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Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Off-grid and YouTube off-grid



There’s a lot of “off-grid” content on YouTube. It’s trending and a lot of people have jumped on the bandwagon. There’s money to be made -apparently. 


Some of these channels are pretty glitzy. What gets me is that money does not seem to be an issue. They have 20,000 watts of solar electric, and every battery powered tool imaginable. Some even fly in building materials by helicopter. I can’t even imagine. 


These off-grid places are impressive, but I can’t relate to them. While I’m not totally broke, I don’t have helicopter money. It’s pretty easy to solve homesteading problems when you can throw plenty of money around. They also can afford to hire professionals whenever they need help.


On the opposite end of the spectrum is the person who goes out into the woods with little more than an ax and builds using native materials. While I’m not at that extreme, I’m closer to that end of the spectrum. 


It’s surprising what you can accomplish with a little knowhow and persistence. You focus on basic needs, not every possible gadget on the market. Plenty of people do wonders with native materials and salvaged items. They do well with tiny solar electric systems, hand pumped water, composting toilets, and wood stoves. 


Of course, most of these people don’t have YouTube channels. Those that do tend to have few followers. They don’t have the glitz and frankly what they do looks like a lot of work. Nobody wants to see that. 


-Sixbears

6 comments:

  1. Is the person that has the clout to fly in materials via helicopter actually, "Off Grid"? I have my doubts that some of these folks know how to swing an ax without personal injury.

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  2. The only "off-grid" style channels I watch is Shawn James aka "My Self Reliance" and "Primitive Technology". Shawn I watch more his secondary "Shawn James" channel, as I prefer the reasoning behind what he is doing vs watching him do it. He does talk about the finance side of things, with him starting out pretty deep in the hole. His channel has been very successful, but the number of gadgets hasn't been grossly out of character (mostly chainsaw mill -> portable bandsaw mill, a 4 panel solar system, a kit greenhouse, 4x4 & snowmobile). Most of the work he's done by himself.

    Primitive Technology is interesting to watch just to see what can be accomplished by LOTS of free time but no modern inputs.

    Still, they are both youtube channels. How much they represent real life needs to be taken with a grain of salt. But it helps to provide input of ideas into having something "off-grid" someday.

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    1. Those are pretty interesting channels and not the type that really set me off. I'm not going to actually post those channel links as they get enough publicity as it is.

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  3. Wow, 6 bears, did a chatbot write that anonymous comment?

    Very odd phrasing.

    BTW for the record you do have a nice blog.

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    1. It does sound pretty weird, like something a chatbot would produce. AI is weird.

      Thanks for the kind words Michael.

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