Energy

Clean a dog or a fish or yourself

A Shower in a box

If you need a portable shower, or a way of cleaning food or dishes – or even dogs – on the move, RinseKit is a portable,…
  • July 23, 2015·

Arvo off-grid

Arvo Thompson went from wanting to live off-grid to actually doing it, a step that sadly, not enough people actually do. He has been living…
  • July 16, 2015·
Sandfire Resources, DeGrussa Copper Mine

Huge copper mine goes off the grid

Increasingly it is big business that is taking a leaf from the off-grid philosophy. Australia’s largest integrated off-the-grid solar power system will be up and…
  • July 15, 2015·

Budget solar install

I love seeing how other people do their solar systems, especially those who create and maintain their systems on a shoestring budget, which is how…
  • July 14, 2015·

Freezers and fridges in Africa

One of South Africa’s largest producers of household appliances has announced plans to offer solar powered fridges and freezers to 600 million low-income African families.…
  • July 8, 2015·

Water issues

Living in our little rural community in the mountains, we don’t have many choices for over the air radio stations, the mountains block most if…
  • July 7, 2015·

What is “off-grid”?

“How can you be off-grid and be on the internet?” “You use propane, that’s not off-grid…” “You go to the grocery store to buy food,…
  • July 2, 2015·

And the pressure is on

Pressure cookers that is, yesterday while surfing the internet, I ran across an article on Mother Earth News about cooking with pressure cookers. It reminded…
  • June 29, 2015·

Happy Fathers Day

Today is a bittersweet day for me, it’s Fathers Day AND it’s my mother’s birthday, both of my parents are deceased, my mother many years…
  • June 21, 2015·
Pope Francis surrounded by crowds, but fails to recognise the population issue

Blatant Flaw in Papal Eco-Encyclical

*Humble Pope Blasts Market Economy *Adds Voice to Man-made Warming Arguments *But Fails to Address Contraception *Birth Control and Population Limits Not on Agenda ROME—…
  • June 19, 2015·

Join our Crowdfunding campaign

*Documentary in Production featuring Noam Chomsky *Looking for volunteers to help us spread the word on social media *80% already filmed but professional editors need…
  • June 16, 2015·

Why be debt free?

Why is it so important to be debt free when you go off-grid? I can answer that because I’m living it and reaping the benefits…
  • May 24, 2015·

Big guy, tiny home

When Joel Fleck moved home to after college, he wanted his own place, but he didn’t want to pay the steep Sonoma County rents, so…
  • May 20, 2015·

Friends in small places

Welcome To “Bestie Row”: Lifelong Friends Build Row Of Tiny Houses In The Middle Of Nowhere. Some friendships last forever. You hear of lifelong friends…
  • May 9, 2015·

Apocalypse Then

* Hundreds of survivalists and ‘Preppers’ gathered in Salt Lake City last weekend to forestall the Apocalypse * Shown underground bunkers, tactical weapons and an…
  • April 27, 2015·

Castle de-fence

  Well, more like a gate, it is part of the defense, I don’t expect anyone to really charge the door, they would have to…
  • April 24, 2015·

I finally got it!

Actually got it last week, it was sent out a month ago from the UK, it arrived in Chicago and took a long rest, must…
  • April 19, 2015·
Viggo Mortensen interview explaining his secret life off the grid

Backwoods past of Movie Star

Actor Viggo Mortensen recalls his favourite filming locations are “the outdoors and natural landscapes, so there are places in New Zealand, particularly the South Island…
  • April 11, 2015·

Oogoo

As frugal and creative off-gridders, we are always on the lookout for good DIY projects, recently I “discovered” a product that can be made with…
  • April 5, 2015·
Fraudlent gains of banking industry will never be repaid

Stop Thief!

I’ve been robbed! I‘ve been robbed by the banksters and the police and the government. They conspired together to brush aside the compelling evidence of…
  • April 4, 2015·

Whose Land Is It Anyway?

As the West prepares to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta – the cornerstone of our civil liberties – a small eco-village is…
  • April 1, 2015·

DIY as much as possible

…and truck update. A few weeks ago, I had a chance encounter with an elk, an animal of much height, girth and weight. After looking…
  • March 21, 2015·

Laura Ling Launches New Web Series

Laura Ling is producing and hosting a new series called ‘Going Off-Grid.’ It highlights people who have decided to disconnect from the everyday world. In…
  • March 16, 2015·

Microgrid trade fair, Barcelona

(PRWEB) – Microgrid technology developers and business leaders from around the world will gather in Barcelona, Spain, May 19-21, 2015, for the Microgrid World Congress…
  • March 16, 2015·

Keyhole garden

It’s so nearly spring, I am itching to get out and do some gardening, I’ve been getting seed catalogs, the siren song of the gardener.…
  • March 11, 2015·

Mobile living

A few months ago, a long lost friend appeared back in my life, a friend I knew when I was an early teen but lost…
  • February 18, 2015·

On demand water heater

There are a few needs, requirements for life, food, water, shelter, once those basic requirements are met, after that come the things that make life…
  • February 15, 2015·

Show the Love for Valentine’s Day

Stars including Stephen Fry, David Harewood, Dermot O’Leary, Jarvis Cocker and Emilia Fox are spearheading a new global environmental campaign. Together with over 100 organisations…
  • February 12, 2015·

Squeezing the photons

Squeezing those photons, that’s what I call it when we don’t have much power. Our solar system is small, and most of the time, it…
  • February 1, 2015·

Vince’s not so tiny home

Vince took a page from LaMar Alexander’s book and videos and built his own semi-small house, by most standards this is a small home,  measuring…
  • January 20, 2015·
Off-Grid Undertaker Don Byrne works on a hand-made pine coffin in his outdoor studio on a 32-acre homestead in Bear Creek, N.C. Byrne lives off the grid, with no electricity and running water. In the background is his son, Niko, 4. He builds the coffins with antique hand tools, selling them for about $875 to $1,000 to people who want a simple, ``green'' burial.

Off-Grid Undertaker

Anti-consumerist pioneer, Duke University grad, walks away from middle class life to live the simple life in a 12x12 cabin
  • January 19, 2015·

Mobile Nuclear inevitable

Mobile nuclear power generators could become a viable energy source in the future. Earlier this week Mississauga, Canada-based Terrestrial Energy signed a collaboration agreement with…
  • January 18, 2015·
Rob Greenfield from San Diego purchases 'house' measuring 5ft by 10ft

Campaigner moves to tiny home

* Rob Greenfield from San Diego purchases ‘house’ measuring 5ft by 10ft * The environmental activist will live in the 50sq foot box for the…
  • January 18, 2015·

500 square feet

500 square feet, for some, that’s a decent walk in closet, but not for this couple, Robert Cole and his partner Kelly Casthena, they live…
  • January 17, 2015·

Water and Energy shedding

We know all about load shedding and we’ve been warned about water shedding. So what do we do about it? According to rainwater harvesting specialist…
  • January 16, 2015·
Chinese model poses nbext to BYD Hybrid - the Prius-killer

BYD gets into V2G

The name tells you everything – Chinese vehicle company BYD – it stands for Build Your Dreams – has embraced V2G – Vehicle to Grid…
  • January 9, 2015·

Vandwelling

Modern technology, we have shunned much of it, but sometimes it’s a great thing to have around, the internet, FaceBook and the such, these things…
  • January 4, 2015·
India, yurt vacation, unplugged,

Indian getaways

. Here’s some ideas about where you could holiday off the grid in India… MARITIME ADVENTURE Sunbathe on pristine-white sand beaches, hunt for seashells and…
  • January 4, 2015·

Alternative uses for Reflectix

I’ve been seeing this material called Reflectix, it’s basically bubblewrap encased in aluminized mylar on both sides, it has insulative properties. It was originally created…
  • January 2, 2015·

Wish list

Everyone has a wish list, right? Although one of the secrets to happiness is being contented with what you have, you can still wish for…
  • December 28, 2014·

New Slow City by William Powers

The Slow Movement is slowly becoming mainstream. Several years ago, William (Bill) Powers, after a decade in international aid work, embarked upon an experiment. He…
  • December 28, 2014·

It’s been 8 years now…

This week, we have many things to be thankful for, Christmas is fast approaching, we are healthy, there is food in the fridge and on…
  • December 21, 2014·

Roswell Bunker for sale

ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) — An underground missile silo is currently one of New Mexico’s hottest real estate properties. More than 40 people, some from out…
  • December 14, 2014·

Fugitive Family

The Irish Times reports on an American family being featured on Channel 4 TV tonight. They have spent the last 14 years living in isolation…
  • December 10, 2014·

Off-Grid in Terlingua TX

I remember, shortly after we moved to our off-grid life in far west Texas, one day we had the radio playing, we could only get…
  • December 7, 2014·

Small town politics

You have found the perfect piece of land, it’s out in a rural area, you don’t have many neighbors, as time goes by you get…
  • December 6, 2014·

Kodiak Power pack

Going out and about for a few days or living full-time away from Utilities, the Kodiak box from Outdoor Technology is one of the better…
  • December 5, 2014·

Mixing different solar panels

Like many people starting out going off-grid, your pocketbook is being pulled in many different directions, so you buy a few solar panels to get…
  • November 30, 2014·
Bristol group want to take themselves off the grid

UK Surf Centre to go off-grid

A SURF centre in Easter Compton near Bristol is launching a £150,000 crowdfunding campaign that will help fund some of the site’s sustainability plans. The…
  • November 24, 2014·

Competition for off-grid ideas

WWF South Africa is hoping for more entries into its annual Climate Solver Awards. The competition is a chance to show off innovative technologies geared…
  • November 24, 2014·

The beginning…

Spring 2007 “What do you think?” PB asked with a hopeful look on his face. “What about your job? Our families? Your kids were born…
  • November 23, 2014·

A solar bus home

I have a great love for small homes and portable homes, many of the DIY bus conversion homes are pretty good, but this one is…
  • November 22, 2014·

Waste oil heaters

Winter is here, all the way down here in far west Texas, tonight it will get down into the low 20s(F), definitely wood stove fire…
  • November 16, 2014·

It’s not too soon…

October is gone, November is here, it’s getting dark earlier (for those of us in the Northern hemisphere), it’s getting cold…. it’s also getting closer…
  • November 8, 2014·

Buying your own land

Buying land, it’s something you will be doing if you want to homestead or go off-grid on your own. Personally I wouldn’t want to “go…
  • November 5, 2014·

Off-Grid guests

Moving to and setting up your off-grid home, it’s most likely in an out of the way, rural, scenic spot, a place that is often…
  • November 2, 2014·

Living in a Fire Truck

Forester Simon Danant started living in his 1980s Bedford truck last summer. Its a former Army fire engine. He moves it around Cambridgeshire, living behind…
  • October 31, 2014·

LED technology and DIY

Off-Gridders have been around for a long time, but it’s just been recently that technology has been available to make living off-grid as cushy as…
  • October 19, 2014·

Pizza pizza

This past week was a hard one, my work partner and I worked extra long days so that we could have a few extra days…
  • October 19, 2014·

Off-Grid update

Winter is coming, it’s well into fall and the season is definitely changing. The air is cooler, especially in the mornings, crisp, I can smell…
  • October 3, 2014·

Freezing food

For the longest time, I’d buy my produce at the farmer’s market over the weekend. When the next Friday rolled around and I hadn’t used…
  • October 3, 2014·

Water-cooled solar panel

A new solar harvester that can provide power and clean water is in the works. Its hardly suprising that panels can overheat in the very…
  • October 2, 2014·

Garlic festival

ORANGE, MASS, 28 Sept — Thousands of people began making their way to a field in the middle of nowhere Saturday to enjoy the 16th…
  • September 28, 2014·
Professor Camilo Mora predicts 5 BILLION deaths through global warming by 2050

Alaska to be the next Florida?

Climate change will make the most desirable places to live currently, uninhabitable by the middle of this Century – according to a scientific paper in…
  • September 27, 2014·

Retired Engineer pimps his RV

Thomas “Tim” Lemieux lives in an unlikely showcase for green energy: a 1997 Winnebago recreational vehicle. Scale a narrow ladder up the side of the…
  • September 26, 2014·

Picking the wrong plant

Since having such a wet rainy season, as compared to the previous several rainy seasons, I have seen many more species of wild plants growing,…
  • September 21, 2014·

Bobbage bridge update

Strange name for a title, Bobbage, well if you have followed me for any length of time, you will know that Bobbage is what we…
  • September 20, 2014·

London party for Finding Infinity

London, 4 September 2014 – Fashion Designer Vivienne Westwood held the first of a series of solar-powered parties to promote the use of renewable energy.…
  • September 9, 2014·

Fermented foods

Earlier today, after church, I was getting ready to lay down to take a nap, the radio was playing softly in the background, I typically…
  • September 7, 2014·

Invisible Woman re-elected

They just don’t get it do they? The Green Party, once the repository for the hopes and dreams of UK environmentalists, continues to do everything…
  • September 4, 2014·

Building up

This young family lives in Portland Oregon on a half lot, their home is very small by most standards, preferring to build UP instead of…
  • August 31, 2014·
Edisto river canoe and tree house experience

Tree house vacation

Book a tree house on the Edisto River. These tree houses have no electricity or running water, but are considered one of the South Carolina…
  • August 31, 2014·

Harvesting Excess Man Made Energy

Albany NY designer, Manoocher Zarif is piloting a device that converts vibrations found in urban traffic into electricity. The industrial design graduate came across the…
  • August 27, 2014·

Legal tiny home

I love these tiny homes, this one is particularly interesting because it’s completely legal, not saying all the other tiny homes are illegal, in some…
  • August 10, 2014·

Platinum fuel cell trials in S Africa

Renewable Energy mag reports Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems and Anglo American Platinum, the world’s largest primary producer of platinum, have launched a…
  • August 4, 2014·

A new doc in town

I think I am in love, and it’s with another man, but it’s not what you might think :) About a month ago, I took…
  • July 26, 2014·

Total Luxury with no Utilities

A luxury hotel with no mains utilities is being built on the island of Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania. The Uzuri Hotel Resort, anticipated…
  • July 22, 2014·

A bridge to Bobbage

Living here going on 8 years and we still have to hike up to the sky castle, the reason is because of a seasonal creek…
  • July 20, 2014·

Gardening roundtable

About a week ago, I got a phone call from one of my neighbors and friends out here, it was time to do another gardening…
  • July 13, 2014·
Former Law enforcement officer has had it with the man. Living off the grid is his solution

Ex-cop predicts collapse

Harold Smith cam on our YouTube page today, commenting on our video Inside the Movement as follows: I spent 20 years in law enforcement, and…
  • June 13, 2014·

Lost Faith in the System

Joachim Hagopian voices the feelings of millions of Americans The forsaken American population finds itself more in poverty (46.2 million people) as well as more…
  • June 5, 2014·

Tiny home in Hawaii

I think we can all appreciate Johnny Sanphillippo’s situation, he worked hard at a job he loved that unfortunately didn’t net him a large salary,…
  • June 5, 2014·
how to protect your privacy online

Online privacy – talks series

A californian hacker is touring the world giving advice on how to protect your own privacy. This summer Abhay Agarwal is hosting dozens of conversations…
  • June 5, 2014·