A common accusation that I’ve seen made to those who live off grid seems to be ‘you’re off grid and living self sufficiently, but you’ll be quick enough to use the NHS when you get sick, and you’re using a laptop that couldn’t be...
Lets face it, installing 1000 litre rainwater storage tank was always going to guarantee us some sunshine, and so it was that we had a week of glorious weather.All good things come to an end of course, and so it was that today we got some serious rain, and a nice,...
A COUPLE living an “off-grid” lifestyle say they face prison unless they move from their own land in Willand and return to an existence in the benefits trap. Stig and Dinah Mason bought Muxbeare Orchard after a sudden windfall allowed them to quit their impoverished...
Soapnuts are the dried nuts from the soapberry tree, and you use them as a detergent, in place of regular washing powder. We tried them for the first time today, and they work really well – you simply put a few nuts in a little fabric bag and put in with the...
Its a beautiful morning, but I have to have a quick rant and get it over with. Listening to Evan Davies and Sarah Montague on the Today radio programme this morning, they mentioned that the last Blue Peter programme is broadcasting from London for the last time. Not...
Just 12 weeks on, and our little veg plot is coming on really well. We’re getting a feel for what will grow where, and enjoying the fruits (literally, we have strawberries) of our labour. A second succession of onions, beans, peas, salads, and all manner of...
Today I got a sharp reminder of the difference between ‘us’ and ‘them’. Although Northern Ireland already has more than enough tribal troubles, the fact is that there is a huge tribe out there of people who don’t want to be part of the...
Behold, the heart of my new rainwater harvesting system. This 1000 litre food grade container cost just £30, and will hold enough water to supply the truck for about a fortnight. Thus I’ll be using less than a quarter of the average person’s water...
Behold, the heart of my new rainwater harvesting system. This 1000 litre food grade container cost just £30, and will hold enough water to supply the truck for about a fortnight. Thus I’ll be using less than a quarter of the average person’s water...
PV panels get a bad press here in Britain and especially in Northern Ireland. There just isn’t a lot of sun – well not when you’d expect it anyway. Certainly I don’t think I’d like to rely on it, on a large scale. However, for our...
It may be mid summer, but now is the time to be thinking about where next winters fuel is going to come from, and so I’ve been busy in the woods, cutting and splitting a huge fallen ash tree. Ash is fantastic stuff, because it does burn green, unlike many woods,...
In the last year or so I’ve met many people on my travels, almost all of whom have been either working out how to change their lives to reduce their burden on the planet’s resources, or who have taken steps to do so. I am in awe of the challenges that many...
