Something Happening Here: Head for the Hills, Mountains, and Other Remote Areas!

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August 1, 2007 Newsletter

Ten "Must Haves" for Your Remote Homestead

First: Water Collection Devices. That is, to collect rain water and other forms of natural precipitation, including "dew." Down south of here in some of the driest climate in the US--along the US-Mexico border which cuts through the Chihuahuan, Sonora, and Mojave Deserts--one of the most poular water collection/storage systems involves having a huge metal or plastic dish which connects to large cisterns. The dish, parabolic or hyperbolic in shape, not only collects rainwater but also dew. In the center of the apparatus is a spout which leads, via pipes or gutters to a large (100 gallon or more) cistern (either rock, brick/adobe, or plastic or metal). You can, of course, also collect snow melt. Driving along Route 118 from Alpine, Texas to Terlingua, Study Butte, Big Bend Park, Lajitas, Redfors and Presidio (and especially in the park), you will see these devices. Many of the houses down there have flat or a framed roofs which make my favored water collection systems almost impossible. And what is my favorite system? The one we use, of course! We use 5-gallon buckets along with 55-gallon plastic drums that catch water from our sloped roof. Because of logistics, we only have these in the front of the house (we don't have them in the back because we have not set up a system to utilize water collected in the back, through out own fault. Because of the position of our house, it would now be difficult to set one up, but not impossible, and, if dire straights come upon us, we would probably rectify this). Round of oblong horse troughs would also work well. Gutters with down spouts can also facilitate these systems. BTW, the 5 gallon buckets are used so we can transport water from this system to another water collection device by the garden, or we can carry the buckets to the garden ourselves. Good exercise!

We also use the water to flush our toilet manually. Years ago we realized that using water from our water tank (pumped out of the ground) used far more water than we actually needed. Out here in west Texas, wasting water amounts to a "mortal sin"! That situation came about because the very hard water that exists out here deposited more lime in the workings of the toilet than could be removed through cleaning, and because our toilet just happened to be "high flow" ("low flow" toilets have come out since we have bought ours, back in the later 80s when our expensive manual-flush 1 gallon toilet went on the fritz). So, we flush our toilet with rain water or grey water (washing machine, dishwashing water, etc.)

Second: Wood-burning Stove. We have NEVER used any form of "for-pay" heating system in the winter/spring, such as propane/butane, or natural gas or oil burning or electric heating systems, ever. When we built our house my husband designed it so that we could heat the entire house with a wood-burning stove set in the middle of the house so that every inch of it could be heated. What we did was buy a 55-gallon metal drum, painted it black with heat resistant spray paint, cut a square hole in the center of the drum on one side, bought a metal "door" for the system (from the "Sotz Company"), bought metal stove pipe and "flew" apparatus, used a drill to cut a hole for the "flew", configured the stove pipe so it could be go out the roof such that the smoke could not re-enter the house, cut a hole through the roof, and viola! My husband (as with the construction of 95% of the house) did this himself. The only other thing you need to make this work is lots of dead wood on your property! If you don't have lots of dead wood available, this system is superfluous! Further, if you don't have lots of dead wood on your property, you are going to have a problem trying to be self-sufficient, aren't you? This will mean that you will put yourself at the mercy of oil price hikes, natural gas price hikes, and huge electric bills, not to mention the oligarchs (see my previous two newsletters here and here) who want to maximize their obscene profits by squeezing and freezing you! If you are REALLY SERIOUS about surviving possible societal meltdown, you must put out some kind of effort to prepare you to LIVE OFF THE GRID! And if this happens in winter, what will you do if you don't have the possibility of warming your abode with wood? Besides, firewood is FREE! All you have to be able to do is to cut it or gather it. Note to those of you who think that by using a wood burning stove you will extend your "carbon foot print" to an "unsustainable level": get over it! When you are freezing in your house because your previous life as a yuppie precluded any wise judgment, you can thank me for calling you out on it!

Third: A Good Chain Saw
. Do the research to find the best brand because I am not recommending one. Buy the best chain saw you can afford because you are going to use it a lot! We use Poulons, but again I am not making a specific recommendation. You will also need gasoline and chain saw lube oil, as well as replacement chains. And you men: teach your wives/girlfriends/female partners how to use it! And your sons.And your daughters.

Fourth: A Good Axe. When you use a chain saw, what you will be doing is cutting into dead trees laterally across, either at the main stem (trunk) or at the various branches. then you will cut them further into smaller chunks. You will STILL have to cut into them as a woodchopper would because it will take you a long time to burn into large round chuncks of wood. If you cut the round chuncks into half, or better, into quartersm you will not only have more wood, but more efficiently burning wood. You will probably need an axe to cut long branches (smaller wood, which you need to top your kindling in order to create enough heat to burn larger peices) as well. And, if you come across a stump of a very large round cut piece, get it for a chopping block. You'll need one of those!

Fifth: A Flat Piece of Land for a Garden Plot. If you live on the side of a mountain the way we do, this may be hard to conjure up, but not impossible. Even a very small flat piece of land can grow you a substantial garden space. Our garden is about 15 feet by 30 feet. What you can do if you are having someone come in to make a flat building site on the side of a hill or mountain is to have them provide for you a piece large enough for your garden.

Sixth: A Compost Pile. You can either build a compost storage area yourself with wood and wire mesh, or just have a wire mesh heap. I really would advise though to have some sort of structure to throw your compost in, however, instead of just throwing it onthe ground. That is because it helps confine your compost, and it helps when you put in some sort of compost eating organisms that will break down the compost more easily and faster. Trying to grow a garden without compost is like building a water collection system without water.

Seventh: A Water Well and Pump System. Of course you can pay someone to haul in your water, and unless you have $10,000 or more at your immediate disposal, you will probably spend the first 2-5 years having your water hauled in (you don't pay for the water; you pay for the delivery). We were fortunate. We had our well drilled about 200 feet into a spring (hit first water at 14 feet) in a day and age when you could get this length of well and pump for under $4,000. Now this is well nigh impossible, because now you not only have to pay more for the equipment, you will most likely have to pay for a permit as well (we did not get anyone's permission! Those were the days!), and, if you live in a covenant community, you will also need the "property owners association" permission as well. But in order to do this, I had to teach in public school for three years! When your income is limited, making a remote rural homestead isn't easy, but it is still possible, and "being poor" should not hinder you from thinking about it. In fact, we have "been poor" for about 17 years until my husband finally started getting paid what he's worth, and I didn't have to work anymore. And one more point: you might find it helpful if you have your well at the "bottom" of your land and the water tank (we use 1,000 gallon tank, galvanized aluminum) up above the pump and the house...this way you can use PVC or other pipe to "gravity feed" the water from the tank into the house.

Eighth: A Natural Air Cooling System. If you buy a homestead already built you may not have a choice but to put in some sort of electric air conditioning or swamp colling system. However, unless you live in Canada or Alaska (and even then it does get hot in summers sometimes!), you will need a way to keep your house cool inside during the summer. Again, if you are serious, you will want something besides air conditioning or the constant drone of fans (fans, however, are useful when it gets way hot). What we did in building our house was to put screen doors, facing east and west, on opposite walls facing each other, and leaving them open all summer round. Why east and west? Because that is the way that winds blow. You want to catch the colling winds flowing organically through your house. When it gets very hot, you can use fans to facilitate bringing the cooling air into the house. You can, of course, also use windows for the north-south breezes. And that brings up the next point...

Ninth: Buy Double Paned Windows. Picture windows that let lots of light in are best. Again, if you are buying a homestead already built you may not have this option. These kinds of windows are stronger and allow less ambient air into the house, which you don't want in winter. Of course, if you want windows that open, this is not an option, either, because these windows are solid glass with an air space between the panes. This kind of glass is best too if you are planning to turn your window areas into a sort of green house. Right now we have tomato plants growing by our double paned windows.

Tenth: A Septic System. It is probably best if your septic tank is above your water table (or well), but sewage can possibly leach into the well, which is why you must pay attention when they are putting in your septic system as well as your water well. You can do without a water well but you can't do without a septic tank (except if you are well versed in creating an outhouse situation...still, probably most communities, covenant or not, require some sort of septic system).

Like what you read? Then subscribe to the Something Happening Here Newsletter! I do not have a set time for it to come out, but I try to make a newsletter once a week or as much as possible with hints and tips on how to live better and more naturally on your rural remote land. From handling garden insects to collecting valuable resources like water and firewood to raising your children to dealing with neighbors, I believe my 25 years experience living on the land can help you make the most of your rural remote life.

Click here to read the first newsletter about how we fix out dirt driveway after rains washed them out, dealing with mice, and more. Click here to find out how to I used herbs and natural products to help with allergies, cold, and other respiratory ailments. Click here to read Part 1 of the "Gloom and Doom" scenario and here to read Part 2.

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