Tuesday, September 20, 2016

How To Survive When Living Off The Grid

By Frances Edwards


At times, a good break from all the stress occasioned by normal life may mean living a secluded albeit self sustaining lifestyle. If you have ever fancied the thought of living off the grid, prepare yourself for a very different experience from what normal life dictates. You might want to prepare yourself psychologically for living without your friends nearby and getting by without piped water, electricity and other shared utilities.

Before you identify an ideal location, you must prepare in advance. To get on the right track, get a grasp of the general climate of the area. The place should experience sufficient rainfall to enable you to engage in agriculture. Subsistence farming has always been practiced by indigenous tribes since time immemorial. It helps ensure that food never becomes scarce.

This should be the case for your part. If there is a river nearby, you have your work cut out for you. You can easily channel some water to your garden to water your vegetables. If the climate in the area does not seem promising for agricultural activities, you might want to reconsider your decision. You should stay in a place where you are guaranteed access to water for drinking, cooking and irrigation.

With water, off grid living is always guaranteed to be bearable. You must also figure out a good way to prepare meals since you will have no cooking gas available. Luckily, clay provides a good natural material for making earthen stoves.

Getting firewood should not be a hard thing to do if the area is largely forested. To have an easy time when the day comes, it is advisable to master the art of staring fires using firewood beforehand. With a well lit bonfire, you should keep insects and other predators away at night whilst staying warm.

Communication is an important factor that you should think of before moving. In essence, going off grid means you will only have to use natural means to communicate. This essentially means no phones and other electronic communication equipment. If you are used to using your smart phone all the time, you should try to master some of the skills used in communication before the technological era. Television will also be a thing of the past. As such, learn how to get by without it beforehand.

For your survival, it would be prudent to choose a spot that is located down a slope. This is advantageous for a number of reasons. Firstly, it will ensure you get immediate access to water from natural sources. Water cannot flow uphill without a pump. The location will help water get into your tanks from uphill through gravity. Furthermore, you will be shielded from harsh weather conditions such as strong winds.

To ensure you survive for as long as you like, pay close attention to the way you construct your home. Make sure you take insulation into consideration when installing windows and roofing materials. Also provide sufficient space for sunlight to enter. Finally, use long lasting firewood during winter.




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