#kiss | Off Grid Living - is it (possible) for the ordinary person in England?

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(Edited)

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Part of the installation "Back to the Fields" by Ruth Ewan, 2015-2022, exhibited as part of Radical Landscapes at Tate Liverpool.
The display shows the month of "Frimaire/Frost".

Back to the Fields is based on the French Republican calendar in use from 1793-1805. The French Republican calendar is made up of twelve months of thirty days. Each month is divided into three weeks, each week is ten days long. The final five (or six) days of the year are festival days. The calendar stands in opposition to the Gregorian calendar and has no references to kings, emperors or gods. Each day is symbolised by a natural object - either animal, vegetable or mineral. (Radical Landscapes, Tate, 2022)

It is interesting to have this topic this week: last weekend I was in Liverpool to see the Radical Landscapes exhibition at the Tate Gallery. The exhibition is about many things: what our relationship is to the land and how we view it, who owns it and who has access to it:

We have a partial Right to Roam to a mere eight per cent of the land in the UK; over the other ninety-two percent, the laws of trespass still prevail. (Radical Landscapes, Tate, 2022)

The exhibition covers a wide range of historical, social and economic issues, including common people's (that's pretty much all of us) struggle to be in the land, to enjoy the land and nature, and to have some small part of it for ourselves to have a living.

It looks at land enclosures and the effects of industrialisation, the protests of the Diggers and Levellers, the mass trespasses that took place during the mid-20th Century and which led to the creation of the National Parks, the militarisation of the land, for example at Greenham Common, and the women activists who occupied the Peace Camp and staged non-violent actions in protest and resistance. It considers climate breakdown and the access of different groups of people to the land, including immigrants and disabled and LGBTQI+ people.

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This is a still from a documentary by John Berger, Ways of Seeing shown on the BBC in 1972, showing a very famous painting of Mr and Mrs Andrews by Thomas Gainsborough, 1750. Berger has pinned the notice "Trespassers KEEP OUT" to the tree.

Berger interprets the painting as a celebration of property. 'Theirs is private land,' he writes. 'Their attitude towards it is visible [zoom in to the portrait in the National Gallery for the smug smirk on Mrs Andrews' chops]. If a man stole a potato at that time he risked a public whipping. The sentence for poaching was deportation. (Radical Landscapes, Tate, 2022)

Living a nomadic life and setting up camps was targeted as anti-social through the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1984, a precursor to legislation currently making its way through Parliament which criminalises Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities for residing or intending to reside on land without the permission of the owner or occupier.

This begs the question: where and how could you live an off-grid life in England, what would it be like, would it be possible without owning your own land or property?


Source: Manchester Evening News Of course, there are many people living an off-grid life without any choice in the matter.

In December 2021, there were 6,780 homeless people in Manchester, eight times higher than anywhere else in the north west of England and 1:81 of the population. Across England, more than 274,000 people were homeless with an estimated 5,000 people sleeping rough, off-grid in the streets.

Much of this is a consequence of poverty, precarious employment, in work benefits and the challenges of Universal Credit (a good idea poorly executed), exacerbated by the strictures of the pandemic and now by energy prices and the rising cost of living. Our safety net has some yawning holes.

Over the years, I've followed the journey of Karl of this parish, as he investigated and reported on alternative and off grid communities on his way to buying some land in Portugal. The thing that most frequently struck me was what very hard work was involved, and the often tedious nature of the life. I always wondered what happened when you were sick and old, especially in one community where people appeared to live most of their life outdoors. There was no heating and no hot water, and a lot of time (eight hours a day) was spent weeding.

In the research that I did for this post I came across a blog post "Off Grid Living Mistakes" which kicks off with:

Have you always dreamed of escaping cubicle life and traffic jams, to live off the grid, independent and free? You know, being self-reliant, building cook fires with wood you chopped, or cooking on an old wood cook stove?

The writer is Canadian, so from a very different culture and land use to England, where pioneer in the Mountain Man sense has much more resonance, although I too remember being seduced by stories of Jedediah Smith in my teens. Jedediah Smith, dead at thirty-two, that should be a warning if nothing else is.

The blogger goes on to answer her own question:

I did. But in all my daydreams [my italics and emphasis], I didn't imagine that I would make a whole lot of off grid living mistakes.

And follows with five mistakes and how to avoid them:

  • Didn't know enough about off grid power systems.
  • Unrealistic idea of off grid homesteads.
  • Underestimated off grid home costs.
  • I wasn't physically strong enough.
  • Didn't have a support network.

It's a good post that explores each of these problems in depth and then gives ideas about how you can research and prepare and take up weight training.

I can understand the mentality that leads to this. My parents were a tad anarchic (my grandmother reported that "they live like Gypsies" to the rest of the family on her return from a visit) and spent years dreaming of an off grid life, meanwhile reading John Seymour's Self Sufficiency from cover to cover. They did become fairly self sufficient food wise after moving back to the coastal town my father's family come from, living from the allotment and the sea. They never got round to keeping and slaughtering a pig, so meat was still brought in along with flour and alcohol.

They worked hard. My mum had a job and then went to the allotment after work. My dad walked to the bay twice a day after the tide to collect fish and crustaceans caught on the landline - often through the night and in all weathers - between working on the house, a two hundred year old coaching inn "in need of modernisation".

I have been pondering the relationship between minimalism and off grid living. Is there an idea that off grid living is a simpler life? How realistic and reasonable is it as a lifestyle in England where most of the population is urban and much of it is poor?

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Source - Saffron Lane Neighbourhood Council Is there room for hybridisation? Passivhaus homes for example, like the eco houses built on Saffron Lane estate in Leicester, one of the ring of outer social housing estates that surround Leicester.

a spacious development of bright, highly insulated homes that were designed in the passiv-haus style as a way of cutting heating bills for the new residents. The homes themselves are a mix of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroomed properties – seven with wheelchair access. They are grouped around two greens and surrounding avenues, and have large gardens and parking spaces.

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Source: Saffron Heath

The houses back onto Saffron Heath, a six acre site with numerous heritage features including unusual local varieties of fruit and nut trees, bee hives, a pre-Victorian field pond and an Anderson shelter.

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Source: Saffron Acres

Saffron Acres is an award-winning open space in the centre of the Saffron Lane estate, managed by Saffron Lane Neighbourhood Council for the benefit of local people. When we took it over in 2006, it was disused land, and we quickly set about revitalising it so that we could provide funded work placements and volunteering opportunities enabling local people to learn how to live more sustainably; growing and cooking their own produce, generating green energy, and living a healthier lifestyle ... The six acre site has full disabled access, including poly-tunnels, hand-wash station and composting toilet.

All the above developments were built on or reclaimed from, at the time, disused marginal land between the railway line and the arterial road leading to the centre of Leicester. There are plans to build another 100 eco-houses as part of a community led housing project.

I've written in a previous post about Saffron Acres where you'll find a video with Neil Hodgkin and his colleagues from Saffron Neighbourhood Council and the story of how Saffron Acres is growing people out of poverty.

Being, as I am, in the sick, lame and lazy club, off grid living is not for me, even if I had the personality for it. And I don't have the personality for it: riders when I go to stay with people have always been a bedside lamp, hot and cold running water and a flushing toilet.

That doesn't mean that there shouldn't be options for off grid living for people who want to live that kind of life. Creating that space requires us to challenge collectively the way land is owned, used and governed in England, to resist attempts to close off the land still further (two public rights of way are currently under dispute not two miles from where I live, with both under threat of being privatised and no longer available for common use) and to protest at the criminalisation of nomadic ways of life, even if they don't suit us.

More than that, living as we do in an urbanised, post-industrial, country in the throes of the fourth industrial revolution, we need to think about how:

to help everyone, including leaders, policy-makers and people from all income groups and nations, to harness converging technologies in order to create an inclusive, human-centred future. To look beyond technology, and find ways to give the greatest number of people the ability to positively impact their families, organisations and communities. (Source: World Economic Forum - although I'm not sure they should be our guiding light, mired as they are in the neoliberal project. Sometimes you have to take what you can get).

This is my response to The MINIMALIST Blogging Challenge Week 8 - you're welcome to join in.

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Three things newbies should do in their first week and, for most things, forever afterwards!

HIVE UK MEET-UP: Saturday 18 June 2022 | 12.00-5.00pm | Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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34 comments
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About the homeless, government should take more priority and care. Either educate or look for some easy job for them to earn.
More project should be focus for those jobless, less educated people.

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It would be wonderful if the government took more care, I agree.

For some homeless people, though, living on the street is how it works for them. They are not able to cope with living in a house or dwelling. There are some places where they can go for a shower and a haircut and medical help. We need more of those.

Thank you for your comment.

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For some homeless people, though, living on the street is how it works for them. They are not able to cope with living in a house or dwelling.

You are spot on here @shanibeer. When I stop to chat with the homeless, this is exactly what most of them tell me.

Last year n Stratford-upon-Avon I met a lady who runs a laundry and implemented a scheme to help homeless people.

We do need more places like these indeed.

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(Edited)

Whoooa @shanibeer
What a thorough post!
You've raised some thought-provoking questions about persons living non-idyllic 'off-grid' lives along the streets of many towns here in the UK. Three years ago the streets of Leicester were rampant with such occupants. I had a chat with a few of them because I was concerned. Some explained that most of them were displaced from their homes and basically on low income without living accommodation.
Off-grid living comes with many trials and people sleeping on the streets is something that troubles me...

Off-grid in the UK: Could be challenging, but as you've mentioned, not something cut out for you. It takes energy and planning indeed.
You've spoken about at lot that I would need to look into. Saffron Lane for instance is new to me...

Living on a narrowboat and sometimes seeing the traditional boats gives you an idea of all the different things you have to think about for self-sustainability and all.
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this might be a two-part response, because I'm keen to read up and check out some of the links in your post:)

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It's very difficult to do in the UK - VERY expensive to set up properly even here, and a lot of hard work and grind.

One has to wonder whether it's worth it - but then again it's either that or subject yourself to the systemic risks of rising food and energy prices!

Maybe the most sensible strategy is the super high tech but that's so pricey!

!PIZZA

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It's very difficult to do in the UK

That was my sense - unless you're involved in some sort of co-op or community and pooling resources (and grind).

subject yourself to the systemic risks

Mmm, my point, really, what about everyone who hasn't got that choice? It's where collective action comes in, I think.

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Theres a problem with definition of off-grid and self sustaining. There are infinite degrees within the terminology. If you start with zero state intervention, it's completely possible. Being self sufficient and living off the land, not impossible but impractical and undesirable for most.

The problem for most is old age and health care!

I despair at many of the 'off-grid' YT channels. They are BS, as are middle class 'van-lifers' who spend 30grand to put a bed in a huge van , spend a couple of nights in it and then go back to their beloved surburbia. It's 99% trend and fashion, as are many, increasingly popular minimalist posts, with the greatest of respect.

Anyone living as close to off grid as possible through choice will be living their minimal, simple life to their own agenda and it's very doubtful , considering their probable personal characteristics and the hassle from authorities they would be appearing on YT or shouting about it from the rooftops !

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Yes, I have a real problem with the romanticisation of off grid, minimalist living as presented in social media. A friend mentioned to me that everyone looks like they're living in an art gallery - there's never any mess anywhere. It's interesting how it plays into identity, too - who/how you are allowed to be.

I think there is lots of room for hybrid forms, though, but they need to come with decent housing, healthcare, education and income (whether through a job or universal income).

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(Edited)

I wish it was even possible in the UK, and as Karl has shown, and my friend Tom and I have discussed many times, after one too many beers, you can only buy your freedom in this system.

By this I mean you must be able to afford to purchase land, that you can then maybe grow produce on, or even as with your example try to facilitate green housing that has access for people to join in with a self-sustaining way of life. That still requires big capital, and the mindset not to care that some people might contribute less money-wise, or even work-wise as they grow older. It's a rare person to find who has bags of £££ and is of a compassionate mindset.

But with this government in the UK now, there is so much red tape set up against that type of thing - like community co-operatives that are focused on green sustainable living that it is made as hard as possible, and certainly won't find any government grant funding. I know of a few such communities like that, but they all took a group of comparatively well-off people of very similar mindsets to buy the land to build eco-friendly houses on.

Yet our current government in the UK makes it as easy as punch to become a property Barron in most cities in the UK if you have a few billion £ to drop.

Lol, I might come from the far left side of the pond, but it doesn't make any of what I've said above any less true. That example of Saffron Acres you pointed out is amazing, and I'm sure there are one or two councils (perhaps where a Green majority have got in) where similar grant-funded projects might exist, but I would bet my life on them being a minority, and them being opposed heavily by the Tories.

From my perspective as an anarchist, it is exactly movements like the diggers, more revolutionary direct actions of taking back the land for use to sustain poorer people that are needed.

FFS during the second world war huge swathes of the population were given plots of land to grow veg, and also encouraged and helped with free seeds etc to grow food in their gardens. I remember my grandmother telling me about this in her many chatty moods (lol it was a rarety my gran had a quiet contemplative moment, to be honest 😂).

Anyway, to finish exactly where I started I think it is impossible to live a self-sustainable life in the UK, unless, like Hugh Fernly Whitinfstall, you start off with a huge pile of cash to buy land, and develop it for growing food and raising livestock. Even on a small scale, it takes a big £££ to buy yourself freedom.

That exhibition does look fascinating though, I must make it down there before it ends.

Great, well researched, and thorough post @shanibeer

!LUV

I'll leave you with Chumbawamba's version of the first song I ever learned on guitar.

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Hehe, I haven't heard that for a long time 😍.

Liverpool has quite a tradition of housing co-ops, I think? I'm not sure if that is the case in other parts of the northwest, too, and I know there are some in London (and there was one in Leicester). They are another good alternative.

I am fascinated by how inventive people are, though. I was struck all the time by how people live under the radar in London (I'm sure it is true in Leicester, too), and for a time I was one of those people. They find a niche for themselves. The trouble is the precarity.

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Absolutely fantastic post. The rich and titled have always had more access to land, and god forbid the people of the land who tried to survive on it as they had for generations.

I used to live as a new traveller up Bath way. I loved the community aspect of it and the work that went into living - the finding of water and wood, mainly. If we had land to grow food it would have been better but you ran risk of eviction from UNUSED LAND most of the time.

I've always, always liked the idea of a hybrid living model.. smaller houses clustered around green spaces with shared or rostered work on vegetable gardens etc. You're not outside the grid, but living in a DIFFERENT grid. A better one

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Thank you and I'm glad you dropped by, you were in my thoughts as I was writing it. For a country like the UK, I think hybrids are the way to go, although I think we must still challenge land appropriation. There's some really good examples of I think they are called home streets - the road between facing houses has been turned into a garden, for gardening, growing, meeting your neighbours and for playing. I live in a set of houses with a shared drive at the back - great for social interaction and community building.

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(Edited)

I am loving the responses to your post @shanibeer.
This is exactly what I had hoped for and more.
Off-grid living certainly suits my personality and all, but the question of self-sustainablity quashes the idea of it being realistic and achievable in many countries, including the UK.

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So glad you are enjoying it 😍.
I think off grid living is possible if you have some money behind you (or can get money), and being on a boat is one of the ways you can do that. I especially like how you can move around on a boat, too.

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That's very true with the boat. However, I wish there were more feasible opportunities in the UK.
I'm back in Leicester, but only here for a fairly short time because we can only moor up at Castle Gardens and Friars Mill for 2 nights at each place. I wish I had more time to explore more areas though:)

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Funny you can be so close to the City Centre! You'll gradually see everything over time 😍

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Yeah, it's amazing. Boaters have a key to the park at Castle Gardens.
I would love to sit and look at the stars at night, but you have drunkies and rascals. That's one of the reasons why one of us tends to stay on the boat. Just last week we heard that some drunks or kids were throwing stones at a narrowboat over the fence of Castle Gardens in the night time. It can be scary for older boaters especially. Apparently the police came though.

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I am glad you raised those important points about the mistakes in off-grid living.
I watched a documentary about families and couples who moved to Alaska and made homesteads because the government give them the possibility to live on lands for free that are completely remote for as long as they develop the property.

A couple lived within a land 6 hours drive from the nearest town for decades and did everything from scratch but they decided to give up the property because they're now in their 70s. An off-grid lifestyle is good when we're physically strong but once we reach a certain age, being close to healthcare facilities and social interaction are necessary so living in a community like Saffron Heath solves the 5 issues.

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Hello @discoveringarni, yes, I agree I think there are many different models that we could try that would combine a more sustainable life style with good healthcare and social connections. Good public transport is really important, too.

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I'm with you on the idea of a hybrid style. The libertarian idea common in North America of being off grid and 100% self sustaining isn't really realistic; it's born of this hyper individualist mindset and completely just ignores certain things like, roads are communal, the tools you use were made by someone else, you're not also going to mine metal to make new tools that you need, etc. NTM not all climates are suitable for all things and if you get wiped out by a natural disaster, what are you going to do then? And it is a LOT of work to produce things yourself; there is a reason people used to have 13 kids and farmhands and villages, etc. But if you're holed up in your bunker with your shed of weapons convinced your neighbors are trying to steal your canned beans, well, good luck. You need community to really survive.

But on the other hand, both for human happiness and in the face of global warming, we need to become more local again: source things from nearer; have production spread out so if there's a natural disaster in one area all is not lost because that isn't the only place where xyz crop/manufacturing is located; the energy grid needs to be resilient, which it isn't when it's highly centralized, so more distributed wind and solar and storage facilities, etc.

We can feed the world if we're smart about it, if we engage in permaculture and sustainable methods, use what we have wisely (why the $&^##%$% they don't take all that animal manure from farms and use it as fertilizer instead of both using algae-bloom-causing industrial fertilizers that are running out AND creating toxic cesspools of poop is beyond me), and otherwise think globally, build locally, and plan long-term.

The long-term thinking and the capitalist profit motive, imo, are the biggest barriers to real change.

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Yeah, I agree 😍.

We have alternative communities here and small holdings (homesteads) with their own support communities, but off grid life is only possible for a few people with a lot of money.

We are starting to see some changes here. I read yesterday that it has been No Mow May - not cutting lawns so that there are wild flowers for bees. This is the third year I haven't mown my lawn at all, although I think I am going to cut it next week, as trees are starting to grow 😂.

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But don't you want to turn it into a forest?? 😃

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Hehe, yes, I want a food forest, but somehow we have oaks growing! I'm not sure where there is a mature oak tree round here, but the squirrels bury the acorns in my lawn. Any large growing trees would be too big for the amount of space and would endanger the housing - sooner or later they would have to be removed. We have large trees with preservation orders in the boundary hedge, that are gorgeous, but need a lot of attention. Really, I want the "lawn" more like a meadow, that's one of the habitats we've lost. Here's some lovely no mow may gardens.

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Hey, I have a new elm tree sprouted! I found another seed blown into my community garden plot and I took it inside and planted in a pot, and it sprouted right away. The nearest elm is down the block and around a corner, so it's a testimony to how far those can blow on the wind that I've had two volunteers show up in my container garden. :D

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