Filing cabinet smoker

  I’ve seen some ingenious peeps on FaceBook and YouTube, this has to be in the top 10 of cool DIY, have you seen the…

Living in small camper vans

I am learning more and more about people who live nomadic lives, driving and living in smaller camper vans rather than buying into the larger…

Why be debt free?

Why is it so important to be debt free when you go off-grid? I can answer that because I’m living it and reaping the benefits…

Big guy, tiny home

When Joel Fleck moved home to after college, he wanted his own place, but he didn’t want to pay the steep Sonoma County rents, so…

Tiny home, big amenities

This tiny home on wheels packs real stairs, not a ladder, 2 lofts and a tub bath, things you don’t normally find in a tiny…

Friends in small places

Welcome To “Bestie Row”: Lifelong Friends Build Row Of Tiny Houses In The Middle Of Nowhere. Some friendships last forever. You hear of lifelong friends…

Apocalypse Then

* Hundreds of survivalists and ‘Preppers’ gathered in Salt Lake City last weekend to forestall the Apocalypse * Shown underground bunkers, tactical weapons and an…

Castle de-fence

  Well, more like a gate, it is part of the defense, I don’t expect anyone to really charge the door, they would have to…

I finally got it!

Actually got it last week, it was sent out a month ago from the UK, it arrived in Chicago and took a long rest, must…
Internet of things is anti-people

The Coming of Post-Industrial Society

In 1973, the American sociologist Daniel Bell, in his book, The Coming of the Post Industrial Society predicted that advanced societies would change from being…
Viggo Mortensen interview explaining his secret life off the grid

Backwoods past of Movie Star

Actor Viggo Mortensen recalls his favourite filming locations are “the outdoors and natural landscapes, so there are places in New Zealand, particularly the South Island…

Magna Carta Village eviction threat

Residents of the Runnymede Eco-village, next to the site hosting the 800th anniversary celebrations this June, won a court battle yesterday to delay their eviction…

Oogoo

As frugal and creative off-gridders, we are always on the lookout for good DIY projects, recently I “discovered” a product that can be made with…
Fraudlent gains of banking industry will never be repaid

Stop Thief!

I’ve been robbed! I‘ve been robbed by the banksters and the police and the government. They conspired together to brush aside the compelling evidence of…

Whose Land Is It Anyway?

As the West prepares to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta – the cornerstone of our civil liberties – a small eco-village is…

Solar system balancing act

Life with a small solar system is a balancing act. We have lived 8+ years now with our small solar system, tweaking it, adding to…

DIY as much as possible

…and truck update. A few weeks ago, I had a chance encounter with an elk, an animal of much height, girth and weight. After looking…

Laura Ling Launches New Web Series

Laura Ling is producing and hosting a new series called ‘Going Off-Grid.’ It highlights people who have decided to disconnect from the everyday world. In…

Microgrid trade fair, Barcelona

(PRWEB) – Microgrid technology developers and business leaders from around the world will gather in Barcelona, Spain, May 19-21, 2015, for the Microgrid World Congress…

Keyhole garden

It’s so nearly spring, I am itching to get out and do some gardening, I’ve been getting seed catalogs, the siren song of the gardener.…

Free calls and wi-fi – forever

If you are not paying rent or a mortgage then your cellphone bill is your biggest expense, right? Wrong. Remember the early days of Internet…

A wonderful off-grid couple

There are many off the grid tutorial videos about nearly anything having to do with off-grid life, there are a precious few about the people…

Mobile living

A few months ago, a long lost friend appeared back in my life, a friend I knew when I was an early teen but lost…

On demand water heater

There are a few needs, requirements for life, food, water, shelter, once those basic requirements are met, after that come the things that make life…

Show the Love for Valentine’s Day

Stars including Stephen Fry, David Harewood, Dermot O’Leary, Jarvis Cocker and Emilia Fox are spearheading a new global environmental campaign. Together with over 100 organisations…

49 Raw Food Recipes

50 Raw Food Recipes By Audrey & Matt You may: – already be following a raw food diet (100% or less) – know about raw…

Fantasy castle on wheels

When I first saw this, I wondered how interesting this might be, then I watched the video, I’m blown away, so is PB, he was…

Squeezing the photons

Squeezing those photons, that’s what I call it when we don’t have much power. Our solar system is small, and most of the time, it…

Snow on the Sky Castle

One of the things I enjoy about the area where we live is we get all kinds of weather, even some extremes, but none of…

Vince’s not so tiny home

Vince took a page from LaMar Alexander’s book and videos and built his own semi-small house, by most standards this is a small home,  measuring…
Off-Grid Undertaker Don Byrne works on a hand-made pine coffin in his outdoor studio on a 32-acre homestead in Bear Creek, N.C. Byrne lives off the grid, with no electricity and running water. In the background is his son, Niko, 4. He builds the coffins with antique hand tools, selling them for about $875 to $1,000 to people who want a simple, ``green'' burial.

Off-Grid Undertaker

Anti-consumerist pioneer, Duke University grad, walks away from middle class life to live the simple life in a 12x12 cabin

Mobile Nuclear inevitable

Mobile nuclear power generators could become a viable energy source in the future. Earlier this week Mississauga, Canada-based Terrestrial Energy signed a collaboration agreement with…
Rob Greenfield from San Diego purchases 'house' measuring 5ft by 10ft

Campaigner moves to tiny home

* Rob Greenfield from San Diego purchases ‘house’ measuring 5ft by 10ft * The environmental activist will live in the 50sq foot box for the…

500 square feet

500 square feet, for some, that’s a decent walk in closet, but not for this couple, Robert Cole and his partner Kelly Casthena, they live…

Water and Energy shedding

We know all about load shedding and we’ve been warned about water shedding. So what do we do about it? According to rainwater harvesting specialist…
Chinese model poses nbext to BYD Hybrid - the Prius-killer

BYD gets into V2G

The name tells you everything – Chinese vehicle company BYD – it stands for Build Your Dreams – has embraced V2G – Vehicle to Grid…

Deep winter for the Sky Castle

This is our 8th year living out here, we have fallen into a comfortable routine, the summers have its advantages, longer days, warm weather (cool…

Vandwelling

Modern technology, we have shunned much of it, but sometimes it’s a great thing to have around, the internet, FaceBook and the such, these things…
India, yurt vacation, unplugged,

Indian getaways

. Here’s some ideas about where you could holiday off the grid in India… MARITIME ADVENTURE Sunbathe on pristine-white sand beaches, hunt for seashells and…

Alternative uses for Reflectix

I’ve been seeing this material called Reflectix, it’s basically bubblewrap encased in aluminized mylar on both sides, it has insulative properties. It was originally created…

Wish list

Everyone has a wish list, right? Although one of the secrets to happiness is being contented with what you have, you can still wish for…

New Slow City by William Powers

The Slow Movement is slowly becoming mainstream. Several years ago, William (Bill) Powers, after a decade in international aid work, embarked upon an experiment. He…

Living in a shed? Why not?

Food, water and shelter are 3 of the main requirements to live, today we will talk about shelter, your home. Many of us don’t have…

It’s been 8 years now…

This week, we have many things to be thankful for, Christmas is fast approaching, we are healthy, there is food in the fridge and on…

Roswell Bunker for sale

ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — An underground missile silo is currently one of New Mexico’s hottest real estate properties. More than 40 people, some from out…

Fugitive Family

The Irish Times reports on an American family being featured on Channel 4 TV tonight. They have spent the last 14 years living in isolation…

Off-Grid in Terlingua TX

I remember, shortly after we moved to our off-grid life in far west Texas, one day we had the radio playing, we could only get…

Small town politics

You have found the perfect piece of land, it’s out in a rural area, you don’t have many neighbors, as time goes by you get…

Kodiak Power pack

Going out and about for a few days or living full-time away from Utilities, the Kodiak box from Outdoor Technology is one of the better…

Mixing different solar panels

Like many people starting out going off-grid, your pocketbook is being pulled in many different directions, so you buy a few solar panels to get…
Bristol group want to take themselves off the grid

UK Surf Centre to go off-grid

A SURF centre in Easter Compton near Bristol is launching a £150,000 crowdfunding campaign that will help fund some of the site’s sustainability plans. The…

Competition for off-grid ideas

WWF South Africa is hoping for more entries into its annual Climate Solver Awards. The competition is a chance to show off innovative technologies geared…

The beginning…

Spring 2007 “What do you think?” PB asked with a hopeful look on his face. “What about your job? Our families? Your kids were born…

A solar bus home

I have a great love for small homes and portable homes, many of the DIY bus conversion homes are pretty good, but this one is…

Waste oil heaters

Winter is here, all the way down here in far west Texas, tonight it will get down into the low 20s(F), definitely wood stove fire…

How to grow a Sky Castle

Ever wonder how a sky castle grows? One room at a time :) In this case, this “room” was a semi enclosed deck between the…

It’s not too soon…

October is gone, November is here, it’s getting dark earlier (for those of us in the Northern hemisphere), it’s getting cold…. it’s also getting closer…

Buying your own land

Buying land, it’s something you will be doing if you want to homestead or go off-grid on your own. Personally I wouldn’t want to “go…

Off-Grid guests

Moving to and setting up your off-grid home, it’s most likely in an out of the way, rural, scenic spot, a place that is often…

Living in a Fire Truck

Forester Simon Danant started living in his 1980s Bedford truck last summer. Its a former Army fire engine. He moves it around Cambridgeshire, living behind…