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Dreaming of an off-the-grid life? If yes, then OffGridWorld is paradise found. It has the latest information about living off the grid, sustainable living, solar power, wind power, renewable energy, hydroponics, recycling, DIY projects and more.
Are you a survivor buff? I have good news for you that I'm sure will brighten up your gloomy outlook. TruePrepper's Free Survival Docs has a huge collection of literature dedicated to surviving almost any disaster or just living in the absence of modern technology. Don't panic and proceed to their site in a calm and orderly fashion and read the various topics.
My personal idea of a sustainable lifestyle is a place located in a secured gated community and a concrete typhoon-resilient house. The primary water source is rain, collected from the rooftop and stored in an elevated watertight compartment outside the house. Deep well with wind powered pump as secondary source in case of prolonged El Nino event.
Electricity is mainly solar-based with a diesel generator for backup. The LIAM F1 wind turbine by The Archimedes can be a good alternative or supplement to solar. In the local setting there's KlimaTech PH that manufactures vortex wind turbines made of materials from recycled plastic.
Wind IQ is a revolutionary 30-foot-tall vertical axis wind turbine that's bird and bat safe. It is designed for urban areas, maximizing energy production with minimal space and comes equipped with battery storage.
Solviva, an AboitizPower company offers rent-to-own solar system without the upfront cost, zero downpayment, and fixed monthly payments for upto 60 Months. Currently serving Metro Manila and nearby provinces. GoSolar offers install now, pay later with partnership from banks. Another option is LakaSolar.
A solar-wind hybrid model is ideal, as the wind turbine can provide a more stable source of power, especially for residentital.
Did you know? There is a 4.99 MW floating solar plant located in Malubog Reservoir, Toledo City, Cebu. The reservoir is a large man-made lake and dam and the 3-hectare facility features 8,540 solar panels, providing renewable energy equivalent to about 10% of a private corporation's current power needs. This is a very good model.
On a larger scale, here's a video intro of how a micro modular nuclear reactor works and its life cycle. US-based Valar Atomics is planning to build a 100kw micro nuclear gas cooled reactor in the country as a proof of concept. All good as long as its built on a place that's very far from populated area and all necessary safety protocols are in place.
The house is surrounded by assorted veggies raised in vertical gardens and properly spaced fruit bearing trees.
Even if you have a limited residential lot you can still pursue gardening through a vertical garden. There are many ways of doing this, but I find the bottle tower a more practical choice. For one, the structure is very compact. You are simply stacking bottles on top of one another and each bottle is planted. You can have as many towers as space allowed. Its possible to have 800 plants in just 3 square meters of available land.
On top of that, it is inexpensive as it is built mainly with recycled water/soda plastic bottles. The design also allows easy watering. You only need to water the topmost bottle and it naturally drips downward.
There are several ways of building a bottle tower. I've selected these two videos as they have very good methods.
In this video, the cap is used to keep the top bottle in place making it a more sturdy structure, plus it is using a hose which makes watering even more convenient.
In the video, it is using a trellis to support the tower so it will not fall or collapse. It also incorporates a funnel, a feature I find useful. I can fill it regularly with compost or cow dung, so as the water drips it provides the plants a steady supply of fresh nutrients. I'll add an empty bottle at the bottom with no holes in the cap to catch any excess water and recycle it.
If done right you can have a beautiful vertical garden like this school project in Israel.
I want to plant mine with veggies and fruit-bearing plants like strawberry. Choose green living, its good.
If you get creative enough, bottle towers aren't limited to outside plots, you can place them indoors too. Checkout the guy who placed hanging bottle garden on the windows as shown on the video below.
Outdoor plants can be for food and source of income.
Lagikway/Likway/Gikway (Abelmoschus manihot) is a perennial plant and it is usually propagated through cuttings. It is one of the world’s most nutritious leafy vegetables because of its high protein content. Can be cooked with other vegetables in dishes such as tinola and sinigang. Young leaves can be cooked with coconut milk, and the blanched leaves and petals can be added to salads. The leaves are also used in making tempura and in wrapping fish cooked as "pinangat" and "paksiw".
Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) known locally as “kabling” is a bushy, aromatic perennial herb belonging to the mint family (Lamiaceae). It is highly valued for its essential oil that’s used as fixative in perfumes, cosmetics, deodorants, detergents, and scented soaps. Patchouli also exhibits documented antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Aquilaria tree (Aquilaria malaccensis, Aquilaria crassna, Aquilaria sinensis) also called agarwood or aloeswood is a tropical forest plant locally called “lapnisan”. It can reach 20-40 meters tall. When infected by a specific type of mold, these trees produce a dark, fragrant resin-infused wood called agarwood or oud, which is widely used in incense, traditional medicine, and perfumes. Trees are typically grown for 4 to 8 years (until the trunk reaches a diameter of 25–40 cm) before they are mature enough to be artificially wounded or inoculated with an inducer. After the induction or infection process, it takes an additional 1 to 3 years for the dark resin to properly develop and mature inside the heartwood before it is ready for harvesting.
Try this natural solution to control weeds. To protect plants from pests, use safe and homemade pesticides. Use banana fruit or aloe vera as a plant rooting agent.
Even with limited real estate, you can be self-sufficient with meat and eggs by raising chickens in a coop with a tractor. A coop is a shelter where chickens roost and lay eggs, while a tractor is a mesh-enclosed area beside a coop where chickens freely roam. The tractor is moveable.
There are plenty of designs on YouTube and I've selected these videos as they have some of the features I wanted.
In the video below, aside from talking about the design, the presenter also shared a lot of useful and practical information.
The coop and tractor height in this is just right. The extra perches in the tractor give the chickens more area to roam and rest. The height also allows sunlight inside.
The portable concept with wheels and handles is a very useful addition. Chickens eat grass, and you can actually use them to check grass overgrowth. Moving them not only provides fresh grass to peck but also new ground to scratch.
The neat coop structure with the nesting area tucked inside, instead of bulging outside, is another likable feature. The door near the nests allows easy access to the eggs and chickens. However, I prefer a coop without the ladder and the floor as the birds can reach the nests by using the perches alone. The width is also limited.
The coop and tractor on this one are the size I'm looking for, but the most notable aspect of the design is the waterer and feeder. The waterer using water nipple is genius; there's no need to frequently clean it. However, I need to add a water indicator, maybe in the form of a transparent pipe. The feeder can be further improved so it will reduce wastage. A vertical PVC pipe with a 5-way cross pipe at the bottom and a 45-degree elbow at each end would do the trick.
Aside from chickens, ducks are also good as they are more disease resistant.
For larger lots, goats will be raised to provide milk. Learn why goats should not graze on grass after a heavy rain.
Ahh, it would be nice to realize all these and retire in such a place. I'll be updating this wish list based on developments.
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