Simple Solar Homesteading Book Review

Before our big move off the grid, I did a lot of research to learn everything I could about living off grid. I used the internet as my main source of information. I quickly found a great source of info at LaMar Alexander’s website. In following with my Off Grid – On The Cheap message, this is a very practical, hands on approach to how to get off the grid without having to spend lots of money. Who is LaMar? I can tell you that LaMar is genuine, he is one of the few people talking and teaching about living off grid, who is actually living the off grid lifestyle. I’d say that LaMar knows what he is talking about. LaMar has taken all of his experiences and put it all together in an ingenious book called “Simple Solar Homesteading” This book comes as both a hard copy and in digital format. It is written in a down to earth language, complex ideas are broken down into easy to understand solutions. You don’t have to be a professional to understand and follow the directions found in this book.
The book is well laid out and easy to navigate. It covers a myriad of subjects ranging from how to build your own cabin to dehydrating food and many other great ways to live off grid and be more self sufficient.
Here are a few of the how to projects in this book:

• How to build a solar cabin
• How to build a solar panel and generator power station
• How to build a solar composting toilet
• How to build a rain water and gray water recycling system
• How to build a solar oven
• How to build a food dehydrator

LaMar’s Cabin

When you open the book, the first thing you see is a picture of LaMar’s cabin. This cabin was designed and built by and for LaMar. He lives here full time, so it has to be functional, yet it is also has a simple charm and style that easy to customize to fit your own needs and tastes.

The book is full of step by step directions as well as lots of pictures. LaMar includes many tips and tricks to help you get things done quicker and cheaper. Not only does he show you how to build your cabin, he also helps you to figure out the best location and proper orientation. The price of this book is incredibly inexpensive, both the hard copy and the digital, it would be a bargain at any price though. It’s very clear that LaMar is more interested in passing on his knowledge than getting rich.
The book also contains LaMar’s history, how he became interested in living off grid, he discusses his childhood living in his grandfather’s and father’s homestead. It certainly is clear where he got his inspiration and interest in cabins and being independent.
What is my favorite project in the book? It has to be the solar composting toilet, or is it the solar oven? What, you expect me to pick just one???
I was able to talk LaMar into taking a few minutes out of his day to answer some questions, a small interview if you will. :)

Why did you decide to build your own cabin, of your own design and go off grid?
I was raised by homesteading parents so this lifestyle was in my blood. Since I was a teenager I have had a dream to build my own small solar cabin and when I quit teaching high school and moved back to my home town the timing was perfect.
When did you do this?
I started living off grid about 15 years ago in RV campers and small cabins but I built the solar cabin I live in now about 5 years ago.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
My grandparent and parent who were true homesteader that lived in cabins and supplied their own food through 3 wars and the great depression.
Is your cabin complete or are you still working on it?
My cabin is always a work in progress as I add things all the time. I recently rewired my lights for fluorescents and will be building an extension next year.
What are you working on now?
I am busy getting www.homesteadernews.com up and running thru winter and in spring I plan to build a deck and room extension. Lots of stuff to do!
What is your next project?
see above
What is the hardest thing about your off grid lifestyle?
Going out in the cold to feed and water animals. I am working on self feeders and waterers.
What surprised you the most about living off grid?
Peoples reactions to my cabin as they think it looks small from the road but once they get up close and see the inside they are amazed at how much room and all my amenities.
If you had this to do all over again, knowing what you know now, what (if anything) would you do different?
I don’t think I would do anything different as I am very happy!
Is money were no object, what would you like to do?
Money has little meaning to me and isn’t a desire but it would be nice to travel to foreign countries.
What do your friends and family think of your off grid lifestyle?
At first they thought I was crazy but after seeing my cabin they were impressed and two of my brothers want to build one for vacation homes.
How far is your property located from your nearest neighbor? Town?
I am ten miles from a small town and a mile from neighbors which are family.
Living in your cabin, space is a premium, what do you do to combat clutter?
Throw stuff away that I don’t need. I give away stuff all the time and keep my necessary items to the bare minimum.
What do you do for fun?
I play guitar and write songs, write books, hunt, fish, play pool, and spend time with Patty and the dogs.
What would you like everyone to know about you?
I enjoy helping people to simplify their lives.
Learn more about LaMar and his book here:
http://www.freewebs.com/simplesolarhomesteading
http://www.homesteadernews.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simplesolarhomesteading

Wretha

Thanks for visiting.
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Click here to read my book review process.

Construction Pix

More Pix

I took more pix, here they are:

This is Bob up on a scaffold that he made, he was putting up more panels of wood on the south side of the cabin, the scaffold is about 12 feet in the air.





These are in front (south facing) of the cabin.





This is on the west side of the cabin, this is where a lot of activity is going on, you can see one of the concrete (soilcrete) walls, it's not much to look at, yet, but it's a work in progress.



This is the same pix as above, I highlighted the concrete wall in red, it is poured in layers, each layer is about a foot deep, the first layer is highlighted with yellow, the next layer we poured is highlighted in magenta. Between the yellow and magenta layers, we poured that layer too thick, the problem that occurs is with the weight of the concrete, if the pour is too thick, it will cause the form to bulge, we got lucky, it did bulge, but not too much. The form for the next layers is the wood panel that is above the concrete, highlighted in orange. This is only part of the concrete work, this is sort of a bump out, the other concrete work is being done under the cabin just behind what is visible in this picture. The bump out is going to house part of the water system, the top will be as tall as the floor on the cabin (about 6 feet in the air), sorry if I'm not explaining it well, I'll take more pix as we get more done, it's true that a picture is worth a thousand words. :)



This is Bob removing the wind part of the weather station, he had to do this in order to put up one of the panels on the cabin. You can see what is referred to as a radar net or camoflage net, it's old military surplus, we have several of these, it works good for us to hide the work in progress, we don't want our few neighbors who can see us to have to look at the half way done work on the cabin, it also helps us to blend in with the natural scenery, Bob eventually wants to place one on the roof so that when Google Earth updates their satellite images, our place will not show, we like being hidden from the world. ;)



I took more pix today of the cabin from much farther away, it will take me a few days to get it placed on the blog, it's quite a process, I have to take the picture with the camera in my cell phone, I have to send the pix from my cell phone to my email address, then I have to go to my neighbor to check my email and get the pictures, I copy them to a memory stick, take them back to my cabin, I put the pix on my laptop, edit them as needed (crop, resize, highlight...), then it's back on the memory stick and back to my neighbor's house, then I can upload them to this blog, one of these days I'll find my digital camera and many MANY steps will be eliminated.
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2 Comments

Oldman in the boonies said...

NICE PICS. What is the tower ( or spire) close to you? Good idea on the combat como netting..Often wished I had done that. Too late they already got me...

March 2, 2008 1:46 PM

Wretha said...

Oldman, I assume you are asking about the pic with the road and the dot as my cabin, if so, that spire is a utility pole, it is not near my cabin at all, it is on the south side of the valley, my cabin is well north of that, the road you see in the image goes down about 100 feet until it reaches the road that I live on, my cabin is about 75-100 feet above the road where I live, I'd say that pic was taken about a mile away. I don't have any utility poles on my property, there is one on the extreme south west corner of my property, but not on it, that is not the same one you see in the pic. If this is not the image you are asking about, please ask again and specify which one you are talking about.

Thanks!
Wretha

March 3, 2008 8:16 PM

Stuff To Do

Today was a banner day, it was a beautiful day, sunny, slight breeze, warm , the high was 75 f. After lounging around most of the morning into the afternoon, we got up and started working on concrete. We poured about a foot in depth and about 10 feet long, we are pouring a three sided wall, we pour, allow it to set for a few days, remove the forms and reattach them higher on the wall and pour again, this keeps the forms from bulging out too much, concrete is heavy. Bob mixes the cement powder, local soil, local gravel and a little water in the cement mixer, pours it into a bucket and brings it to the wall, he pours it into the wall cavity, I tamp it down and smooth it out as best as I can with a stick. We also throw in fist sized rocks and poke them into the wet concrete.

After that, Bob got out the powered post hole digger, my Dad gave it to us, so far, digging has been so easy that Bob hasn't felt the need to use the auger, but he tried it tonight, and was very impressed, he dug 3 holes a few feet away from the south side of the cabin, he set some long 2x6 boards in the holes, filled the hole back in with dirt and a little water and tamped it down. His intention is to make a scaffold structure so he can work safely on that side of the cabin. While he was doing this, I made dinner, I was instructed to post the recipe on my blog, so I will. It's a recipe I made up when I was a teenager, it's extreme comfort food.

4 slices of bread (your choice-white or wheat)
4 wieners (hot dogs)
1 can chili
1 can cream corn
mayo
shredded cheese (your choice)

Heat the cream corn and the chili in separate pans, you can heat the wieners in the chili if you want or heat them separately, leave whole or cut into bite sized pieces, your choice. Take 2 slices of bread for each serving, place it on a plate, slather each slice with a thick layer of mayo, I like Miracle Whip, my hubby likes real mayo, make it thick, pour the chili with the wieners) over the bread, place some shredded cheese over this, as much as you want. Next pour the cream corn over the top. Eat. This serves 2 hungry people.

I don't have a name for this, anyone want to name it? When I made it as a teen, I didn't add wieners or cheese, I add this now to make it more of a meal. It may sound like a strange combination, but it's very good, have lots of napkins. Don't ask about the calorie count, if you have to ask, then you probably shouldn't eat it (grin!), we aren't worried about calories out here, as hard as we work, we burn off more than enough. Walking up and down the property with buckets of gravel and dirt in this thin air is a super workout!

Work

Before we moved out here, we did a lot of research on how to build and live off grid, I found a lot of websites boasting about how green they are while spending lots of money and using heavy equipment and lots of hands helping them. It can be discouraging to the average person who wants to do this but doesn't have much money (or equipment or help). I am here to tell you that it CAN be done, we have done everything with very little money and mostly by hand. The most expensive part was buying the land, before we moved we started buying a few thing here and there, the deep cycle batteries, the solar panels, yes I know those are expensive, but they are coming down in price, and if you are willing to live a more simple life, you can make it with a few batteries and a few solar panels, we are doing it, and we are doing it very well. We would not be able to power the same amount of stuff as we used to have when we lived in the city, but living out here, in a small cabin, using the bare minimum of lights, a radio, a small cube refrigerator, cell phone, computer and the water pump, our little system is working great. We don't watch TV, it's just a time waster and an energy hog, I don't miss it very much at all, but then again I didn't watch it much before.

We have built out home ourselves, with hand tools and sweat. It's not the Ritz, but it's ours, free and clear. We get a lot of material for free by doing things like Bob did the other day, a neighbor around the mountain from us was tearing down a building, he gave us the material as long as we took all of it, we ended up with a lot of good, usable wood, some of it is no good, but for a half a day's work, we got a truck load of wood for free. You gotta network with the local people to find out what they need and what you can offer, the barter system is alive and well. If you have skills, especially out here where it is remote and costs a mint just to get someone to come out to your property, and that is before they start doing any work, you can go a long way toward getting the things you need. Bob is good with his hands, he can repair most any appliance, motor and is good with carpentry, electronics and a hodge podge of other things, it has come in handy for us as well as for a few neighbors who help us with other things.

For anyone who really wants to do this, let me say that it CAN be done, and you don't have to be wealthy, you just have to be willing to do the proper research, learn from everyone, and be willing to work hard. It's not a vacation, but it has been worth it. It has been worth everything we have given up, which by the way hasn't been much:

Noise
TV
pollution
Stress
Close by stores
Close by neighbors (packed in like sardines)
Traffic problems
High bills
City codes (building, parking...)

There is more than I can list, the main thing is the noise level, it's so quiet out here, and the air is so clean, you can see so many more stars. I do have to collect wood for heat, for now I have to tote water, I have to be aware of my power usage, but I don't get a monthly bill for my electricity or heating, it's a trade off, and I don't mind it at at all.

I am thinking about what I am going to grow for food this spring, we will have to decide where to put the garden, and we will have to protect it from the animals who would like to eat our veggies as much as I would. I plan on planting carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers (hot and mild), beans, peas, spinach, kale, okra, lettuce, garlic, herbs... and I don't know what else, I ordered some seed catalogs, I can't wait to get them.
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2 Comments

HOLLIS said...

I am in the research stage. I just found your site and love it. If you don't mind me asking what did the land cost and how much did you get? I am researching on how to do this with kids. We have a 7 & 8 yr olds. Any advice there?

May 21, 2008 7:28 PM

Wretha said...

Hello Hollis,

I don't mind answering most questions (grin), we purchased just under 6 acres, we paid $11000 for it. The land had nothing on it, no improvements at all, most properties around here cost more, the reason ours was less was because accessing the largest part is difficult, there is a dry creek bed running across the front of the property, getting a vehicle across, or anything else for that matter is not easy, but it's doable. You need a 4 wheel drive vehicle or you have to use a winch to get across and up the other side. We park our vehicles on the street side and walk across most of the time. When it rains, we just stay on the high side and don't leave the property.

Where are you looking for land? You can email me directly if you want. :)

Wretha

May 21, 2008 9:11 PM