Are you about to go off the grid, or thinking of making the big leap to self-reliance?
We need you for a documentary about off-grid newbies. We want to film as you prepare to unplug and begin your journey to a new life.
Please send your contact details.
How are you planning to make your move? Do you need help? WHY are you going off the grid???
Let me know – nick@off-grid.net.
Filming has started and will run all year.
22 Responses
Hi,
Really admire the people who are brave and creative enough to take this challenge. If you need music for the documentary, count me in.
Warm regards, Clementine
We are planning to move and go off-grid this spring! We are very excited, this has been several years in the planning. Our reasons are many, we could not do this without help!
We are planning on moving and becoming off-grid this spring! We are very excited, this has been several years in the planning. Our reasons are many and we could not do this without help!
Yep. well one day I was on grid then had to move,, A place came up I could afford in the middle of nowhere ,, so moved, at first I had nothing just candles and a battery radio,, now Im sorted with solar and wind and a big bank of batteries and broad band.. turbine got smashed last year but is going back up again soon, your welcome to film it going up ,, D x
@June… Absolutely not. There are many of us longing to go off-grid, but scared to make the leap because we feel alone in this crazy decision and don’t know how. Seeing how other people do it and make everything work will be very helpful to getting the rest of us moving on our own projects.
Kind off defeats the purpose of going off-grid, getting away from everything… just selling yourself out… imo
Hi there,
I would love to here from anyone who is interested in going off the grid, or is currently doing so.
I am in Australia and am seriously looking into going off the grid.
I’m interested in hearing from anyone!
Thanks guys,
All the best,
Tatiana
I have been off-grid 5 years. Nearest power lines over 3/4 mile away. Power co, wantedj 36,000 to put lines accros my place and then me pay the bill each month also. haha. I started in a 8x 12 utility shed and added 12 foot the next year then 3 years later added a 16 foot room all from recycled and free lumber. If I ( a 44 yr old nanna )can do it any one can. I would love to help anyone get off-grid. But you really have to want it. You also need to know how to be patient. It will come if you focus.
Good luck Ann
I designed and built an energy efficient house in the central Sierra foothills near Sacramento. The principle technologies used were ICFs and SIPS.
I have it set up for both solar hot water and solar PV, but the financial crash has postponed my next step to go off-grid, which is to augment my hydronic system for house heat with solar, and move to net-metering with PV.
In the next ten years, I’d like to go completely off-grid, especially if battery technology improves.
So if you’re looking to document a more “mainstream” approach that has been derailed by the financial crash (and all that entails), then maybe we should talk.
Looking forward to seeing it. Im probably like most people and know nothing about living off the grid.
But we all like to pay the huge energy bills dont we.
My first reaction to this site was its a rich mans hobby. Is there anyone not rolling in the $ who
has been able to do this ( within reason I know,
nothing is free ).
Icon Hulme, my hubby and I are living 100% off-grid, we did it very much on the cheap, no rich anyone around here, unless you count being free a commodity, LOL. Don’t know how many people would enjoy our lifestyle though, we greatly simplified our lives, no TV, small house in a very rural area, no major appliances, in fact very few appliances at all, my laptop is the most advanced item in my house/life. We use solar panels and batteries for our power. One of the ways we saves lots of $$$ is by doing everything ourselves and purchasing cheap land. We did not go into debt to fund out lives out here, we built our place, one room at a time as we had the money and materials, we also used a lot of recycled/scrap material and are constantly on the look out for more. As I said, most people would not be happy living this way, it takes a change of mindset to be happy living like we do (simplified), but it is very doable, and on much less money than you think.
Wretha
Yep. Off-grid for 14 months now as we build our strawbale house and earthship house. Lot’s of challenges but we’ve done/built a lot of intersting gadgets. Hostile climate. SASKATCHEWAN CANADA
hi there my self31 & my wife27 lived in the uk all ower lives we have no taken a leap & moved to france bought a 300year old big barn to renavate & convert into a nice big home to live in we or i have dicided we was going to do this off-grid hence the cost of 2000euros connection fee plus an avrege cost of 1000euros a year which is double the normal rate untill the inter house electrics were sign off. which could be a few years after doing a few sums it would pay for it self in no time at all current cost 5000euros no other costs are to come unless somthing breaks? ive started the off-grid system about 6months ago & i still have alot to do windturbine is up 2000watts 12meter pole stand alone, 1000watts of solar which will be going on a solar tracker in the new year. all go into tristar units & a 1200ah battery bank of seal lead acid battrys in offgrid terms ive just started i exspect to be up & running relibly with in another 6 months & the house to be complete in 12months all single handed with a little help from my wife. i would be delited to share my ups & downs an 1000 of hours studing on the best ways of getting off-grid systems to work with others. excuse my spelling im also dislexic sorry.
regards ben
I am a licensed contractor in the state of GA and have built several homes with my own hands that I haved lived in. Each home has become more energy efficient, with the ultimate goal of building an off-grid home. Most recently I have purchased 27.5 acres of land outside of Augusta GA and have placed a mobile home on it, which I am now living in as I prepare to build our home. I am married and have six children and another on the way!! I have been using the mobile home as “a lab” as well as a home so I can make adjustments and tweak my usage with changed scenarios. Currently my usage is down to an average of 12.5 kwh/day, and I’d like to get that below 10 before I am ready to impliment my system. To this point I have cleared the location for my home, but that is it.
planning to build a cabin in the woods, off the grid. next project is building a road, then basic shelter, etc. I’m 53 female, divorced so planning to build a cabin on my own is a big process. The property that has been in my family since 1938, and is about six and a half acres. It’s remote in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I have a beautiful creek there, been working on getting out there for a while. My brother has been living there for about twenty years off the grid.
We are a family of 6 going on the rd to find where we fit. we are buying an rv to get us started and hoping to take that first step of living self sufficient. We would love the opportunity to film and document our journey.
My husband and I have a small acreage (just under 2 acres) in Southern Oregon. We’re going through a horrible permit process because we are near the Applegate River. The parcel is rocky, and will be a challenge to clear, and I have to admit to being a greenhorn. But we are determined to learn how to be self sufficient. My husband had a stroke last year, so this is especially challenging for him.
Hi I am a wilderness survival instructor at a college in PA. I am going to live off-grid. I would like some more info on what it is you would like to film.
im very interested in going off-grid. im 23 yrs old and have 3 children, alot i know, getting alot of responsibility young has made me think of the world differently to find a better way for my family. i own i small piece of land, adjacent to more that is available for my use. im still learning. im currently studing and thing i can get my hands on regarding alternative means to produce pretty much what ever i can weather its ways to build a house, make fuel or grow a onion.im not interested in starting a community, just showing that even with out a diploma a man can take care of himself and those he cares about while making something with the earth benefiting as well
hej folks,
i would like to join your filming. Do you set your doku in th states and in europe? If iam know some people here in europe i let you know
How long it takes to truely go off griid on a peice of land. It takes about three years. Does this documentary need a family or can a single man do it. Sounds like a good idea for those of us that are going off-grid and working the land to live. MntMnRoy
There are a group of us (total of six) that are considering the move to creating our own self sustained community. We’ve been doing research on natural building, solar energy, and studying other similar communities (EarthHaven) to see how they make it work. Our next step is looking for a parcel of land big enough for all of us and room enough for planting a community garden. Would love any insights on how best to do this and make it work.
Thanks! Lori