Off The Grid And Loving It

    Visit  James Wong at his blog

  Here is a link for a pattern for  a sustainable pair of sandals that you can customize to your own style and fit   DIY sustainable footwear    these were worn by  Viet Cong guerrillas.  Recycle old tyres into footwear and be comfortable at the same time.            We have just come back from a visit to the local Eco -village - thought we had a good garden til we saw theirs !  Jack and the Beanstalk has nothing on theirs and we spotted Soya Beans growing there as well as Winter Melons and Bitter Melons.  Sustainable living plus right down to the compostable toilets in some of the homes.  Definitely a different experience.  I could have done with my gumboots though - locked in the car at the top of the hill so skated around on jandals.  Even the Tyre sandals would have stayed on better.   Pizza ovens seem to be the fashion too and you'd be out of it without the obligatory solar panels and wind generators.   Permaculture rules and composts are the order of the day everywhere

Decided you really do want to get off the grid ? Getting started and having fun preparing for living off the grid and loving it can be fun, innovative and exhilarating or it could be a nightmare straight from hell if you don't think it all through and get some kind of a handle on where you are headed.  Research off the grid living to find out the skills you need and how to get them.  Get your head around it all  Know that it will be a complete lifestyle change and you may need to rethink quite a few things in your life.  Plan ahead so you don't get bogged down in the technicalities and toss it all away as being too hard before you even get started.  Decide where you will begin - will you  crack on ahead, buy your plans, get your materials, set up your  new "escape" whilst still living on the grid or will you commute to and fro and try to set it all up. Have some funds in reserve - some "freedom money" to tide you over until you can get yourself sort

                    Houses and homes interest me.  They always have, just as well too as I made my living selling them, renting them and renovating  them but I have always hankered after a Yurt or Tipi - something I have yet to persuade my other half is a great idea and he screams with laughter every time I broach the subject  :)  I have on my bookshelves, a stack of "alternative " living books, green homes, the odd "shack" and shed book, holiday home manuals as well a a few files stashed with leaflets and brochures about Tipis, Yurts, log cabins and whatever, on how to create your ideal green and sustainable home.   These have been carted around from move to move until we moved to the country when we discovered that you just don't need all the trappings we used to think were essential.  We are now interested in more natural homes - the home that reflects your lifestyle is far more important than having the latest and greatest.  As our home is