Energy

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…
  • June 21, 2016·

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…
  • June 20, 2016·

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…
  • June 17, 2016·

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…
  • June 14, 2016·

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…
  • June 11, 2016·

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,…
  • June 9, 2016·

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…
  • June 3, 2016·

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…
  • May 31, 2016·

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…
  • May 29, 2016·

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…
  • May 27, 2016·

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…
  • May 19, 2016·

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…
  • May 13, 2016·
Thomas Massie is a right wing libertarian

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…
  • May 11, 2016·

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…
  • May 5, 2016·

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…
  • April 26, 2016·

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,…
  • April 10, 2016·

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…
  • April 7, 2016·

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…
  • April 5, 2016·

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…
  • April 4, 2016·
Writer Dovely holding her baby goat

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…
  • April 2, 2016·

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…
  • March 31, 2016·

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…
  • March 24, 2016·

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…
  • March 18, 2016·

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…
  • March 16, 2016·

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…
  • March 4, 2016·

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…
  • February 28, 2016·

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…
  • February 25, 2016·

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…
  • February 21, 2016·

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…
  • February 16, 2016·

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…
  • February 12, 2016·

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,…
  • February 10, 2016·

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…
  • February 3, 2016·

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…
  • January 31, 2016·

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…
  • January 26, 2016·

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…
  • January 25, 2016·

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…
  • January 18, 2016·

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…
  • January 17, 2016·
Mike Basich - in his self built home next to the ski slopes

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…
  • January 13, 2016·
WIN A COPY OF "OFF THE GRID"  

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…
  • January 11, 2016·

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…
  • January 11, 2016·

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…
  • January 9, 2016·

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,…
  • January 8, 2016·

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…
  • January 7, 2016·
Wearable charging device that hanresses your own body movement

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…
  • January 6, 2016·

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…
  • January 2, 2016·

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…
  • December 29, 2015·

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…
  • December 29, 2015·

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…
  • December 21, 2015·

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…
  • December 20, 2015·

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…
  • December 13, 2015·

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…
  • December 10, 2015·
jeremy corbyn

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…
  • December 9, 2015·
Printable Solar Cells

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…
  • December 4, 2015·
REfugee camps are almost permanent and residents are putting down roots for a permanent off-grid life

Refugee camps are future cities

The growing number of refugees flooding into camps worldwide could drastically redraw urban areas, it has been claimed. Most camps are largely off-grid, with fires…
  • December 3, 2015·
Foraging

Foraging gifts for the family

Foraging for food sounds difficult but with these tips you will get an easy start – and soon become an expert forager. Introducing foraging into your…
  • December 1, 2015·
The trailer home of alleged killer Robert Dear who regularly had disputes with neighbors and women

The Off-Grid Killer

At first sight, Robert L Dear might seem like many thousands of other reclusive cabin-dwellers in deserted parts of America. In his late 50s, divorced,…
  • November 29, 2015·
German battery company launches scheme to sell your surplus solar energy to your neighbour

Sharing solar power in Germany

BERLIN, Nov 25 (Reuters) – German battery maker Sonnenbatterie has launched a scheme to connect households with solar panels together with their neighbours, and other consumers.…
  • November 28, 2015·

Earthship project on CNN

The divisive figure of Mike Reynolds of Earthship Biotecture, has been in the press again, this time on CNN. His company built 15 off-grid cliff-top homes in…
  • November 19, 2015·

Don’t get sick

It’s that time of the year when people stop spending so much time outside, between the cold weather and the sun going down so much…
  • November 13, 2015·

History all around me

Going off-grid for us meant moving some 500 miles west of the place where I grew up, but I am fortunate to still have a…
  • November 12, 2015·
NC Outward Bound School Veterans

Veterans forge a wild kind of peace

Relationships begun on rope courses, rock climbs and backpacking treks translate into an ease around the campfire where many US Army veterans start to talk about themselves,…
  • November 11, 2015·

Tiny home documentary

I really appreciate how tiny homes are becoming more and more mainstream as well as legal, though many still have to “get around” codes and…
  • November 6, 2015·
Home and Away star makes off-grid plans in Tasmania

Actress Lisa Gormley builds off-grid

Aussie actress Lisa Gormley is in the middle of building an off-the-grid eco cabin in the Tasmanian rainforest. The 30-year-old moved to Tasmania with her…
  • November 5, 2015·

Spy in your fridge

Individuals deserve a clearer understanding of the data that companies are collecting from the new generation of digital, connected devices, said Vinton G. Cerf, Internet…
  • November 4, 2015·

Dry flush toilet

No matter how you choose to live, off-grid, in a tent, a tiny house, a dome, everyone has to go to the bathroom. That is…
  • November 4, 2015·
off-grid in North Devon - animals make the money while you sleep

Off-Grid living on British TV

Channel 5, the smallest UK channel, is featuring a British off-grid family next month as part of a series which usually visits pioneers around the world. The show…
  • November 1, 2015·

Knights Hospitaller

The fall and winter holidays are here, we just went through the first one, Halloween, it’s not something I have been really big on celebrating,…
  • October 31, 2015·
UK commune siuccess story - Windosr Hill Wood leader Tobias Jones

Freedom through Community

Tobias Jones is a co-founder of Windsor Hill Wood community in Somerset. His book about his community, Buy “A Place of Refuge” from Amazon UK,…
  • October 30, 2015·

Life in a small community

We are back on track now, after last week’s rain deluge, our little community really pulled together to help all of us. This is one…
  • October 17, 2015·
Company with largest corruption fine in history is caught out again

Siemens NY power plant false claims

In an echo of the VW emissions scandal, a Siemens power plant paid for entirely with public money was built on the basis of false claims about its energy…
  • October 11, 2015·

Stuck in for 3 days

Earlier this week, I only worked Monday and Tuesday, I had an unexpected “vacation” after that. On my way home Tuesday, I passed through a…
  • October 9, 2015·

OPSEC

Just how much can you divulge? How much should you divulge? You want to be more prepared, you have become more prepared, you have a…
  • October 7, 2015·

Homesteading with a family

Winter is just around the corner, I’m sitting here tonight, with drops of rain falling on the roof, it’s a chilly 55 degrees F outside,…
  • October 3, 2015·
Escape to Crete - container living

Sold up and gone to Crete

Artist and carpenter Julienne Dolphin Wilding has recently sold her flat in Kings Cross and bought land in Crete. She shipped out all her possessions…
  • October 2, 2015·

Must have fire

Here is another Bobbage project, we have a semi-enclosed deck space between the bedroom and the laundry room or whatever that room is this week…
  • September 27, 2015·

Wife, me and tea tiny home

Tiny homes are all the rage today, once built, you have to find appliances and furniture to fit those small spaces, and you must utilize…
  • September 24, 2015·

Two flats in three days

Two flat tires in 3 days, what are the odds? Well for me, apparently, pretty good. I was planning on buying new tires in the…
  • September 12, 2015·
Elaine seated in her permaculture garden

Australian off-grid hero

Go back a few years and the media loved to laugh at people who went off the grid. Increasingly journalists wish they could be doing it…
  • September 10, 2015·

Unplugged Nation review

As a couple, PB and I have lived 100% off-grid since Dec 22, 2007, we have lived pretty rough, doing everything ourselves on a very…
  • September 1, 2015·

Updates in western Texas

Lately I have been working like a mad woman, and I’m not complaining, much ;), I would like to have a little more time around…
  • August 29, 2015·

Backup plan for internet

What’s your backup plan? Do you have one? I hope so, everyone needs one no matter where or how they live. Today I’ll discuss communication.…
  • August 14, 2015·

Tiny home documentary

Most of the tiny home videos I find tend to be snippets, showing a 15 minute (on average) slice of life in a tiny home,…
  • August 12, 2015·

Here I am

  My dream, it’s something I have had more or less since I was a very little girl, I’ve always loved nature, wild places, as…
  • August 8, 2015·

The Lilypad

The Lilypad, love the name, love the home, it’s one of the cutest tiny homes I’ve seen, I know I say that a lot, but…
  • August 4, 2015·

What are you doing?

Where do you see yourself next week, next month, next year, in a decade? Are you actively planning your life or are you merely floating…
  • July 28, 2015·
Clean a dog or a fish or yourself

A Shower in a box

If you need a portable shower, or a way of cleaning food or dishes – or even dogs – on the move, RinseKit is a portable,…
  • July 23, 2015·

Arvo off-grid

Arvo Thompson went from wanting to live off-grid to actually doing it, a step that sadly, not enough people actually do. He has been living…
  • July 16, 2015·
Sandfire Resources, DeGrussa Copper Mine

Huge copper mine goes off the grid

Increasingly it is big business that is taking a leaf from the off-grid philosophy. Australia’s largest integrated off-the-grid solar power system will be up and…
  • July 15, 2015·

Budget solar install

I love seeing how other people do their solar systems, especially those who create and maintain their systems on a shoestring budget, which is how…
  • July 14, 2015·

Freezers and fridges in Africa

One of South Africa’s largest producers of household appliances has announced plans to offer solar powered fridges and freezers to 600 million low-income African families.…
  • July 8, 2015·

Water issues

Living in our little rural community in the mountains, we don’t have many choices for over the air radio stations, the mountains block most if…
  • July 7, 2015·

What is “off-grid”?

“How can you be off-grid and be on the internet?” “You use propane, that’s not off-grid…” “You go to the grocery store to buy food,…
  • July 2, 2015·

And the pressure is on

Pressure cookers that is, yesterday while surfing the internet, I ran across an article on Mother Earth News about cooking with pressure cookers. It reminded…
  • June 29, 2015·

Happy Fathers Day

Today is a bittersweet day for me, it’s Fathers Day AND it’s my mother’s birthday, both of my parents are deceased, my mother many years…
  • June 21, 2015·
Pope Francis surrounded by crowds, but fails to recognise the population issue

Blatant Flaw in Papal Eco-Encyclical

*Humble Pope Blasts Market Economy *Adds Voice to Man-made Warming Arguments *But Fails to Address Contraception *Birth Control and Population Limits Not on Agenda ROME—…
  • June 19, 2015·

Join our Crowdfunding campaign

*Documentary in Production featuring Noam Chomsky *Looking for volunteers to help us spread the word on social media *80% already filmed but professional editors need…
  • June 16, 2015·