BOOKS: The off-grid community and the battle to live their way.
Off The Grid in America (Penguin, 2010)
How to Live Off-Grid UK (Bantam, 2008)
Let the sun help you up those hills.
There are a number of bike designs which incorporate a solar powered motor – see links below.
Another option is the pedal-charged battery, which powers the motor which powers the bike.
Check out these sites: (more…)
Q: What links Spain with New York’s Mohawk River Valley, 240km-long, beginning just west of the state capital, Albany? A: They have both seen a sudden rush in eco-developments.
Safflyn Corporation is planning a $53m housing project with 100 solar and wind-powered homes surrounded by athletics fields, walking trails, a golf course and driving range.
Manhattan-based Caledonia Advisors picked urban Utica on the Upper Mohawk, 370km north-west of New York City. (more…)
ZAMBOANGA CITY � A bombing attack on the offices of the Philippines off-grid energy authority has been laid at the door of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). (more…)
Well, a very nice reader left a comment on my blog, he gave me a website that has a water filter/purifier that can be made at home it’ s easy, no difficult instructions, no impossible parts to purchase, it is a very simple system using only 4 parts, yes, 4 parts! I’ll post the instructions here, and I’ll give the link to the site where you can get the PDF download, I highly recommend it!
http://pottersforpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/ide-filter-user-guide.pdf
I love my Berkey water purifier, and if I had it to do over again today, I would still buy it, but I do plan on using one (or more!) of these homemade water filters too.
RABBIT WATER PURIFIER
By carefully following these instructions you will be able to
· Drink clear, safe, good-tasting water,
· Improve your family’s health,
· Reduce expenses, and
· Save time.
1. Parts of the Filter
(added by Wretha-I assume they are talking about an unglazed ceramic pot, glazed pots are water proof and the water would not flow through)
2. Take Care to Avoid Cracks
Handle the ceramic pot carefully to avoid breakage or cracking. Small invisible cracks may allow microorganisms to pass through the filter, making the water unsafe to drink.
If a ceramic pot full of water takes less than 3 hours to empty, the flow rate is too fast and the ceramic pot should be replaced.
3. Before Using the Filter for the First Time
Soak the ceramic pot in clear water (rain or tubewell water) for 12 hours
OR
Fill the ceramic pot three times, allow the water to seep through, and discard the filtered water.
Doing one of the above two steps will flush the clay smell and color from the ceramic pot. You only need to do one of the above steps, it is not necessary to do both.
Lastly, clean the receptacle tank and spigot with soapy water. DO NOT use soap to clean the ceramic vessel.
4. Daily Use
Put the filter in a safe place where it will not get knocked over and secure it to the wall or a post.
If the water source is very dirty, tie a piece of cloth over the top of the filter to strain out the dirt and debris.
The filter will flow faster when the ceramic pot is full, so fill it often.
Keep the lid closed to prevent dust and mosquitoes from entering.
5. Cleaning the Filter
The ceramic pot should be cleaned once per month or when the flow rate begins to slow down.
– Clean the inside surface of the lid with soapy water and let it dry.
Place the lid on a level surface with the clean side facing up.
– Carefully lift the ceramic pot out of the receptacle and set it on the lid. Touch only the rim when lifting the ceramic pot.
Do not touch the outside of the ceramic pot with dirty hands and do not set it on an unclean surface.
– Scrub the inside of the ceramic pot with a cloth or soft brush and rinse with clear water.
Do not use soap to clean the ceramic pot.
– Clean the receptacle tank and spigot with soapy water. Put the ceramic pot back into the receptacle tank immediately after cleaning to prevent recontamination. The pot does not have to be dried after cleaning.
6. Good Hygiene
It is important to practice good hygiene to ensure that the water that leaves the filter clean stays clean.
– Do not touch the outside of the ceramic pot, the inside of the receptacle, or the spigot opening with dirty hands.
– Place the filter up off the ground in a clean and tidy place.
– Wash hands and drinking glasses often with soap and water.
7. Effective Life of the Filter The ceramic filter pot should be replaced when any of the following occurs:
· The filter becomes cracked
· The filter flow rate is too slow and scrubbing no longer causes it to increase, or
· The filter has been used for three years.
House 22, Street 592, Toul Kork, Phnom Penh
Tel: 023 880 604 Fax: 023 880 059
ide@online.com.kh
www.ide-international.org
Water from the Rabbit Water Purifier has been tested by the Ministry of Health and meets World Health Organization guidelines for clean drinking water
There is a booming cottage industry of people making their own biodiesel from waste cooking oil. With the help of special equipment and the addition of a several chemicals, anyone can do it. Lower down this story we tell you exactly how to make it.
Remember it only works in Diesel vehicles. (more…)
Here are some pix I’ve taken in the last few days.
Coming back from town, this is a very scenic drive.
Finally home!
Pretty storm clouds, got a little rain from this one.
Our little fox came around today, I fed him crackers while I snapped a few pix of him.
That’s all for now… hope you enjoyed them.
The Scavenger said…
Great pictures. Man that is some wide open space compared to what I am used too. Love the pics of the fox. You have a beautiful place, I love it.
Chris
Wretha said…
Thanks Chris, it is some wide open spaces, until you get into the mountains… the fox is a wonder to watch, we just fed it some old bread, we were sitting out on our deck and heard it walking around in the dark, got out the flashlight and saw him, he came running when he heard the bread wrapper. :) Well trained and well fed critter!
Wretha
HOLLIS said…How is the turbine coming from the drill? Have you done some more tests using it? How did Bob wire it. I have a old cordless drill I want to test with, but I don’t know where to begin.
Mayberry said…Beautiful. I’ve been eyeballin’ some of that Pecos land for sale, I dunno. I love the isolation out your way, but you can’t grow much by way of crops I reckon. Keep the pics coming, maybe I’ll come around!
Wretha said…
Hi Hollis
We haven’t done any more with the drill, I don’t know anything about the workings of it, I’ll ask my hubby to about it and write it down in my blog. I’ll try to do it asap.
*******************
Hi Mayberry,
Yes, it is beautiful, at least it is to me, I love the desert and the mountains, I get the best of both! I am growing a garden, so far everything has been growing OK, though right now everything is still pretty small, our soil is great, but you don’t have to go far to hit hard packed horrible soil, so if you are looking at a piece of land, I would recommend taking a post hole digger and checking out the soil. The only problem I might have is the altitude, I heard that okra will not grow very well up here, I just received my order of okra seeds, I’ll find out soon if that’s true. The only other thing that might be an issue is water, as long as you have enough water, and enough mulch, and a way to protect it from the hungry critters, you should be able to grow crops for food.
Wretha
lornkanaga said…Now if I could just convince my hubby that you can indeed bring life to the desert (sigh).
Heck, I just want to leave the rat race–I am so envious of you and your hubby.
TheMajor’sLady
Wretha said…
Thanks TheMajor’sLady, it IS quite possible to bring life to the desert. If you really want to leave the rat race, start planning now, decide what kind of place you want, desert, mountain, wooded, grassy, wet, dry… and GO FOR IT! :) You will rarely regret what you DO, only what you DON’T DO. :)
Wretha
lornkanaga said…Agreed, Wretha. I’ve been searching the internet for property in various places–so far, West VA, VA, NC, MO, and now TX–and keep hoping my sweetie will look at one and say “Yes, that’s it!” but I’m not holding my breath (heavy sigh). Even though he wants to leave the rat race as much as I do, he’s a bit more hesitant. ;-)
TheMajor’sLady
Wretha said…
TheMajor’sLady, It is scary to up and leave everything you know for something unknown even if it is a virtual paradise! We were lucky in that my hubby already knew about this place, so we didn’t have to look too hard. We just picked a long weekend and came out, looked around, got real lucky and found a place the first time around. I was for it and I was still nervous about the whole thing, but I don’t regret any part of this, now that I am out here, it’s the life I’ve always wanted to live and never though I would get to do.
Don’t give up, remember, positive thinking really works, dream it, see it, claim it! Prayer doesn’t hurt either :)
Wretha
Tata, India’s largest automaker has started production on the world’s first commercial air-powered vehicle. Some 6000 zero-emissions Air Cars are scheduled to hit Indian streets in August of 2008. The move is to be welcomed because threatens the hegemony of big oil companies and oil producing nations. It may also do something to reduce pollution in big cities. The US will see an air car next year if the Scuderi Group in Massachusetts is successful. It has raised about $15 million from friends and family and is pushing ahead “in spite of being laughed at by large investment banks at first,” said President Sal Scuderi.
“Here’s a tiny firm saying we’re going to change the internal combustion engine,” he said. “After positive evaluation reports there are many less skeptics now; (more…)
You probably already use these ingredients in your home,but they can do more than just making meals tastier. Here are some common foods that do double duty as effective herbal treatments with impressive health benefits.
Fits in nicely with the organic gardening tips and recipes in the book, Grow Your Own Pharmacy
The New York Times features a collectors item – a 1950s car designed for outdoor sporty types to sleep in. The journalist spent the night in an antique S.U.V. — a Nash Airflyte, or ”Bathtub Nash” to the initiated.
In the early 1950s it was the vehicle of choice for outdoorsmen, with seats that turned into a reasonably comfortable double bed.
“And,” says the Times “” it was among the first vehicles to pose this question: Why bother buying a second home, when you can set one on four wheels and take it with you wherever you go? (more…)
Creative Commons
license, which allows you to utilise all the information on this site for non-commercial purposes, providing you credit the information with the word 'off-grid.net', which should be written as one word and accompanied by a link to our web site.
Will and Kate to visit N.W.T. ‘bush
Top Gear presenter says living off-grid can make
Ted Nugent declares himself off-grid…
New York Times journalist sullies off-grid
“This land is your land…” if
Excellent information.
Thank You!
May 30, 2008 2:51 PM
Thanks Bustednuckles
Wretha
May 30, 2008 8:38 PM
Thanks so much for this post, I love simple things that REALLY work. I will be gathering the supplies tommorrow to make this handy water filter. Once again, thanks.
Chris
May 30, 2008 10:12 PM
Hey Chris, let me know how it goes! I have been looking on line for unglazed ceramic pots, I haven’t been able to find anything suitable, if you can find something, would you let me know what it is, where you found it and the price, thanks!
Wretha
May 31, 2008 12:25 AM
Wretha, I found one online at Lowes. http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=94452-303-671984
Hope this link works for you. I am pretty sure it is unglazed, will know for sure tommorrow when I go to lowes, wasn’t able to get there today. Too many weeds in the garden. I’ll let you know for sure.
Chris
May 31, 2008 9:05 PM
Wretha, the pot from Lowes is unglazed, got one today. Was unable to find a bucket the right size so, I guess I’m on hold again.
Chris
June 1, 2008 9:00 PM
Scavenger, does this pot have a hole in it or is it solid in the bottom?
Thanks so much for the info! :)
Wretha
June 2, 2008 1:42 AM
The pot has a hole in the bottom but I think I can plug it up with something. Still thinking on that. Hope to get to town in a day or 2 to find a bucket that it will fit in. Gas is just to high to make trips without having several things to do at the same time. I’ll let you know what I find.
Chris
June 4, 2008 9:22 AM
Scavenger, if you could find something (safe and waterproof)to go across the hole, you could “glue” it using silicone, if you do use silicone, be sure, make super super sure that it is pure silicone, do NOT use the kind that kills molds and mildews, that silicone contains cyanide (don’t ask how I know that, let’s just say, fish tank, dead fish…)
Wretha
June 4, 2008 11:07 AM
A good old fashioned Cork plug maybe?
June 4, 2008 11:08 AM
Bustednuckles,
That sounds good, whatever you use, it would need to be sealed, you would not want the water to be able to leak around it even the tiniest bit, pure silicone would work to seal it.
Wretha
June 4, 2008 11:10 AM
Thanks for that info Wretha, I have been searching for some time now for something simple yet effective.
BTW…love the blog.
Blessings:)
June 20, 2008 9:02 AM
Hi Wretha; I bought a big unglazed clay pot from Walmart and plugged the hole with a rubber stopper from a health food/homebrew supply store, then set the pot in a 5 gallon food grade bucket and poured water in. It takes a week to seep through. I think that’s just too slow.
The people building such filters for African tribes add chopped straw to the clay mix to make it more porous.
July 21, 2008 1:03 AM
Thanks Molly, I appreciate your nice comment! :)
Tracy, how thick is the pot? I assume it was a standard size and thickness… Did you soak it first or do the other step to clean and flush it? Maybe soaking it would help the water flow through faster??? I have a friend who does ceramic sculptures and pottery, I’ll try to ask her about possibly making a pot for me to try, they need a water filter too, maybe we could work on something together….
Wretha
July 21, 2008 1:42 AM
Tracy, another question, how big is the pot? I do know that the more water you can put in it, the more water pressure and the faster the water would come though, that is true for my Berkey Light water purifier, when I fill it completely up, it goes lots faster, as the water level goes down, the water dripping through slows, if it had a small reservoir on top, I know it would take forever…
Just some thoughts…
Wretha
July 21, 2008 1:46 AM