Have any of you lived in unconventional accommodation: off grid, self sustaining, on the road, etc?

[KievLoverTwo]

I’ve found myself quite enchanted in the last few months watching dozens upon dozens of episodes of Ben Fogle’s New Lives In The Wild and it’s really resonating with me.

I have always hated capitalism with a passion, so I am curious to hear experiences.

i don’t think life is always about four walls, bricks and mortar and mortgages.

@BrownieNut - I agree with you that Fogle's personal wealth does not detract BUT the OP wittered on about 'capitalism' etc as if living a remote life and owning money were somehow inimical. Just not true.

The OP's original post also seemed to suggest that wild land somehow belonged to anyone and could be used by all in a 'non-capitalist' way. That's just not true either.. It was never thus. Smallholders are famously tenacious of their rights to land and grazing; big landowners can and do make good money by allowing TV companies etc to film on their land.

One does also, however, have to ask oneself how typical some of those appearing in programmes such as Fogle's really are. Who selects them to appear, for example, and what are the criteria? (I can think of one TV programme in the Highlands, for example, where footpaths wee diverted and big fences erected specifically to keep local OUT of the area being filmed. ) That was not a Fogle programme, but it does happen.

I mean no personal criticism of anyone - all this is a gneral, hypothetical point.

As I was also trying to say, it takes a LOT of money to set up an eco-friendly remote way of living, if you want it to even remotely conform to 'modern' standards. I could not afford a big SUV/4x4, but all the rich newcomers living a Marie-Antoinettish rural lifestyle most certainly could and did, regardless of the emissions fom their vehicles. I lived in a way closer to the way local people and my ancestors traditionally had done, but that is very much not what is shown on a lot of TV programmes. It's not attractive or easy enough.

I've lived: in a self sufficient commune in the Apennine mountains in Italy for several months (that was properly hardcore; the only food we had was what we could grow, gather, hunt or barter for, supplemented by some members going to do outside work like fruit picking occasionally to buy stuff like coffee, sugar, rice and other necessities. It was 40 minutes' walk from the nearest road;

In a caravan on a rural travellers' site for 18 months;

In a boat in a boatyard for 3 years.

The second two were perfectly easy, with the exception of cold mornings in the winter and having to go out in the dark and walk to the toilet if you needed a poo. Oh, and we had to drive to collect water when I lived in the caravan- no water on site. Becoming a member at the local swimming pool is my tip for keeping clean- warm showers, and you get fit to boot!

I live in a nice HA house now, but I really miss having a woodburner- and it's telling that I'll take every opportunity I can to take off and spend the night in my van!

Oh, and it's nonsense that you need an expert to specially design you a compost loo- they're pretty simple things to make!

Compost loos - to physically constuct = simple, yes. But you do have to think quite carefully about soakaways. Not at all always simple if on a no depth of soil/soiid rock site and/or if little local streams nearby. Easy if you are sited on a couple of feet or more of loam or sand; really not so simple on solid rock with SSSI land and protected plant secies - that typically thrive on POOR not waste-rich soils - surrounding.

Yep. Don't wee in a compost loo, or use a urine separator. Use a closed chamber. Sorted.

Very very interesting reading of your experiences nameXname and crackofdoom, thank you!