Do you hold a dream to live off of the land and experience the joy of sustainable living? There really are countless things to consider when living off the land. However, these 10 things are on my priority list and I think they should be on yours.
1. Land
2. Natural Fresh Water Source
3. Food
4. Shelter
5. Power
6. Medical Skills
7. Protection/Security
8. Methods of Communications
9. Disposal of Waste
10. Positive Mental Attitude
{Land}
I put land as the number one priority on this list ’cause without land, there’s no livin’ off of it! There is a huge debate about how much is enough. I say, you make do with what you have. But in order to produce enough to truly live off the land, you will need at least 5 acres. This allows for enough space to produce for your family and your animals. When considering where to purchase cheap land you must consider things such as acreage, amount of timber, quality of soil, presence of water, cost of property taxes, and weather. A few states I consider to be the most “free” and homesteader-friendly (i.e. homeschooling laws, gun laws, tax burden, etc) are: New Hampshire, Colorado, South Dakota, Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, Idaho, Wyoming. Cheap land ($1,000-$1,500 per acre) can be found just about anywhere, you just have to know where you’re looking. We found our 20 acres listed on Craigslist and we purchased on a land contract, without a bank loan. Check out this great article on survivalblog.com.
{Natural Fresh Water Source}
We can live days, even weeks without food, but we will surely die without water in about 3 days. A fresh water source is crucial to your success in living off the land. Whether it be a lake, river/stream, spring or well, it must be close by and it must be drinkable. The cost of digging a well depends on your location, water table, and contractor, but you can expect to pay between $2,000-$4,500 dollars. This website, FindASpring.com, is a great tool in helping you locate a fresh water source close to you. Water Storage (tanks, cisterns, aquifers, and ponds for domestic supply, fire and emergency use)
{Food}
Nutrition, and the production of food, is super important and a key factor in living off the land not only for your family, but for your animals as well. You must know your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone and plan for year-round growing accordingly. In most zones a greenhouse for the winter is a must as well as a garden in the summer. Books such as The Winter Harvest Handbook
{Shelter}
The fist item of business on our land, is the building of a root cellar, or basement. If nothing else we could live in the basement if we had to. Don’t get to hung up on building your “dream home.” All to often I see people shoot themselves in the foot by focusing their time, energy, and money on building their home first! Wrong, wrong, wrong! Live in a camper if you have to. Your home is what you make it. Don’t waste your precious resources on lavish living quarters, that can come later. A modest home will do, and for a cost of around $5,000-$10,000 you can have a nice, liveable space. Or, if your conditions are right, and you have the skill, for $100 shelter can be yours.
{Power}
When constructing your home/shelter, positioning it for power efficiency is of upmost importance. When living off the land, the hope is, our use of power will decrease. Some of the sources for off-grid power are wood/fire, solar, wind, and hydro. Ideally, your property and/or your local area should contain enough timber to provide a heat and cooking source. The old-fashioned cook top stove would need to find it’s place in your home. Solar chargers
{Medical Skills}
Basic medical skills are a necessity for anyone living off-grid. Simply because in most cases you will be quite a distance from the nearest medical facility and you may not hold health insurance. For a $50 start up cost you can construct an emergency medical kit. Bookmark ThePatriotNurse’s YouTube channel and begin learning emergency first aid. Purchase books like Where There Is No Doctor
{Protection/Security}
Guns & Ammo. Enough said. Learn how to safely handle and care for a gun and get one. About $150-$200 should be fine here.Read this informative article and choose a weapon that fits your needs. Remember…we’re talking about living off the land.
{Methods of Communications}
Communication has been and will always be a very important aspect of our lives. Modern technology (aka The Internet) has dramatically changed the way we communicate with others. There are a variety of Satellite Internet Services providers that are for the most part, pretty inexpensive. The initial equipment and set up fee will cost you approximately $400 with a monthly charge of $40-$60 depending on what provider you go with. Don’t want the monthly charge? CB radio works well for local use and the Ham radio is better for long range communications. See this off-the-grid communications article.
{Disposal of Waste}
In order of least expensive to most expensive, here are 3 options for the disposal of human waste.
- Humanure. Composting human waste is free. The most amazing system has been created and you can read all about it in The Humanure Handbook
. If you are even remotely considering living off-grid this book should be in your home library.
- Incinerator Toilet. The waterless incinerator toilet can be set up anywhere and is the perfect alternative to a septic system. One of these lovely things will cost you approximately $2,000.
- Septic System. The septic system is the most expensive costing anywhere from $4,000-$10,000. This system requires modern electricity and running water in addition to routine maintenance.
{Positive Mental Attitude}
If you are going to live off the land and thrive, you have to have your mind right. A positive mental attitude, and a willingness to learn, will see you through the tough times of sustainable living. However, living off the land is no joke. It’s not romantic or sexy. It’s blood, sweat, and tears. It’s up with the sun and working for hours. It’s unpredictable. An agrarian way of life is a willing submission to the laws of nature and to the Creator. This will cost you everything!
Don’t ever give up on your dreams of living off the land! I promise there is a way…you just have to find it.
Please feel free to comment and share with us your thoughts on living off the land. I look forward to continuing the discussion.
You can find this post and a host of others like it here: Simple Lives Thursday, Your Green Resource, It’s A Keeper, Farm Girl Friday, Friday’s Nature Table, Living Well, Farm Friend Friday, Friday Favorites, Fresh Bites Friday, Gallery of Favorites, Fight Back Friday, Freaky Friday, Homestead Barn Hop, Homemaker Monday, Mangia Monday, Fat Tuesday, New Nostalgia, Handmade Tuesday, Patchwork Living Bee, Teach Me Tuesday, Frugal Tuesday Tip, Healthy 2Day Wednesday, Homemaking Wednesday, Living Well
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Great post. Hoping to get to this point eventually myself, but we're currently in the "saving money to buy the land stage." Best of luck!
We should all take the 1st step by simlpy growing food where ever U live now until going OTG….
Great post, Andrea. Can I add? Rarely does anyone consider how much food we depend on from the grocery store…oil, salt, yeast, and in my case ketchup. I ask myself constantly, how sustainable am I willing to go? Am I willing to learn to do without these things? Notice I'm not saying learn to produce them because producing what we can is already hard, hard work. But am I willing to do without? Am I willing to eat ONLY what I've put up for the winter (as the pioneers of this country) or does my being long for that tomato in February so much that I find myself buying them at the grocer? I once heard that it's easier to change a person's religion than it is to change their diet. I want to come to that place that food is not an idol in my life and I can be content with what is already in my pantry.
@Carol Wow! Thank you for your transparency! And you are right on. I think almost everyone would agree with you. Isn't it amazing how our expectations as a society have changed in such a short time. Thank you, thank you for your comment!
This post is a great help. We are just starting out in our quest to find a piece of land that meets our needs ie: fresh water source, good soil, climate, CCRs, etc. Thank you.
I”m from Maine, I believe that if you are going to live anywhere, it’s up North. You alway’s have enough water from the snow to be able to live
Yes, but there are bonuses to living in warmer agricultural areas. Our growing seasons are longer which means greater food production and production of food items like long season tomatoes and onions, and especially fruits like peaches and oranges and such that won’t grow up north. There are a lot of heat loving plants that would never germinate or pollinate further north than our climate zone. The opposite holds true as well. I can’t grow apples where I live, so I will grow things that the apple growers cant and learn to barter.
Oh I think the positive mental attitude is truly the hardest one. My husband and I went through "Our Journey" and I write about the mental side which many I think are not prepared for. I found that sometimes the hardest part. I
I love your post I am going to check out more you have some very valid points and know your information well. B
As far as mental attitude, get over it, or you wont survive!
I love this article. . .this is my desire "to live off the land". We are in a position where we will likely be moving. I so want to be sustainable where ever we wind up. These are all good things to consider! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
BTW . . we have a blog carnival here: http://www.realfoodfreaks.com/2011/10/27/freaky-friday-10-27-2011/#comment-783 Please post this awesome article!
Out of curiosity, do you read Nourishing Days?
This is my favorite article on Your Green Resource this week! I'm not tough enough, I know this about myself. But I'm fascinated by those of you who are!
Great article! Some very good points…
For those readers who are frugal and are okay with using the computer or e-reader for reading, I found the series of books "Where There is No Doctor", etc. available free online, via the publishers… Of course, it is nice to have a hard copy for reference… but if money is an issue, people can still learn some basic medical without buying the hard copies…
http://hesperian.org/books-and-resources/
@Andrea Yes! I've known of Nourishing Days but really just started reading her:) Partly because I'm in love with what her family is doing!
@Kirsten Thank you!!! What a great find! Free is always good:) I will update the post to include this as an option. Again, thank you.
Thank you for joining the Halloween Weekend Hop at http://www.weidknecht.com! I'm a follower and hope to see you at next weekend's hop too.
Having just moved to rural Idaho this year, I can attest to a positive mental attitude as being key. This is just plain hard work. It has its rewards definitely, but there is no break from the endless work trying to get everything up and running well.
I am not saying it was a mistake to do at all, but there have been days I want to chuck it all for a little convenience!!! And then I go outside and take a walk and do much better.
Thanks for linking your great post to FAT TUESDAY. This was very interesting! Hope to see you next week!
Be sure to visit RealFoodForager.com on Sunday for Sunday Snippets – your post from Fat Tuesday may be featured there!
http://realfoodforager.com/2011/10/fat-tuesday-november-1-2011/
If you have grain-free recipes please visit my Grain-Free Linky Carnival in support of my 28 day grain-free challenge! It will be open until November 2.
http://realfoodforager.com/2011/10/grain-free-real-food-linky-carnival/
Wonderul post on off grid living. Great advice and resources too! We once dreamed of and off grid life on our ten acres in Northern Nevada, but we are in Ma now and instead enjoy and off- grid summer cottage.. It's not our " whole " life but we grow veggies, shower outside with solar heated water, use solar electricity for our well pump and lights inside. It's a slice of heaven and one day we hope to make it a year round home! Again, thank you for this comprehensive post on off grid living!
Deb
I want to thank you for sharing this post with the Gallery of Favorites! It is well thought out, and a wonderful resource for anyone considering a move 'off the grid'.
Really interesting article. I am interested in knowing how a land contract works? Would love to purchase without a bank loan.
A great article. I just want to point out too that sustainable living isn’t just about the homestead, it’s also about doing what you can where you are now too. Then, when you find your dream property, it isn’t so overwhelming to make the bigger changes. Learn new skills one at at time and learn how to integrate them into your life one at a time. Before you know it people will want to know where you buy your clocks because you obviously have more hours in your day than they do!
Thank you for a fabulous article! This is so timely as I am considering all of these things right now, believing that even in these hard economic times a return to (hard-working) simplicity has much reward (including the ways to survive hard economic times!). The only other thing I wanted to add is that I truly believe you need only four things to survive: food, water, shelter and hope. And in the category of hope, I would add that a move to the country should also include “who of my friends will visit me here” and an examination of my social life should I do this. In that respect, I have added “community” to your fabulous list.
Correction: A conventional septic system does NOT require electricity. Your probably thinking of some of these newer systems that need electric to pump waste from one tank to another. “Conventional” systems require no electric at all. I have one & its electricity free!
While not legally authorized for human use, I can’t keep from mentioning that you might consider adding biogas digester in your list. They can be a low cost alternative fuel source while addressing some waste issues simultaneously. Here’s just one link about them:
http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/biogas-and-how-to-make-a-diy-anaerobic-digester-video.html
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An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who was conducting a little homework on this.
And he actually bought me breakfast because I discovered
it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks
for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending the time to discuss this matter here on
your site.
I love reading your blog and even have it on my desktop so that I can easily refer to it often. However, I disagree that a family needs at least five acres to live off the land. I personally knew a small family who grew most of their food in their small back yard in town. Besides their garden, they had chickens, rabbits, and a goat for milk.
You can find another family doing the same thing (and making a very good living at it) in Pasadena, CA on 1/10th of an acre:
http://urbanhomestead.org/
However, I do agree with you that a water source (other than city or county water) is essential. There are websites that provide information on inexpensively drilling your own well and installing a hand pump.
Also, think of ways to do without electricity in emergencies…5 gallon buckets and plunger for laundry, for example.
Keep up the good work. I learn new things from you every day!
You mentioned a few homesteader friendly states. What are your thoughts about Georgia?
I enjoyed this post, and I definitely agree with you about the medical advice. The Red Cross (at least in Canada) offers a great course in Wilderness First Aid that is all about fixing major issues (think broken femur) in the wilderness under the assumption that help may not reach you for some time. On that note however, I can never read things like “you may not hold health insurance” without being extremely sad for the Americans that don’t. Our health care system is far from perfect, but anyone who needs medical help will get it, regardless of income and/or insurance, and I think that this is an enormous blessing.
Check out info on earthships at http://www.earthships.com for info on amazing sustainable homes built out of recycled garbage!
awsome article. We are in the process of searching for our 5 acres of heaven. My wife is a nurse and although not sold on going totally pioneer she is all aboard with simplifying our life and doing more for the earth. Were tired of consuming with no end. More is never enough. We want a life filled with eachother and our kids…not 50 hour work weeks and dinner at burger king. Good luck to you all its an amazing life….live it
I SO agree with “Don’t get to hung up on building your “dream home.” All to often I see people shoot themselves in the foot by focusing their time, energy, and money on building their home first! Wrong, wrong, wrong!” I’m taking my counsel from Gods word….”Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.” ~ Prov 24:27 While this could mean focus on what will make a living for your family first…the fields the Lord refers to more often than not are your relationships. With good relationships you stand the best of chances in any situation.
Many people live off the land. If you have fertile land you can sell off extra goats from time to time. We had too many kids so we married off our daughter when she was 15, the bride price was enough to sustain us for a long time. Its not PC, but when you are living off the land, you need to be by more traditional rules.
Thank you, I’ve recently been searching for information about this topic for a while and yours is the best I’ve found out so far.
But, what in regards to the conclusion? Are you positive in regards
to the source?
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What a fantastic post. I have 6 acres in Lincolon county Washington and want to get started living off of the land. This post inspired me to get a move on it! not to mention the how crazy the world is getting. It’s time to live off of the land!!!
Thank you Andrea!
Im so gratful I came upon your site. You said you live in the desrt…. I live in Las Vegas NV and have really been searching for months for a way to put up water. how you do you store it? or do you? we are on a well, but it is an electric neighborhood one, so my best option now is to continue to put it up. we dont drink out of the plantic bottles that are best for puting up water. Do you have some advice for me? Also, how do you purifu your water. some say bleach, is there another way you do it?
Thank you!!!
First of all I would like to say great blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to ask if you do not mind. I was interested to find out how you center yourself and clear your mind prior to writing. I’ve had difficulty clearing my
thoughts in getting my ideas out there. I truly do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally wasted just trying to figure out how to begin.
Any recommendations or hints? Thank you!
Great post. I’ve been looking into doing this with our nuclear family of 4, and possibly with some of the extended family as well. I grew up on a farm in upstate NY with chickens and pigs and cows and horses and dogs and cats and who the heck knows what else… We had just about everything we needed. Burned 12 cords of wood spring/summer/fall and 12 cords in winter for hot water heat (water tank above the wood stove tied into a circulator pump feeding hot-water baseboard heating, nifty design…), showers, dishwashing, etc. Lots of hard work, but worth it. Baled hay to feed livestock. Overall I like this post a lot, but I disagree with one portion: $150-$200 for firearms and ammo…? Not in this house, that’s for sure. For around 200 bucks you can just buy a Ruger 10/22 .22LR rifle and a brick (500 rounds) of cheap, dirty Wal-Mart special ammo. Or a cheap 12-gauge shotgun and a few boxes of game loads ( No. 7 1/2 or No. 8 shot). You wouldn’t catch me dead with only $200 worth of an arsenal. Now, I am not saying you need to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on firearms and ammuntion, but I would advise the following: First and foremost, from a frugailty standpoint, and from a practical standpoint as well, purchase firearms in common chamberings, preferably military chamberings (pistols: 9mm x 19mm, .40S&W, .45 ACP; rifles; 5.56x45mm {NOT the same as .223 Remington, though many guns will shoot both, and many will not} 7.62x39mm or 7.62x51mm {practically identical to .308, generally interchangable}) due to the availability of cheap ammo. This ammo is generally in good condition and cost alot less, though you will sacrifice accuracy (with a rifle inside of 100 meters you will still hit your target if you know how to handle the weapon) and will have to clean your gun regularly (you should be doing this anyway). I think at minimum, everyone should have at least one 12-gauge shotgun, one .22LR rifle, one medium-to-large caliber rifle (.223/5.56mm or .308/7.62mm), and one pistol. Shotguns make fabulous PDWs (personal defense weapons) and there is a huge psychological impact of an intruder/tresspasser overhearing the dreaded action of a pump shotgun. Also, many shotguns (Mossberg 500, Remington 870, etc.) have interchangable barrels, meaning the firearm can be used as a PDW, or for bird hunting, or for deer hunting, depending on the barrel type and shotshell types utilized. 12 gauge ammo is also relatively inexpensive and readily available. A good pump shotgun will set you back $300-$600 off the shelf, and additional barrels will be $100-$150 each. A .22LR (Long Rifle) rifle is a great small game rifle. The Ruger 10/22 is about the best you can get off the shelf for your money, and only runs about $200 out of the box. Add a small scope, and you have a great gun for rabbit, squirrel, etc., as well a decent varmint gun out to 100 yards. I have even taken deer (with shots through the brain pan) with a .22LR as a child. .22LR ammo is extremely cheap, with 500 rounds running between 12-20 bucks a brick. For medium to large game hunting, a .308/7.62x51mm is an excellent round, and ammo is readily available. However, a ruged, accurate .308 bolt action rifle (Remington 700, Winchester 70, or preferably Savage Model 10) will set you back $600-$1,100 off the shelf, and guns of this caliber and design really call for good optics. Do not cheap out on optics. A decent Leupold 3-9x magnification scope will run around $500, but a Savage 10FPC with a 10x scope will consistently shoot 1″ groups (5 rounds in a row) at 100 meters with a semi-skilled shooter. This means a lot if you’re trying to bag a deer, elk, moose, etc. to sustain your family. A well placed shot means the difference between protien on the menu or no protien on the menu. A .223/5.56x45mm bolt action rifle will provide the same accuracy out to about 300 yards as a .308/7.62x51mm, likely more accurate than the shooter. With a well placed shot you can drop a deer with a .223, but generally larger calibers are used for game of this size to ensure a clean kill. .223 ammo is cheaper and lighter than .308 ammo though, so if you live in a place where most of your shots will be inside of 100 meters, you may want to save yourself a few hundred bucks and go with a .223 bolt gun. I would avoid AR-15 style weapons for hunting purposes, unless of course you’re hunting 2-legged varmints. Finally, a good pistol is quite literally a life-saver. There has been endless debate over the most effective pistol rounds for personal defense. 9mm vs .45 ACP, .357 SIG vs. .40S&W. On and on. .357 magnum, .38 special… there are many, many options. The fact is, you can put a 9mm Glock in your hands for $500, and if you are proficient enough with this weapon to place your shots in the chest and head of anyone wishing to do you harm, they are not going to be getting up. A .45 ACP will do the same thing, only better, though you will be sacrificing weight, ammunition capacity, and felt recoil. A Walther P22 loaded with .22LR will still kill a man if you can get rounds into the the chest and head, for about $300 bucks. Pistols are very personal (all guns are, really) so find one that meets your criteria, and one that you are comfortable carrying and firing.
Point being, after this disertation, that when my family moves to the sticks to once again live off the land, we will be taking far more than $200 worth of firearms and ammunition with us. Not only for personal protection (from both 2- and 4-legged varmints) but for hunting as well.
Top Picks for my 4 mandatory firearms, based on reliability, cost of ammo, cost of the firearm, and effectiveness:
Shotgun: Mossberg 500 12-gauge with 18.5″ smooth-bore barrel, 24″ Buck Barrel with 1.5-4.5x Scope, and 28″ Bird Barrel. 3″ Slugs (deer), 2-3/4″ No. 7.5 Shot (small game birds) 3″ No. 4 Shot (turkey), and 3″ 00-Buckshot (2-legged Varmints). $350-600 for the gun, $100-$150 per additional barrel, $.25-1.50 per shell, $150+ for the scope and rings.
Small Rifle: Ruger 10/22 .22 LR. $200 off the shelf, and 36-grain hollowpoints will run you $15-25 per 500 count box (brick). Add a small scope, 4-6x magnification, ($100-$200 for scope and rings) and even a small bi-pod ($50) if you like, and you’re all set to drop small game or varmints inside 100 meters.
Large Rifle: Savage Model 10FPC .308 $1,100 off the shelf. Leupold Vari-X II 3-9×40 Scope with rings $500. Harris Bi-Pod, Karsten Aftermarket Cheek Rest, CDI magazine release and mags $500. Yes, this is a $2,000+ set-up. Yes, it will drop anything you can hold a bead on, out to 1,000 meters. If you’re not interested hand-loading your cartidges, try Hornady 168-Grain TAP ammo. Shoots real well, super accurate, as good as you’ll get out of the box.
Pistol: The ubiquitous Glock 17/19 9mm x 19mm. Readily available parts, ammo, accessories, magazines, etc. Realtively cheap ammo. Reliable as you can get. Will stop an intruder dead in his/her/its tracks with well placed shot. $500 off the shelf, $20+/- per box of 50 rounds for either Hornady TAP JHP or Federal Hydra-Shok JHP ammo. Militray surplus FMJ ball ammo is $200 or less or 500 rounds.
I hope I don’t sound like a gun nut, and I hope you don’t discredit this information. The fact of the matter is, with the political, economical, and social issues this country is facing, there is a strong possibility that you may need to defend yourself, your family, and your land from others who have lacked the foresight and fortitiude to provide for themselves and painstakingly as you may have. Like the Scouts say, Be Prepared.
-GrizzlyBear
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Thank you!
This is exactly the second post, of urs I actually went through.
Yet I really enjoy this one, “10 Things To Consider When Living Off The Land And
How Much Money Will It Cost” the very best. Cya ,Trista
looking to live off the land , just as soon as i can find a female to go along, one who can eat rabbits, chickens, deer, fish and help plant a garden, raise goats turkeys and so on. I know how to hunt fish trap garden and build . retired nurse and carpenter.
i hve a plot of land for you at the back of mountain of fire ministry at lagos ibadan express way, the plot is on foundation level,
documents on it are,family agreement, registered deed of conveyance,family receipt, price 2.2m you can email me:osicater@yahoo.com
and also a 6 bedroom bungallow on two and half plots. at ikorodu , all document obtained, price 10million.
dalise može živeti od poljuprivrede.usrbiji akoje izdaješ uarendu drugome.da radi.bez dodatnih poslova.bašme živo interesuje.od pet ipo jutara zemlje.