Whan an adventure it's been!
Learning something everyday...
Oh man, where do I begin... it's been such an amazing 6 months. Building a homestead from the ground up is no small task, and we haven't even started with animals or a house!!!
First I'd like to tell you what this dream to build a home closer to nature really is.
Some 10 years ago or so (it could have been 14, I don't remember anymore), I went to Chile with a few friends to film a music documentary. We were there for a little over 6 months living in a van, interviewing musician after musician. It was all about how revolutionary music can be influential and what it has done to move people.
If you're interested in finding out more here's the trailer:
In Chile, some time after Pinochet's dictatorship, places called casas culturales started opening up in urban centers. They brought back into existence indigenous music and art culture that had been prohibited by the dictator. These Cultural Houses bacame hubs for creativity and social gatherings... and of course, as you would expect, centers for activism.
To make a long story short, my trip to Chile sprouted this idea of creating a nomadic cultural center. I called it The People's Caravan, La Caravana Del Pueblo or La Caravanne Du Peuple...
Eventually, the idea of creating such a circus morphed into the realization of needing a stable home base. How were we to teach pernaculture if we couldn't fully practice pernaculture? We decided to find land, build a community and practice what we wanted to preach... Art, Permaculture and Self Reliance.
Our First 6 Months Building The Dream
Like I was saying at the beginning of the post, I've learned something new everyday, since we moved to Dreamland Express (I'm thinking this may be our newest official name!)
So I thought for this first six month update I'd give you the highlights, some have links to steemit posts and some are just photos.
Mushrooms are now a part of our lives. The summer was so fruitful, they grew everywhere in such abundance, it was a sign to learn and start understanding something new.
A very disappointing moment was when I went to check on our drying trumpets, only to find they had been attacked by mold... very sad moment it was.
We cleaned, organized, played and learned how to live without running water and having to make our own electricity. Everyday was a learning experience, there was no dull moments.
We had to fill up our own 5 gallon water jugs for drinking and sometimes doing the final rinse when we washed the dishes.
It rained quite a lot, so we figured that setting up a rainwater catchment system was in order... again we found three 55 gallon drums and I got creative with material we had laying around the property.
Charging the battery that gave us a bit of lighting at night came from an inverter plugged into a running vehicle.
A good homesteader friend provided us with a small array of solar panels and that helped keep the car off when the sun was out, charging our leisure battery... (yeah we have only the 1 battery for now!)
We grew some food: 🍅tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes...
So we grew tomatoes, a little basil and some mint... yep that's it, that's all but again, with constantly tinkering, fixing learning to live in the rain and keeping a family together we didn't have much time for the garden, as a matter of fact I didn't really take much care of our tomatoes. No problem as I was trying a growing technique which includes almost no effort... I know it rained a lot but here is that post about growing tomatoes without water.
There was so much more, between learning what edible plants we have, which ones are medicinal and which ones are deadly... Having the opportunity (thrown out the window in misunderstandings)to own a dozen grown chickens and a large chicken coop... Going to festivals and sometimes getting on each other's nerves.
I learned so much it would be difficult to make this post unbearably long... I even learned tons about steemit and the wonderful community that it is (it's actually really hard to not spend time on it!)
I am leaving you today with a photo of my dad who was visiting: I love it because he decided to climb up the latter while we were dancing to ACDC's Highway to Hell. Our little 4 year old boy started it, I was able to talk my dad into dropping the work to enjoy the music and we danced for a few songs... an epic moment, something I had never felt with my father, it really was awesome to see him so happy!
Here are the previous updates on our Off-Grid life on Dreamland Express:
PS: @lyndsaybowes, this could be considered a #walkwithme right? Walk with me for 6 months...LOL
If you don't like your surroundings, change them
If you don't like your situation, change it.
If you don't like your decisions, make different ones.
All of this leads to the life that YOU want to lead, not the one others want you to lead.
Life is like chess, always try and think at least 5 moves ahead, and if you can see the dead ends you can avoid them.
