Off Grid Permaculture: A Complete Practical Course
Off Grid Permaculture is a course for everyone that seek the freedom, sustainability, and uncommon joy of a life free from utility bills and grocery lists. Learn how buy land, build an off grid cabin, use permaculture methods to establish an eternal “food forest”, design an off water and energy system, store food for yearlong survival, and thrive in your own personal Eden.
HOURS: 30
INSTRUCTION: Daniel Mark Schwartz
Detailed Description
In the 21st century, a new “back to the land” movement has erupted on the scene. Whether in the aim of sustainability, a dept-free lifestyle, or the “prepper” sense of security for one’s family, the modern off gridder needs a large set of skills that few people living posses. This course is designed to provide the student with a broad knowledge base that touches every aspect of need and comfort of this burgeoning independent lifestyle movement.
The course starts by covering all of the most important aspects of finding, researching, negotiating, and closing on your off grid property. This includes options for cheap off grid property options. Just this unit alone is worth the cost of the course given the wealth of information here can save you $10,000s in mistakes and missteps.
In the bulk of the middle of the course, we cover a wealth of design wisdom that will leave you with a comprehensive design for your own utility free, low maintenance homestead. Learn the highlights of how place and design your farm structures, and both traditional and modern low-cost environmentally friendly building methods. Then we move on to the details of design and conduction of heating, electricity, and water systems on your property with no utility bill ever (and ways to integrate with the grid if you desire).
Finally, we will cover all the key components of an abundant subsistence farmstead. You will learn how to choose crops, how to layout your garden for max efficiency and productivity, how to plant an orchard, how to keep keeps, how to raise chickens, and much more. All this with minimal external inputs, which saves you money and keeps your lifestyle sustainable in the long term. Beyond that we cover how to save the fruits of your labor for year long enjoyment.
This is the course that I wished I had before I went off grid.
Course Outline
- How to buy off grid property
- 10 methods for acquiring land cheaply
- A checklist of essential qualities of an off grid property
- Legal considerations
- A step by step guide to buying raw land
- Off grid homestead design for efficiency and sustainability
- Develop a compressive site plan
- Permaculture zones and layout
- Whole system evaluation techniques
- Permaculture design patterns
- Site safety considerations
- Complete a multi-year homestead plan
- Sustainable building techniques
- Tiny house design and construction
- Cobb / adobe house methods
- Light straw clay construction
- Traditional home stick frame construction
- Code and building permit overview
- Off grid heating / cooling
- High efficiency wood stove construction (rocket mass)
- Passive solar methods and calculations
- Wood ovens
- Solar ovens
- Passive solar water heaters
- Off grid electricity
- Solar power (photovoltaics)
- Micro-hydro power stations
- Low cost wind power
- Power storage (off grid batteries)
- Off grid water systems
- Gravity feed water systems
- Off grid water storage
- Rain water collection
- Grey water systems
- Water purification
- Wells, spring, and creek utilization
- Irrigation
- Gardening / Food Production
- Garden layout
- “Lazy gardening”
- Permaculture poly-culture techniques
- Rain gardens
- Orchards for fruit and nuts
- Harvesting
- Foraging for greens, berries, & mushrooms
- Herbs
- Livestock
- Chickens for eggs and meat
- Pork / pigs
- Goats and milk
- Butchering & charcuterie
- Beekeeping
- Food storage
- Canning
- Fermentation & pickling
- Salting & curing
- Root cellar
- Off grid freezing and refrigeration