Off-the-Grid Living – Self Reliance Through Home Solar and Wind Power and Farming - Popular Mechanics: "You may have heard about them: Off-the-gridders living in radical opposition to modern amenities by growing their own food and cutting themselves off from the rest of society. Not so. Sure, more people are choosing to cut their dependence on the power grid, the grocery story and fuel pump. But these new homesteaders are hardly radicals—they are simply DIYers who, for a variety of reasons, revel in self-reliance. This is their story."
--------------
This sort of thing fascinates me. Many years ago I tried to raise money for a film on owner-built homes, meaning homes that were planned and constructed by the owners, not by architects and contractors. I couldn't get the money to produce it, but in doing the research I visited with a number of people who had already done it. They are a hardy and self-reliant bunch, and in most places they have a struggle getting things approved by building inspectors. That's why many of them are in remote rural areas. It sounds like it would be quite an adventure.
2 comments:
I read a book once . . . I wish I could remember the title . . . about women who had built their own homes. What especially interested me was how different the homes were from your average single-family dwelling. For example, one allowed several single people could share some common and some separate areas (sort of like complicated connected townhouses); another was a home for two families sharing a courtyard (great for childcare). A couple of the women were builders by trade, but many were not. They just knew what they wanted and they figured out how to make it. It's a shame that so many of us have to settle for cookie cutter homes.
I like the idea of people building their own homes, and doing it in common with others if they can, as they do in co-housing. Local governments make it hard, but people like the ones you mention have been doing it.
Post a Comment