ProjectGridless.ca + Hunting Treehouses

I registered ProjectGridless.ca today. [March 21st 2014.]

The website recently surpassed 100 posts (see our 100th post) and I figured it was time to give it its own domain name instead of just projectgridless.blogspot.ca - which is okay for a free subdomain name but I wanted the site to finally have its own domain name.

In case this is your first time tuning into Project Gridless, the goal of this website is to explore off the grid architecture, energy production, DIY projects, gardening, hunting for food, survivalism, etc.

And sometimes just plain amusing images of what other people are doing.

Like these images of hunting treehouses wherein a hunter can sit and wait for a deer / etc to pass by. Obviously they are not designed for living in, they are designed purely as a more comfortable hunting perch.

100th Post of Project Gridless

This is my 100th post of Project Gridless.

As such I think I should point out some of the most popular posts during the past year, but also some of my favourites.

THE MOST POPULAR OFF THE GRID POSTS

I have organized these by topic, and then by popularity (sorta).

OFF THE GRID HOMES

How to find Off The Grid Homes - Pretty self explanatory, it is basically a short guide on how to search for off the grid real estate.

25 Examples of Off The Grid Homes - Mostly it is just photography, but it is some amazing examples of off the grid homes.

Awesome Treehouse - This is really more amusing than anything else. Living in a treehouse is an interesting idea but unrealistic for most of us.

The Treehouse Idea - A continuation of the above idea, but explained in more detail.

How to Buy, Design and Build your own Shipping Container Home - A detailed list of where to buy, what to do, and how to build your own home made out of shipping containers.

List of Cooling Systems for Off The Grid Living - Different cheap ways to cool your home in the summer.

SURVIVALISM AND HUNTING

PVC Longbows and Double Limbed Bows - Honestly, I don't really like PVC bows (I prefer wood), but the double limbed bows are certainly interesting.

Filling your Bug Out Bag - A good idea if you ever think you might need to get out of dodge in a hurry.

FOOD

Going Vegan Off the Grid - A quick guide to gardening and growing enough food to survive as a Vegan using your garden to produce all or most of your own food.

Cooking Grouse, Wild Turkey and Water Fowl - A series of videos about how to cook various types of birds that you hunted and killed yourself.

FAVOURITE POSTS

These ones are not as popular, but I enjoyed writing / researching / doing them a lot more.

#1. Any and all of my posts about Bow Making. I just love making bows. That is easily the most enjoyable thing I have done since starting Project Gridless.

#2. My posts on making my own Homemade Crossbow. Again, very enjoyable. I definitely enjoy making longbows more, but the crossbows are a lot of fun too.

#3. I find all the videos and my research into Falconry to be quite fascinating. I would love to get into Falconry someday, but I doubt it will happen because it is such a huge commitment. I would be more likely to get into horses instead.

#4. How to Make a Shaving Horse - I really enjoyed this post. I guess it is just the DIY carpenter and woodworker inside me. I love carving things and having a Shaving Horse is on my list of things to get, even if I have to build one myself.

#5. Antler Thumb Ring for Archery - I am still working on making my thumb rings - they have taken a back seat to my current longbow - but I really enjoy carving antler despite the horrible smell.

Notes for the Future

I think I should do more posts on the following topics...

Gardening / Food Recipes - I don't think I have written enough on this topic.

Wilderness Activities - Things people can do for fun when live in the countryside / close to wilderness. Not just archery, which I love, or falconry, or horseback riding, which are also awesome. Just a long list of things people can do when they live in a region with no shortage of wilderness to explore.

Real estate / off the grid homes - Honestly, I already have a fair amount - and they are popular - but I feel I should be writing more on this topic because it is a major part of this website's purpose. True, six of the top ten posts are about off-the-grid homes, but I think I need to do more to talk about this.

How to go "off the grid" in Canada

25 Tips for going "off the grid" in Canada

If you are new to the concept of "going off the grid" then you need all the advice you can get. Here is an introduction / 25 tips on how to go off the grid and survive.

#1. Learn how to hunt. Get a hunting license.

#2. Learn how to fish. Get a fishing license.

#3. Learn how to grow your own food.

#4. Learn how to shop for cheap land. The cheapest land in Canada is in northwestern Ontario or the Maritimes. Forget about British Columbia unless you want to go really off the beaten path.

#5. Winter is Coming. Prepare for it. You will need firewood and lots of it.

#6. If you opt for a RV or trailer buy it used off a public auction or a police auction.

#7. Practice your mechanic skills and learn how to fix things.

#8. Get good at woodworking and working with your hands in general.

#9. Insurance. Think cheap and if possible get your insurance from Saskatchewan or Manitoba because they offer government insurance which is cheaper. You don't need to live in the province to get your insurance from there.

#10. Learn how to get free stuff off Craigslists and Kijiji - often this means you will need to buy a truck so you can haul stuff. This practice is known as Freeganism.

#11. Learn to barter with other people to trade food / services. Avoid bartering services for services with people you don't know. People are sketchy sometimes so aim to make sure you receive your end of the bargain.

#12. Learn to forage for berries, mushrooms and other sources of food. eg. Edible wildflowers.

#13. Squatting on land is risky but potentially an option in parts of Canada that are not used very much. Learn Canada's laws regarding squatting on land and become an expert on them.

#14. There are many books out there about back roads exploration which list places that make great campsites off the beaten path. Many of these places you can stay for weeks or even months of the year for free.

#15. Avoid National Parks - they are expensive tourist traps.

#16. You can get land sometimes by making a gold placer claim. Other options include leasing and traplines. Avoid places that have land disputes with Natives.

#17. Get a Hostel Card if traveling a lot. It also saves you 10 to 20% off Greyhound bus tickets.

#18. Sign up for free labour... Usually they are looking for gullible foreign students who are willing to work for free for a cause, but it is also a good way to pick up needed skills and you get free food and a place to stay. You can even find such groups within Canada, they don't care if you are from Canada or not, they just want free labourers for whatever charitable cause they are doing.

#19. If buying a tent GO BIG! You will never regret the extra space.

#20. Learn how to work off the grid (without paying taxes) by doing barter, odd jobs, babysitting, basically any kind of work where you get paid with cash or bartered goods. Become an expert on "Underground Economics".

#21. Don't freeze to death like that guy in the movie "Into The Wild".

#22. Learn how to make your own sources of electricity by building solar panels or wind turbines - or buy solar panels / wind turbines, whichever is best for your situation.

#23. Learn from other people who are doing the same thing you are doing. Absorb everything you can.

#24. Learn to protect yourself from wildlife by understanding the nature of predators in the region and what ways they might kill you - and arm yourself with knowledge and appropriate weapons against them.

#25. Learn to cook and preserve food. Don't waste any food if you have the option to preserve it for later.

Stage One: Research

This is not a normal blog.

This is a research project into how to go off the grid.

The goal essentially is to determine whether it is possible, and how easy is it to accomplish, to go off grid so you cannot be tracked by anyone.

You still have an identity obviously, and you still need to be able make money, get food and/or communicate with the rest of the world... depending on what you actually do.

Lets say for example you went off the grid and disappeared in northern Canada. You could live in the wilderness, build a cabin, grow your own crops, hunt, fish and so forth. Probably do reasonably well in the food department and put on a chunk of muscle and lose some fat at the same time (sounds like great weight loss program, doesn`t it?)...

But what about entertainment? What about health care in case you get sick or injured when you are attacked by a black bear? What about the sheer boredom of living in the middle of nowhere? What if you need to communicate with the outside world?

I think it would be possible to go off the grid in a city for example, but it would be a tricky matter of finding a place to live, work, etc. Evidently illegal immigrants coming to North America seem to do it all the time, and do it successfully for decades.

Another idea is to live on a ship and fish for food, occasionally stopping in harbors to buy vegetables and supplies... but you would still need an income, and you would still encounter some of the same problems with the cabin idea above.

Thus the challenge is to live in society, but to do so without an address and without the rest of society tracking what you are doing.

But what is the POINT of going off the grid?

Well, any number of reasons really. For me its more the romance of the idea. Like being a fugitive, but without the hassle of anybody actually trying to find you.

Instead you just disappear... and assuming you don`t do anything illegal that gets you caught, you pass unnoticed through society. Just another face in the crowd.