Category — WORK

World Economic Fixers grab for power

The Corporate Muppets running Davos, the annual gathering of financial and industrial leaders, launched their 2012 meeting saying that now is the moment for business to take over from government as the key force for social change. But the evidence they present for this claim proves quite the opposite:  in reality, while trust in politicians and companies has collapsed, public movements like Occupy and Tea Party, plus peer-to-peer web sites are likely to become far more influential.

The impetus for the debate is the just-released poll by Edelman, a corporate PR company, showing that the public’s faith in government has dropped sharply around the world in the past year due to a mixture of corruption and incompetence.  It is this change which is causing people to go off-grid in growing numbers, particularly in the US.

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This is a really interesting project, and pays expenses of GBP600 per month – US$1000 per month.  It could be done anywhere in the world. It is full-time and requires complete dedication to the project and considerable skills in writing, research and social media.

It is intended to lead to a permanent position at a proper rate of pay.

You will be helping me research and write the stories on off-grid.net and also promoting the site around the Internet. You will also help develop the content so it is of maximum usefulness to the readers – the nuts and bolts of how to go off the grid and stay off the grid, sourcing first-hand experiences, video material and photos as well as moderating the forum.

Subject range from Smart Grid data protection to anonymous phones to solar chargers. The details of managing your own power and water are only part of the focus. I am also looking at staying under the radar of the The System.

You will also be helping promote this web site and the documentary project at indiegogo.com/offthegrid (needs to be updated).

Superb research skills and a total fluency wth all social media is a must, plus a true love of the subject matter and a guarantee that you will give this your total focus.

Start February 1st, or sooner.

Please email Nick Rosen – nick@off-grid.net.

Time to lose the suit

While news emerges that the top bosses in Western economies are earning FIFTY times more than they did in the eighties, in many US cities, the youth unemployment rate is reaching 50%.  The same is true in European cities, especially in Spain, Greece and Portugal. Italy will be next.

Its only the beginning.  (more…)

Better than bank finance

Great article by Merlyn Seeley on Examiner.com about the wide range of ways you can make money if you are lucky enough to have a patch of good quality land. Especially off-grid land.

He points out that just buying the land is he hardest part – everything else is the reward.  Also that the more land you own the easier it is to make money from it.

One thing he does not mention is renting it out.  In normal circumstances, its probably the last thing to consider, but if you are desperate for money now, then perhaps its the first thing to consider.  You could even rent it to a solar power company which could place its panels there and harvest electricity.  If you have some cash yourself you could generate your own power and sell it to neighbors – undercutting the Utilities.

Anyway, here are some of Merlyn’s suggestions: (more…)

This December will be 4 years for us living 100% off grid, I can tell you it’s been quite the adventure, my only regret is that we didn’t do this earlier. Let me recap what we have been doing these 4 years…

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Off-Grid.net has been going five years and in that time has helped build the global off-grid community and provided a valuable information service.  We need to keep on developing a range of services for off-grid people, and those who are thinking about changing their lives to a more sustainable form of existence.

We are looking for a committed all-rounder who shares our values, and can take us to the next level and stay with us, developing the site for years to come (paid of course). (more…)

Homesteading, it’s a buzzword that means different things to different people, back in the day, it meant getting land for free as long as you lived on it and improved it for x number of years. It was a way to get people to move west (in the USA), back when travel was slow and painful, even dangerous.
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The prestigious TED lectures invited Mark Boyle, The Moneyless Man, to their Oporto summit last week. His lifestyle practices the teachings of the Gift Economy – the idea that if each of us gave unconditionally – without expecting anything back in return, then the world could function just as it does at the moment, but without banks, mortgages or exploitation. (more…)

Stein: Govt money wasted

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there were over 500 measurable earthquakes in the New Madrid Fault System since September. A massive quake in this area would kill or injure millions and leave 14 million homeless. (more…)