off-grid in australia

[CadeJ]

I cruised around on a sailboat for a decade, so I would just like to say “the sea is a harsh mistress”. A floating hulk like an old tanker or freighter would be a good starting point but anything smaller would not be very comfortable, IMHO. With a big hulk you would have some acreage for solar and some mass to reduce wave motion and some living space. Of course you might even inherit some infrastructure plumbing and wiring but those are higher value items that could have been stripped. You would have to invest in some pretty reliable pumps and spares to keep the sea out – she will find every weakness. Scantlings on older ships are usually more in your favor – a harbor pilot once told me they don’t use any more steel to make a Panamax container ship than they did to build a WWII liberty ship!

[GardensWaterwheels]

Cheers, indeed we are capable of creating very beautiful things with our own freedom to paint the canvas… Ofcourse it would seem I am at the bottom the mountain… Its peak only scarcely appearing behind parted clouds. I see people digging into the mountain at our side, hoping to find peace of mind yet this is what needs to happen. We must keep climbing with the breaths of this lifetime for then our future ancestors will lift off the peak and roam the stars. We need to band together with a set up that will require some vast planning behind its simple appearance. I have my goal. It is set. I must save over the hills of time to pave my way upto this mountain’s peak if I am to truely survive. Lucky for me, I needednt much climbing actually., most of the work will be when I get there, building from the foundations of its potentiality! 2000 days is its max. 1000 is my minimum. Of course, having two days off for every five. Putting away 200 dollers per week within 3 years I will have 40,000 and if it was 6 i could get 100,000. However, So I have worked, 1000 days (40,000 dollers @ 200 per week) of savings is enough for me with room for food while the gardens are being crafted. That is: 12-20k for half an acre each (this land will have to be special and inclusive of a dammable mountain stream of permanent nature, around half an acre each being quarter for food,quarter for trade/barter, C: I plan to sell tobacco, in a free world, we could also trade marijuana for milk, steak, luxuries we cannot attain through our hopefully vast forest of diversity!?) 5000 for clumps of charging deep cycle marine batteries that should be able to cycle enough electricity between four, 500 for materials to build enough water wheels for them to be plenty for four (this price can be lowered), perhaps 1000 per person for two or maybie three permanent magnet alternators per person ( this generates the electricity at each wheel) 12-20k for a house for yourself depending how good you want to make it, 15k is plenty for a what they call a mini house for one or two; 5000 for food perhaps while setting up your garden/forest, and 600 perhaps to begin with for the gardens?  Hmm so we are looking at a total cost per person of around *drum solo*

[GardensWaterwheels]

15,000 + 1250 + 125 + 1000 + 15,000 + 5000 + 600 = 37975

hopefully half an acre + deep cycle marine batteries + water wheels materials + permanent magnet alternators + money to build and wire a room and a kitchens worth of a house + 5000 for food whilst establishing some forest garden + money for seeds = 37975

 

Will need money for seed raising mix, some compost to begin with, perhaps some tools ! :s You get my picture :D?

[GardensWaterwheels]

oh my god, i am so gonna make pancakes with maple syrup when im done ^u^

[GardensWaterwheels]

tea, homemade cigarettes ^u^

[GardensWaterwheels]

Would you pay 40k to have this set up for yourself? I am going to do it! But harder and undesirable to do alone, especially if it means buying land far from your friends… I will have to do it. Whoever shall join me is coming along. See this picture here? An estimate is around 40k per person. I will save for three years and climb this peak. Who’ll come along?

[chowan]

I love the idea of water power but being a do it yourselfer I would probably want to be able to do it myself

if that is I had enough water here to play with.

Wind is where its at for this area

[GardensWaterwheels]

:) Atleast you have things spinning

[Anonymous]

What a great idea, a fun and challenging life adventure. just not for me, I need solid ground to run on and explore. seems like CadeJ suggestion of a freighter would be a good idea. Also there could be intermediate steps towards the larger goal; 4 – 6 people with the same goal on a barge in port somewhere, for example. although probably not as exciting for a documentary.

[Anonymous]

I go by “D”, short and sweet. I’m new here at off-grid and searching like everyone else. I see some really good ideas on here and some thoughts that are as good as gold and shouldn’t be passed up. we feel lonely because we are outside the main current where most people reside making it difficult to find others with similar beliefs and desires. I feel privileged to be able to add to this conversation a couple of thoughts of my own that I find helpful.

It is immensely difficult but as immensely important to not be critical of others. I used to be expressly critical of people’s driving, for example, but I do not believe anyone gets up in the morning, pours a cup of coffee, and says they want to go be maimed and killed on the highway on the way to work, even though this may happen everyday. understanding the stress that people are living with can cause people to not be thinking or make poor decisions. being critical of others will make your on life discouraging.

the second thing that I have found helpful was to simplify my life as much as possible. the television was first to go, nothing but a negative beat-down on both the conscious and subconscious. my diet and lifestyle were next, eliminating as much stuff as possible and only taking in what was necessary.

another thing is to do what you can where you are at the moment that you can feel good about. growing plants, even a potted plant by the window. make it an herb or something edible, but make it a symbiotic relationship, not a grow it kill it eat but something you nurture and in return you prune a few leaves for tea. pets help too. if you can’t have a cute furry friend where you are look for an alternative. just make sure you don’t neglect it. care for it and nurture it and you will feel loved for it.

and if all else fails, pack a backpack, leave everything else behind and go explore the world and discover its mighty wonders and live life.

peace

[Anonymous]

I know the mosquito truck just went by but try to slow down and take a breath. you are not short on thought or planning and going off-grid from where you currently are seems like just a small step to take. I’m going to be forward and going to say for you that “<span class=”bbp-breadcrumb-current”>How to turn “wanting” into “doing”?</span>” is getting the right man for the job. I feel like I am ready to leap off the grid, but I don’t have the right woman for the adventure. I know that once I go “out there” i’ll be alone for ever. So, I’m not out there off the grid, I’m in here in search of. Most, or a lot of “participators” find off-grid.net, the watering hole in the desert, in hopes of finding someone and others to walk off the grid with. I’m not making any suggestions, a woman with your gusto shouldn’t have any problems.

in recent years a host of genre dating sites have sprung up on the internet; they are not for me, but wouldn’t it be nice to know the person you might be interested in, is on the same page and is not going to look at you like you’re crazy and walk off?

btw, in about your second or third sentence you mention permaculture. permaculture [the philosophy] when practiced dramatically reduces the amount of labor to be self sufficient and off-grid. it also eliminates chemical pesticides and fertilizers so put it high on your list. for me being off-grid also means being hand in hand with nature.

and maybe badger1972 is right and someday never comes, but I hope for both of us (and all the rest in search) that our partner does.

Peace.

[Anonymous]

I think Jen asks one of the most important questions and one that everyone with the desire to go off the grid would like answered. in my previous post I mention to Jen “having the right man for the job”, but for everyone and anyone with the desire it is about having the right Partner. I wasn’t saying that Jen needed a man because a woman can’t go off the grid but rather that she needed a partner. the very same is true for me, I have the desire to go off the grid and feel I am well capable of living a simple trouble-free happy off-grid lifestyle, but I don’t have the desire to go it alone. Finding a partner is a daunting task for a lot of people that are swimming right in the middle of the stream and for me it seems an impossibility for me to find her out in the middle of the wilderness picking berries, unless some mamma bear wants to adopt me, LOL.

I wonder when people post on Land Buddy (or here in the forum) if they find what they are looking for. I see an initial post, a few comments, and then the line goes quiet. the forums here are quiet too. did they find what they were looking for? or just get over some angst about the stack of bills coming due and go back to the grind never to return here?

peace.

[chowan]

Forestman I think you have to be willing to go it alone sure everyone wants to find that perfect person or community to build their dream with but ultimately if you all dont start sharing that same dream its going to come apart the greater community I am a part of is a good example litteraly hundreds of off-grid startups a abandoned trailer here an unfinished earthship there I think for every 100 starts you may get 1 that will make it through 5 years.

Im one of those landbuddy people hoping to start a community but ended up with one bad expierience and decided i should just concentrate on my own thing for now and when that is better situated i can maybee look again at getting a close community together.

[retired profile of WrethaOffGrid]

I wouldn’t label you a loon, whether they are intentionally spraying things or it’s merely the end product of what is in the fuel, either way, we are getting the “benefit” from it… honestly I don’t know what we can do against it, to prevent ourselves from being affected by it, other than do our very best to keep our immune systems strong.

Moving away from population centers helps too, I used to live fairly close to the DFW airport in Texas, not close enough to be bothered by the sounds, but definitely within a heavy spray radius. Now I live in an area where I MAY hear one or two airplanes a week and that’s a busy week. I know I have been heavily inoculated with whatever had been sprayed before I moved, I just hope that moving away has been helpful.

Wretha

[Anonymous]

There is a woman in Central Virginia doing this now…she’s having a devil of a time tho…people come and go to help…has one survivalist friend there building a hot water shower and chicken coop and attempting to learn about solar…she has a big farm tho mostly unused this year, sicilian donkeys, rabbits and alittle poultry but its very primitive…you should check her out. her name is sandra. buttonsbysandra@earthlink.net

shes living hand to mouth but has a good heart. A place to learn if you can really do a rough lifestyle with no air conditioning and using wood heat…there is a phone and very slow internet. South of Lynchburg…a grand experiment.

[Author]

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