The number of people living in off-grid communities in the US and Europe has doubled over the past ten years. People who have, for whatever reason, decided to live off the radar, away from supermarkets, power bills and traffic jams, closer to nature and their own sustainable power solutions. Kirsty is part of a movement quietly spreading throughout Europe and the United States: the off-gridders. When she washes, it is usually in the nearby lake. The rest of the day she spends weeding and tending to the flock while others around her cut wood, maintain homes and cook. Kirsty’s new morning routine goes like this: wake up with the sun, head down the hill, milk the cows, followed by communal breakfast complete with gas-heated tea, freshly harvested vegetables and eggs laid that morning. Tinkers Bubble is a 14-member-strong community of like-minded people in Somerset, England who have decided to untangle themselves from the bondages of modern life to pursue a simpler existence. The pair quit their jobs, uprooted their four kids and left a comfy house in Devon behind to move 60 miles away into a wonky woodland cabin – and a brand new existence. “I got an intense sense that life was short, that I should do with it what really mattered, and fast,” she says. The ball finally dropped when, in April 2017, a close relative the same age as Kirsty passed away, prompting a moment of deep reckoning for the two. She and her husband had always been staunch believers in sustainability, and the idea of doing something radically different had been hanging between them for some 10 years, like an unfinished conversation. But just below the surface she felt restless with the repetition. On paper, Kirsty was ticking all the boxes of affluent middle-class existence – as a café owner her work-life was something many dream of. Every day she trekked up the road, checked into work at her café, spoke to the same people and completed the same tasks as the day before. We encourage you to join in the forum, and post comments about specific stories.Two years ago, Kirsty Tizard’s morning routine was exactly that: a routine. The site flourishes thanks to the support of its loyal readers in the form of advertising and retail sales. In the US, Nick Rosen’s book “OFF THE GRID – Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government and True Independence in Modern America” brought the off-grid lifestyle to national attention. The UK edition of the book “How to Live Off-Grid” is published by Bantam. We want to see large-scale off-grid developments in towns and in the countryside, so that the hundreds of thousands who would like to live this way are free to do so. It campaigns on issues affecting people who live or work off-grid, including zoning/planning permission where we are calling for changes to allow people to receive special permission to set up off-grid homes in places which do not currently have residential permission. It promotes the many enterprises that are working for a sustainable future. is an eclectic mix of practical advice, news from the on-grid world and issues rarely covered by the mainstream media. The brainchild of author and campaigner Nick Rosen, the site now has 75,000 visitors a month, mainly from the US and UK, and continues to expand. With daily news stories and a busy forum, is an indispensible part of daily routine for many off-gridders. The Off-Grid101 section is packed with basic information from the right kind of solar cooker to how to gather rainwater.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |