberries in a covered net box

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…
  • June 21, 2017 8:05 AM·

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…
  • June 21, 2017 7:50 AM·
Bloomerg New Energy Finance chart showing the falling battery costs as a per cent of Electric vehicle costs

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…
  • June 16, 2017 1:01 AM·
Surrounded by jungles and adventures.

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…
  • June 11, 2017 3:27 PM·

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…
  • June 10, 2017 6:36 PM·
Loving couple lived in a caravan for three years.

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…
  • June 9, 2017 4:37 AM·
South Africa goes off-grid

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…
  • June 8, 2017 9:08 AM·

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…
  • May 29, 2017 1:58 AM·

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…
  • May 27, 2017 4:29 PM·

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…
  • May 21, 2017 4:05 AM·

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…
  • May 13, 2017 6:04 PM·
rattlesnake

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…
  • May 7, 2017 1:41 AM·

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,…
  • April 30, 2017 6:02 AM·

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…
  • April 29, 2017 12:44 AM·
frugal

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…
  • April 21, 2017 9:13 PM·
millie bobbie brown wide smile

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…
  • April 18, 2017 3:58 PM·
Solar Water inventor Omar Yaghi in Berkeley, and his metal-organic models

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…
  • April 18, 2017 2:52 PM·
solar shed

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…
  • April 10, 2017 12:41 PM·
no go shopping

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…
  • April 9, 2017 10:07 PM·
winery self sufficient

Tasmanian Winery

Increasing number of businesses are unplugging. Tasmanian Wine label Moores Hill recently installed a multi-million-dollar on-site processing facility powered by 108 solar panels, making it the state’s…
  • April 9, 2017 9:40 PM·
bonita domes

Bonita domes

I think I have always been attracted to unconventional homes (I live in a small castle after all…), when perusing my YouTube page with all…
  • April 6, 2017 11:46 PM·
desalination, potable, cheap drinking water

DIY Desalination

Earth isn’t called the “Blue Planet” for nothing, but the majority is saltwater and therefore not immediately drinkable. Hence we need the desalination process which…
  • April 3, 2017 9:39 PM·
off-grid, desert village, platform, technology, Israel,

Experimental Tech in Desert Village

An off-grid desert village in Kibbutz Ketura, Israel is being used as a platform for tech companies and entrepreneurs to develop innovative off-grid technologies. The…
  • March 31, 2017 7:27 PM·
Prepping, prepper, survivalist, survival, off-grid, expo,

A Survivalist’s Top Prepping Tips

Last month hordes of prepping enthusiasts and survivalists turned out for the Survival Expo in Richmond, Virginia. Vendors like Preparedness Essentials were present selling prepping  products…
  • March 30, 2017 7:10 PM·
Bureaucracy attacks Rancher

Dealing with Bureaucracy

Off-Grid living and Government Bureaucracy are totally opposed to each other. Many people go off the grid just to get away from the Bureaucrats. but…
  • March 30, 2017 5:16 PM·
Sun tax, Spain, Off-grid, solar panels, tax, grid

Spain’s Sun Tax to be axed

In October 2015, Spain’s Council of Ministers approved a controversial tax on those using electricity produced by their own solar installations. However, a new government says solar…
  • March 29, 2017 10:12 AM·
Hot Springs, off-grid, water, solar, geothermal, retreat, off the beaten track

6 Hot Springs you must visit

Hot springs offer much-needed peace, quiet and relaxation. The naturally occurring, geothermally heated bliss provided in beautiful surroundings is second to none. Plus, if you…
  • March 27, 2017 10:28 AM·
Bottled Gas is a gas

Calor Gas offers up to £5,000

Bottled Gas supplier Calor Gas is offering funding of up to £5,000 for schemes that will improve life in off-grid communities. Calor Gas spokesman Paul…
  • March 25, 2017 7:39 PM·

Not in my face!

No one thinks much about flashlight etiquette but there are unwritten rules about how to use a flashlight, where to point it, when to turn it on, how to turn it on... now I have written a list of rules to help people properly use flashlights, especially in group situations.
  • March 23, 2017 1:15 AM·

Love those Tesla-lovers

Jason Hughes is a happy hacker – but not of computers – he is known for leaking Tesla’s plans ahead of the company’s actual announcements,…
  • March 22, 2017 9:35 AM·
EcoSolarCool, Refrigerator, Solar, Off-grid,

EcoSolarCool new Solar Refrigeration

  EcoSolarCool have kick-started 2017 with the release of two new Solar Refrigeration models. The new additions to the upright product line aim to minimise…
  • March 22, 2017 6:38 AM·

The trash on trash

When we lived in the city and had city services, one of the things that was taken care of with no thought at all was…
  • March 17, 2017 4:37 PM·

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