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Tuesday 23 June 2015

Where it all started

Me on the doorstep of my hut, 1992.
One of my favorite pictures of myself is of me, barefoot and playing the harmonica, sitting on the doorstep of my mud hut in Kang, Botswana around 1992. I was a volunteer teacher with the World University Service of Canada and for the second year of my two-year contract I moved off the school compound and into the village, into a life off the grid.

Like almost all of the villagers I had no electricity and no running water - that had to be carried, bucket by bucket, on my head from the nearest standpipe. My stove ran with propane and I was not even technical enough to operate a kerosene lantern - I used candles for light for an entire year! I loved it.


My mud and dung hut in Kang, Botswana.
The kitchen corner in my hut with propane stove. Lit by candles.














Twenty-three years later I am beginning a new, and quite different off-the-grid experiment, this time in my beautiful mountain home in downtown Revelstoke, BC, Canada. Frustrated by the slow response to climate change in my own country, tired of seeing fossil fuels being used as if they had no environmental impact, and wanting to examine my own habits and relationship to energy, I decided to spend the summer - from July 1 to August 31 - living off the grid and almost fossil fuel free.

I had other reasons to pause and refocus. Having lost both my parents this year, I needed to heal and reflect on my own physical energy and lifestyle. I have been so busy over these past few years, juggling multiple projects and caring for my parents, that I often hop in my car instead of riding my bike or walking to my destinations. In my small town of around 8,000 people, little time is saved by driving, yet my car has become a habit and one that I'm eager to shake. Walking and biking are better for the mind, body and soul and that's what I need right now.

Finally, I wanted to do this to build some practical skills. I'm not very technical but I've had an interest in solar energy and appropriate technology since 1985-86 when I lived in Nairobi, Kenya. Whenever I traveled - in India, Nepal, Bolivia, Mexico, and several African countries - I would take an active interest in appropriate technologies.

Grandmothers from eight countries learn how to repair and test circuit boards
for solar appliances at the Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan. The Barefoot 
College prefers to train grandmothers because they stay in their villages
Some very interesting projects, such as the Barefoot College in Rajasthan, India, taught technical skills to often-illiterate people with little background in this work. The Barefoot College teaches often-illiterate grandmothers from many developing countries how to install simple solar systems and repair them. Seeing grandmothers from eight countries sitting around a table at the college testing and repairing circuit boards gave me the courage to try to set up and work with my own simple solar system. I hope that some of these skills will be useful in the future.

Woman from Madagascar repairing circuit board. 



As much as I often feel discouraged about people wasting energy, there are many people in my life who inspire me and encourage me to think differently about the way I use resources. Throughout this blog I will introduce them.

I hope you will join me on this journey and I welcome reading your insights throughout the summer.

7 comments:

  1. You Stovel girls have always inspired me. Laura, I really look forward to following you on this lifestyle change. You are truly an inspiration.

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    1. Thanks Karen. This will be fun and it's so good to have your encouragement and support.

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  2. Oh Laura, how very uniquely YOU. Way to go! And what a good idea of Herman's, too,

    Will be following you closely.

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    1. Thanks Antoinette. I'll bet you have some good tips for me.

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  3. Laura this is an amazing endeavor and I can't wait to follow your journey, hopefully in more ways than simply reading. You are truly a remarkable inspiration!

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    1. Thanks Angie. It would be nice if other people tried some of these things and then we could compare notes!

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  4. Albert Einstein said that everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
    For a solar PV system that might mean staying with 12 Volt DC that the solar system generates rather than using an inverter and transforming the 12 Volt DC into 110 Volt AC - only to turn it back to 12 Volt DC. Few of the appliances you seem to use actually require 110 Volt.
    You will still need the charge controller and preferably a voltage limiter as some of your appliances might not like more than 12 Volt.
    That would be as simple as possible, not simpler.
    Good luck!

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