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- People ·
Abuso fuera de la red
La historia impactante de Tara Westover, que cuenta en su libro de memorias recientemente publicado ‘Educated’ arroja una sombra inmerecida sobre las familias fuera de…
Lidiar con la Burocracia
<a href=”https://off-grid.net/dealing-with-bureaucracy/feds-attack-rancher/” rel=”attachment wp-att-59153″><img class=”size-full wp-image-59153″ src=”https://off-grid.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/feds-attack-rancher.jpg” alt=”Feds attack Rancher” width=”444″ height=”274″ /></a> Not only in Nevada La vida fuera de la red y la…
Barn shaped blueberry
Laura and Rory’s barn shaped blueberry tiny home, they designed it themselves, I love the little touches that makes it theirs. With clever ideas, they…
Uninvited guests
They are back, the uninvited guests who arrive as soon as the weather turns warm enough. I’m talking about bugs, insects and arachnids. In the…
Keeping your cool
It’s hot here in the desert, but it’s dry heat (as they like to say), this is the time of the year when it gets…
Stealth camper van
Living out of a van, for some that would sound like a nightmare, for others, a dream come true. To happily live in a van,…
Go away mosquito!
Is Zika a real problem, is it a man made disease, or is it just a smokescreen to deflect our attention somewhere else? I don’t…
It’s not illegal to DIY
When I was a kid, electronics and appliances came ready for the end user to repair when necessary, radios and TVs had vacuum tube that…
A woman living off-grid
As a woman living off-grid, I can speak definitively about this. But apparently I’m not the average woman. Many women I speak to, they tend…
Life updates in west Texas
Things have been going pretty well here in the SkyCastle, summer is definitely knocking, warm to hot days, cool to cold nights… The rainy season…
Solar panels Suspected cause of Fire
A spate of reports across the world pinpoint faulty solar installations as the cause of serious house fires. Badly installed isolators are just one of…
Root cellars
With spring in the air, summer right around the corner, many of our gardens are booming with lots of produce, much of it we eat…
Cheap wood burning stove kit
I know it’s spring going into summer for most of us, but winter is coming, I am always on the lookout for other ways to…
Modern old school wind power
Wind power, here in the US and other countries, we use wind power on small and large scale, mostly to generate electricity, but the…
Motivation
There are many things that motivate us, motivation is neither positive or negative, though many think of it as a positive thing, but it isn’t…
- People ·
Off-Grid Congressman
Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie lives off the grid with his family, on a cattle farm in a solar-powered home he built himself. He commutes to…
Strawbale gardening dangerous?
I have always loved the idea of using straw or hay, lots of it in my garden as a thick mulch, I follow the Ruth…
Hunting in the evening
I went hunting tonight, my quarry is small and hard to find, unless you have the right equipment. I only bagged one this evening, it…
Updates on the SkyCastle
Building up and across is what PB (Primitive Bob) likes to do, here is an update on 2 of his projects, works in progress, or…
Montana retreat near Canadian border
If you want to unplug and enjoy the breathtaking scenery that Montana has to offer, head to The North Fork. Located only a mile from…
She built this
It’s said that necessity is the mother of invention, well this mom and her three young kids were very much in need of a place…
Will it become illegal to live in a tiny home?
There has been a lot of chatter on the internet about upcoming (potential) changes in HUD regulations about tiny homes and RVs in the USA.…
Living underground? It’s complicated
Going underground using 2 shipping containers, sure you could just dig a hole, plop them in and backfill, but that isn’t going to last very…
What are you waiting for?
I hear so many folk saying what they’d like to be doing, they want to go off-grid, they want to be more self sustainable, they…
Beth’s van conversion
Vandwelling is an interesting way to live, having your home and your vehicle all in one, this lady converted her van into a home herself,…
Making a tree sanctuary
Shelli Stanback didn’t just want to write checks to worthy causes that help preserve our natural world or promote a healthier future. “It’s a different…
Mobile homeless
I write quite a bit about tiny homes, both on and off wheels, many choose to live this lifestyle in tiny accommodations, some of the…
Off-Grid Festival 2016
A unique festival that teaches us How to live “Off-Grid” and in “harmony with our environment” Off-Grid festival is an green gem of a family…
- Water ·
Taxing rainwater in the dry west US
What will they think of next? Western water law means collecting rainwater was legal only a few years ago in some states. Now Colorado is…
Going Off-Grid – Jump, Run or Walk
By Dovely from cherrylovefarmm.com Figuring out how to get from where you are to that sustainable garden of Eden can be daunting. We would all…
What is it? Look to find out…
Kind of cabin, kind of small house, kind of cave-underground home, this house has it all. I love the color concepts and the design of…
- Energy ·
German Energy Industry in Painful Transition
Handelsblatt Global Edition Germany’s massive push into renewable energy has a dark side. As green policies drive up the cost of power, entire industries are…
- Land ·
Buy a town in Southern Nevada
There’s an entire town on the market in rural Southern Nevada; Before the economy crashed there was a queue of buyers. Senate Minority Leader Harry…
Hobbit house vs high tech underground homes
These two videos demonstrate the vast differences you can get in an underground home, personally I prefer the more rustic home, I don’t think I…
Small is the new large
Since moving off-grid, many of my day to day things have had to be downsized, my fridge for one, I went from having a full…
Veg-oil powered bus
“Buses convert really well to motor homes…” says Jade, a builder who transformed a school bus into his beautiful home on wheels. The first thing…
Welcome
Looking for ways to get involved? or Looking to start your own off-grid community? Check out some of our features to get you started… Post…
Tiny home for less than $500
Here is one of the tiniest tiny homes I’ve seen to date, coming in at 83 square feet, it’s 8X12 feet, but the high ceiling…
Blog update and family visit
This week has been a really good one, work is picking up after our slow down that happens during the holidays, I got my original…
Solar thermal pool heater
Imagine stepping out of your tiny off-grid home and diving into a large, warm swimming pool. Yes, the millionaire lifestyle but for only a few…
To upgrade, or not to upgrade, that is the Windows question
Privacy, it’s something we all appreciate, those of us who live on the edge of society, ie living off-grid, we really look for ways to…
Gravel vac Bobbage
I seriously considered using a title that said something like “my hubby sucks”, but honestly I don’t need to hype what he does, he is…
- Urban ·
off-grid living is good for your skin
Pollution is waging war on your complexion, new research shows. While our bodies are getting younger from careful eating and better exercise, our skin is…
Humor, off-grid
Living off-grid, much of our entertainment is self generated, in other words, we crack ourselves up :) A couple of days ago, this conversation could…
Solar Power Co Scoops $1.5M Zayed Future Energy Prize
A solar company has won the prestigious Zayed Future Energy Prize for its work in bringing electricity to power-starved areas of Tanzania which currently rely…
Spring is near
Spring is just around the corner, I am noticing the oak trees, which keep their leaves all winter long, are beginning to turn, they fall…
Is it too late?
What are your skills? Everyone has something they can do and do well, something that you enjoy doing, hopefully you are making your living doing…
Half track, full genius
The last couple of weeks, PB has been watching lots of track wheel vehicle videos on YouTube, I just thought he was on another rabbit…
High end tiny house
Most of the tiny homes I have seen are built on a tight budget, this one was built with more high end features in mind,…
Nassau plans energy independence
Microgrids to make small town self sufficient
- People ·
Floating fortress suffers solar burnout
This huge floating fortress of sustainable living, off the coast of Vancouver Island British Columbia has inspired many to follow a sustainable life. Wayne Adams,…
Would you live in a yurt?
In the next town over from where I live, quite close, nearly in town, there is a yurt on a hillside, I don’t know who…
- People ·
Jean’s Yurt
Another in our series of photos by Beth Bicknell. Jean’s yurt was possible one of the most cosy, exquisite structures Beth visited. A yurt she’s…
Three things this week
First thing, as I sit here tonight, sipping herbal tea that tastes like a sugar cookie, it’s quite a different night from last night, for…
Off-Grid crock pot
I love the idea of cooking low and slow, but being off-grid means I don’t have the electricity to spare to run an electric crock…
- People ·
Bob’s Van
Bob is a blacksmith living in a van within wooded area owned by friends, just outside of a small village in Mid Wales. He’s lived…
What does your wood stove say?
If your wood burning stove could talk, what would it say to you? Is it happy with the way you load it? Is it happy…
What’s your backup plan?
It used to be that big storms caught us by surprise, now it seems that more and more we have several days up to a…
Living in a greenhouse
I’m sure I’m not the only person who ever wondered how it would be to build a greenhouse around your house, these folk in Stockholm…
Airbnb’s hottest properties – yes, they are off-grid
Airbnb has just released it’s 10 most wished-for properties on the vacation web site. Quirky, unique properties are most in demand. Four out of the…
He was my inspiration
I grew up in a family that did things together, we didn’t have the money to spend on vacations or trips, but we always ate…
- People ·
Pro-Snowboarder builds Tiny Home
Mike Basich was earning $170,000 a year, travelling the world to compete in international snowboarding championships and living in a 4,000 square foot home. Ten…
- Events ·
WIN A COPY OF “OFF THE GRID”
Do you have great pictures of your Off-Grid cabin, shack, trailer…. or somebody else’s that you happened to be visiting? Now is your opportunity to…
Iron age reality show
The original reality show, filmed in 1978, 12 adults and 3 children were chosen from around 1000 volunteers to live in the “iron age”, they…
No debt
As I watched this video, listening to Karen and Bob describing their life in the home they built themselves, the one phrase that really jumped…
Off-grid community in Leipzig
Sustainability and pursuing the eco dream is no easy feat when living in the heart of a major European city. High rents, cramped living, pollution,…
- Events ·
Off-Grid girl on American Idol
All the way from a remote mountaintop 6 miles from Crawford CO, Jeneve Rose Mitchell didn’t think she was ready to take her small-town voice…
Loneliness and the Off-Grid Dream
In 2011, Sylvain Tesson left his home in Paris for a 6 month stay, on his own, on the edge of Lake Baikal. He stayed…
- Energy ·
Harness your own kinetic energy
Ampy’s Move harnesses your own body energy and pumps it back into your cellphone or any other device. Checking the expected battery life of any…
School teacher’s tiny home build
When I was a little girl, my dad had converted our single car wide garage in our home into a dining room on one end…
Freezing week
A great deal of the USA went through a major deep freeze, we were not spared here in far west Texas. We got dumped on…
- Energy ·
Florida: People vs. Utilities
A battle is developing in Florida between the solar power movement, and some of the most venal and vindictive utility companies in America. At stake is the…
Montana Music Man
Greg Grant, born in New York, has spent the last 21 years living in his self-built off-grid home in Montana. In this clip we interview…
Chopping and stacking wood
Chopping and stacking wood is a pastime where the world makes sense once more. Because our relationship to fire is so ancient, so universal, in…
- Land ·
Cold War launch center for auction on Ebay
There are silos and missile bunkers for sale all over the USA, but California investor Russ Nielsen can assure you that the hardest work is…
- Energy ·
Queensland farmers battle “Ergon rip-off”
State-owned energy companies in Australia are gouging their captive market – farmers and companies that depend on energy to make their profits – and employ…
- Energy ·
Putting the Pee into PC
A new form of recycling is about to hit Silicon Valley. The eco-friendly technology uses urine to power a computer. The technology is the next…
Why young people are moving to canals
The freedom and tranquil bliss of canal networks are attracting young people to take up a transient life on the water. With a comfortable, live-on-board…
Do you see what I see?
There are many things we can live without and still do pretty well, but eyesight isn’t one of them. I know there are many folk…
- Land ·
South Dakota ghost town – ideal for staging off-grid reality show
The South Dakota ghost town of Swett is once again for sale, and this time the asking price is a lot cheaper. Swett in the…
Heat my Homestead
There are many ways of staying warm in your off-grid home without the aid of the sun. Here are some tips on how to keep…
- Mobile ·
Handy gadgets for your bug-out bag
Its vacation time – and here we are – on the road again…and wanting to travel light. We thought we would share with you a…
Rainwater Harvesting: Global Storming – Bring it on
Installing a Rainwater Harvesting System (RHS) could be a major step in achieving your ideal, eco-friendly home. You could be collecting your own water through…
A post-consumerist speaks: I HAD IT WITH THE MAN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INDPFCztnaI Amanda Gang is weary of consumerism – appalled at the way her own parents are such avid shoppers. She just wants out. so she…
Free energy
A few years before we moved off-grid, I had discovered an energy drink that I liked and worked, it was 5 Hour Energy, I didn’t…
- People ·
Brad Pitt’s latest role: a smart off-gridder
Brad Pitt is the smartest man in Hollywood, says the Toronto Globe and Mail. You may scoff, but it’s true. Not many actor-producers could have…
Slab City – American Dream Deserted
Off-Grid living is the American Dream manifest: “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. For the residents of Slab City, an encampment in the Sonoran…
- Events ·
National Grid fined $3m for allowing boy’s death
UK Utility company National Grid has been fined $3m (£2m) after safety failings caused a young boy’s canal death. National Grid owns a huge swathe…
Blustery December
Winter is officially here, we have had a few hard freezes, it even snowed a bit the other day, fortunately the snow and other weather…
Carolyn Chute living in the woods – she couldn’t be happier
Catch our video visiting one of America’s greatest living novelists as she does her daily chores the Maine backwoods? She just doesn’t trust the system…
Cabin Porn – the official book
You loved the Cabin Porn web site – now Buy the book from Amazon US. Its amazing how Tiny Homes in general and remote cabins…
Learn to love what you already have
Going off-grid also means living in a simpler manner, learning to be free. In this article we’ll give you tips on how to love what…
- Events ·
Power to the people says Jeremy Corbyn
UK Labor Leader comes out for Distributed Power Says Britain must empower citizen suppliers and direct private investment into green technology “This week world leaders…
Home & Away star goes off the grid
Home and Away’s Lisa Gormley is in the middle of building an off-the-grid eco cabin in the Tasmanian rainforest. She is looking forward to spending…
Interview: Remote, exurban homesteaders in Alaska
Mark Zeiger has been living with his family in an off-grid homestead in Alaska for over a decade . This is episode 2 of our…
Eviction Notice for Amish Family Living Without Electricity
An Amish family in Wisconsin woke up one morning last week with an eviction notice on their front door. It was for refusing to fit…
Experience a Tiny House – No Strings Attached
Perhaps you’ve thought about ditching the concept of the traditional house and living a full off-grid experience, in a tiny home? But you haven’t…
Replacing our 12 volt water pump
Most of the time, items are replaced when they fail, break or quit working. We decided to get a jump on replacing a critical piece…
Cutting your Carbon Footprint
Suppose you believe that man-made Carbon emissions are bad for the planet. What do you do about it? Some eminent experts say that individuals can…
Printable Solar Cells
The Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium in Australia has started to showcase solar cells made with a 3D printer. According to Fiona Scholes, senior examination…