BY: SAMANTHA TAPP Any good traveller does a bit of research before they go to a new destination. Looking into the local languages, food, customs, and the best tourist destinations are pretty standard travel practices. What about local laws? Most likely,…
This guy created a step-by-step guide to creating your own Earthship
BY: SAMANTHA TAPP Earthships, created by architect Mike Reynolds, are completely environment-friendly houses built with both natural and recycled materials that are constructed for minimal reliance on public utilities or fossil fuels. The homes are built with tires, bottles, and…
After 5,843 miles on the road, this couple discovered bus life isn’t easy, but it is magical (photos)
BY: SAMANTHA TAPP “For the past decade, I have made the road my home, I have traveled at different paces, on different budgets across many countries and continents.” Meet Matt Aidney, a New Zealand native who has spent the last…
A backpacker’s guide to the diverse world of the South American Guianas
BY: ADAM THRUSH The Guianas (or ‘the Wild Coast,’ as it was once known) is a section of South America usually omitted from both long-term backpacking trips as well as short-term vacations. Located on the northern coast of the continent,…
Meet Jesse- the man who ditched his career to find happiness living on his bike
BY: JESSE DIXON On October 5th, 2015, I said goodbye to a relatively comfortable life in Sydney, Australia, and headed towards South America with a bicycle, a few plans, some untested gear and little else in the way of knowing…
A young couple quits the city life to start an off-grid homestead completely from scratch
BY: ALYSSA CRAFT What in the world would inspire two city dwellers to shun the city lifestyle for one so completely opposite that it would test their ultimate survival skills? Meet Jesse and Alyssa, who decided to leave behind everything…
This family lives in a sustainable and edible green-house home of the future
BY: ALEX BROWN A professor the University of Rotterdam’s Sustainable Building Technology program recently offered an opportunity to Netherland families to participate in a groundbreaking project that would span three years and completely uproot the participating family by relocating them…
Hippies, artists and pirates- a peek inside to the oceanside tribe of Sausalito
BY: JESSICA BEUKER For more than half a century Richardson Bay, just north of Sausalito, California, has been inhabited by hippies, artists and self-proclaimed pirates. This unique group of characters lives off-grid in a collection of houseboats – the last…
Photos reveal an underground society that has returned to the serenity of the uncharted woods
BY: CAROLINE ROLF All images by: Eric Valli Would you be willing to give up technology, labels and social media to minimize your impact on the earth? French photographer, Eric Valli has had great commercial success, but this set of…
This 29-year-old converted a school bus into an off-grid, ’70s-style living room on wheels
BY: ALEX BROWN A young Californian from Long Beach has captured the imagination of prospective full-time vagabonds and those looking to pursue a 21st century spinoff of the trademark Chris McCandless dream. His name is Patrick Schmidt, and he’s equipped…
Young couple lives in a solar-powered off-grid yurt in the mountains of Montana (video)
BY: ROB HOFFMAN In the frozen northern tip of Montana, Sean Busby can be found most days chopping firewood or casting line from his fly-fishing rod deep in the woods and up to his knees in the cold running stream…
Prefab concept home could mean an affordable, 100% off-grid living space
BY: ROB HOFFMAN The increasing demand for self-sustaining, compact and off-grid prefab homes has spurred a sort of architectural race for designers competing to supply the most efficient, aesthetically pleasing and functional tiny-home models. The Chamfer Home, which basically resembles…
Couple ditched the city for a 40-foot fire lookout with spectacular views of the Oregon Forest
BY: JOHNATHAN MOSS They rise each day with the sun, rolling out of their bed to a jaw dropping 360-degree view of mountains and rolling meadows. Dabney Tompkins and Alan Colley’s lives changed for the better a few years ago, after…
The Earth Cruiser is like a rugged eco-RV that takes you both off-road and off-grid
BY: STEFANIE PHILLIPS For generations families across North America have loved vacationing from the comfort of an RV. We’ve all seen that movie scene where the typical American family stops at the Grand Canyon, descends from their comfortable motor home…
This 28-year old pro surfer lives out of a 20-foot, self-sustaining yurt with his dog in California
BY: ROB HOFFMAN Chadd Konig is the poster child for a simple, sustainable and incredibly fulfilling lifestyle, which includes catching surf in the cold Northern California Ocean and maintaining his three-acre farm and 20 foot cylindrical yurt. To complete the…
For $455 this course will teach you everything you need to know about living off-grid and organically
BY: STEFANIE PHILLIPS In the mountain range of the Czech Republic, beside the Slovakian border is a village of houses made from natural materials, all built by the residents that occupy them. The Ekoosade—ecoVillages in English—is isolated from the rest…
A former homeless man released the blueprints for an incredible off-grid solar home for only $2,000
BY: ROB HOFFMAN When misfortune strikes it comes in threes. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet, and other times it’s an excuse to innovate. Fifteen years ago, Lamar Alexander lost everything—his wife, health and home, forcing him into…
Meet Jill Redwood – she’s lived off-grid for more than 30 years
BY: JESSICA BEUKER In a world where almost everyone is owned by their technology, thoughts of going completely off the grid start to creep into the mind. We zombie-walk through life on a leash, the other end tied around the…
After visiting 100 off-grid homes, this is the barebones truth about life in the pathless woods
BY: TYLER FYFE In a frostbitten valley in the deep bush of Northern Saskatchewan lives the most isolated couple in North America—100 km away from the nearest unpaved road. The only way in or out is by float plane. Ron…
4 people who prove a new cellphone will never make you happy
BY: KAROUN CHAHINIAN North America’s known for its extreme consumer culture. You step outside your front door and are immediately bombarded with thousands of billboards and advertisements. From all you can eat buffets to limitless credit cards, there is…