There are a lot of things to think about when you desire to plan to go off-grid.
Here are some tips!
BEING PREPARED! BUILDING YOUR BUG OUT BAG, FROM MARK IN OUR COMMUNITY:
As Mark stated, it's best to be prepared and be ready for anything then to have something happen and be totally unprepared! Former eagle scout that he is... :)
Here's a link to download a spreadsheet with bugout bag inventory checklist (emergency items) to have handy:
Are you planning to go off-grid, or at least get a bit more "out of the system?"
If so, this post is for you!
PURCHASING & FINDING LAND BEST PRACTICES:
- It can be a long process so plan on looking in many different regions so that you can explore the zoning and restrictions.
- Make sure the sale of land comes WITH THE RIGHTS to timber and minerals on the land you purchase. Otherwise you will have to RENT IT from someone else. This means you have to rent water from a stream on YOUR land! Make sure to check ALL disclosures!
- Look out for building restrictions. You don't want to get the land you love and find out you can't build what you want on it!
- Make sure you have access to a stream - water source is VERY IMPORTANT. And make sure you have access to food easily. Think of going back to "before power tool" days and how they got water, etc.
- FOOD:
- Remember that there's hunting
- Mushroom / foraging
- Wild edible berries
- Herbs & plants
- What you can grow yourself
- POWER SUPPLY: Have to think about energy and what's best for the area you're choosing to land in.
- There's wind energy, but if you're in a heavily wooded are, that'll be extremely difficult. You could be required to put a tower as high as 80-feet high (depending on height of trees around you). This requires a converter so you can take the wind power and convert to usable energy (DC).
- Solar energy - this is what they chose. They have 100-watt solar panels and a solar generator (this is what changes the power from solar to usable energy - a little something that's easy to forget! Must have something that converts it.)
- Hydro power - if you have a spring-fed creek with running water, this could be an option. The water doesn't have to run that fast to conduct energy. This also would require a generator to convert the energy to DC as well.
- Generators: There are different kinds and its best to think about how you can best run them (solar generated or gas, etc.). It's best to remember that gas, in a crazy world, would be very hard to come by. There is a thing called a Perpetual Energy Generator that they've bought plans to build out. Here's a link for more info on this:
- You can actually convert a small engine that runs on gas to run on water (a good research project to figure out)!
- WATER SUPPLY:
- A ram pump to pump water as your source from a spring-fed creek or other clean water source you have on your land is all you need.
- Outhouse/shower area: This is something to think about in terms of no flushing toilets so you can utilize an "outhouse" system and can also use waste to compost for growing food (seems gross but it's what our ancestors did before we got reliant on "the system")!
GROWING FOOD INDOORS:
If you're short on space and a garden or little green house is not going to be easy, we have purchased this (Natalie and husband, Mark) and will log our efforts to get the hydroponic system going! You can see the same system we got here: https://www.mini-farm.co/
They're building their own log cabin!
No power tools, it's like definitely going back to the 1500s. Amazing!
You can see more pics -posted the link in our private telegram group.
