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 themselves, the why instead of the how. I enjoyed watching this video about Teddy and Kathy Carns and their off-grid life. Not only does it show some of the how, but it shows the why as well as their journey they are on. There is reality too, Kathy quit work to join Teddy living off-grid, but they soon discovered, much like us, that there needs to be some income coming in to pay for the things that you can’t barter for, things like taxes and such. I love it that it is Kathy who went back to work, in a field she obviously loves, this mirrors our life in so many ways, even down to the saving and dividing their trash into things that are biodegradable and those that are not, they don’t get rid of what isn’t biodegradable, they clean it and save it for future use.

Reposted from the YouTube video blurb:
“Teddy and Kathy Carns are couple who live up in the Southwest Pennsylvania Mountains at an isolated off the grid dwelling named the Stone Camp. Without a connection to the national energy grid, most “”Off the Gridders”” live a level just above camping and definitely don’t choose this way of life by choice. But for Teddy and Kathy, this situation is ideal. They not only have the peace of mind that comes from being in the Great Outdoors, but have also managed to create a self sustainable lifestyle complete with the magic of modern convenience. Come find out exactly what they did in this latest episode.

Teddy has written a book, one that I’ll admit I haven’t read, normally I don’t comment about books I haven’t actually read, but if it’s anything like his video (and another video about him I watched), it is not a “how to” book though it apparently has some instructions in it, it is more a philosophy type book, about Teddy’s beliefs, more about the journey and the “why” rather than the “how”. As of the date of this post, there are 80 reviews, 46 5-star, 15 4-star, 8 3-star, 5 2-star and 6 1-star reviews, the biggest “complaint” is that it isn’t a “how to” book, but more of a philosophy book, if you understand that when you buy it, then I think it will be a more satisfying read, I suspect some of the “problem” lies with the description of the book on Amazon, at first glance it does leave the impression that this is an instructional type book.