Off-Grid Mountain Build Part 1

The Dream? Find Wild Land, Create an off-grid Shangri-La complete with Permaculture Garden, Workshop, Tiny House, Swimming Pond, Music Room, Woodworking shop, and Main House.

The How?

No freaking idea, but must try.

As we sat ( Gavin, my partner, and I ) last night going over our latest build plans, the ones we have been working on for 6 years since we met, it occurred to me that for some reason I was waiting until everything was a complete success to share it with you. And when does everything get to that point? Usually after years of struggles, setbacks, education, re-educations, and epiphanies, and why would I hide all that valuable information?

Our dream is to eventually be able to hold teaching workshops for building, foraging, hiking, growing, harvesting, cooking, painting..you know, like, all the things. In my mind I have been just waiting to unveil this great feat of design and dreams, my biggest art project ever, you know, small goals like changing the world through the way we learn, teach, build, and live.

Nothing one can't accomplish on a random loose Saturday. { insert sarcasm emoji here }

We were watching Clarkson's Farm, I can't remember the last time I have seen anything this good on TV, and I realized, the reason that show is so amazing is that Mr. Clarkson is not only showing highly important and time sensitive information for humanity to glean from in terms of bettering the human race through the cultivation of the food chain and quality of it, while exposing the utter bureaucracy that has become the "modern" farming industry. The reason it is such an amazing show is that he is displaying all the mistakes, all the missteps, all the impediments, and lack of helpful information out there to build one's dreams regarding land, and living a cultivator's lifestyle.

Now, I have always had in mind of documenting our build as we went along, part of the passion for us, me as an artist and gardener and Gavin as a finish craftsman engineer and contractor, has been to provide a source of practical cost supply and building logistics guide along with the inspiration for others who want to do the same, or something like it.

Last night, I finally realized that I wasn't clear when that sharing should begin.

Well...it begins today.

The thing is, that over the last two years we have already learned so much, and yet without having put so much as a nail into a board.

So here it is, Day One has arrived. I have never had kids, but I expect it feels something like when people say "you're just never ready to do it, so just do it"! That's us. Just "doing it anyway" Gavins newest motto, just imagine it with a Newcastle accent and it sounds much less like a nike commercial and oodles more enlightened.

Here's the thing though, it's hard to say you're going to do something when you not only have no idea how exactly, but when it means so much to you, and then there's facing the prospect of it not working. I dare not utter the F word here ( rhymes with trailer ) because doing something with all your might is never a failure, it's just that in pop culture everything is so result-oriented. Life is not like that. I mean, it can be, but I've tried that and it's a miserable situation basing one's worth and effort solely on results that, let's face it, are rarely in our control ( man makes plan -God laughs, that sort of thing ). Some of the best things that have happened to me, I had nothing to do with.

Aside from the philosophy of manifesting something unreasonable and unknown (See my award winning 28 Minute Documentary here about how we got started ) there comes a time when it's just not worth it to sink back, to stay safe, to do only what I know how to or what is familiar.

Thank you for joining me on this ride, this is the part where you have decided to get on the rollercoaster, you've gotten in line, you get in the seat, and the conductor gets on the speaker to say its the first ride on this track so you get to test it and the outcome will be totally unknown. Sounds fun right?

But, if it goes right, we will have done what we both feel strongly about being one of our purposes in this lifetime. To prove not only to ourselves that anything is possible, to bring more freedom and quality of life into the world through working with nature, not against it, and breaking down the costs of building and maintaining structures for the future of mankind. Structures and Living Systems that make life more peaceful, more fulfilling, and less reliant on the whims of arbitrary and archaic limitations set by people and systems who do not use them or need to abide by them, and that are not serving humanity anymore.

I guess you could say we are building a dream, and art project, and philosophy, and we are so glad you have come along.

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