Cole Bennett
August 24, 2025
Homesteading — producing a meaningful share of a household’s own food and other needs — overlaps with off-grid living but isn’t identical to it; a homestead can be grid-connected, and an off-grid property doesn’t automatically produce food. This guide focuses specifically on the food-production and land-use …
Cole Bennett
August 23, 2025
Off-grid systems can be built at drastically different price points for similar function — the gap between the cheapest workable version of a system and the premium version is often 2-4x, which makes deliberate cost-reduction choices, not just budget scale, a major lever on total project …
Cole Bennett
August 22, 2025
Simple Living Alaska is a YouTube channel following Eric and Arielle’s off-grid homestead in Alaska, documenting the realities of building and maintaining a self-sufficient life in one of the more physically demanding climates for off-grid living in the United States. Who’s Behind It, and How Big …
Cole Bennett
August 21, 2025
Bent Hitch Farm is a family-run YouTube channel documenting off-grid living in rural Idaho, covering construction, sustainable farming, and animal care from a working homestead rather than a staged or purely educational format. Who’s Behind It The channel (@Benthitchfarm) is run by Levi and Tania, building …
Cole Bennett
August 20, 2025
Off-grid projects that stall or get abandoned tend to fail for a small number of underlying reasons, distinct from the specific tactical mistakes (wrong land, skipped permits) covered elsewhere. This is a look at the structural failure modes — why projects fail as systems, not just …
Cole Bennett
August 18, 2025
Off-grid construction in Alaska deals with conditions few other U.S. regions face at the same scale: sustained sub-zero temperatures, permafrost in northern regions, extreme seasonal daylight variation, and limited road access to much of the state’s rural land. Site Selection Access matters more in Alaska than …
Cole Bennett
August 18, 2025
Five categories of tools cover most of the recurring work on an off-grid property: power generation, water treatment, waste management, heating, and water harvesting. Getting these right first avoids the common mistake of investing in specialized equipment before the basics are solid. Solar Power System A …
Cole Bennett
August 18, 2025
Before any construction starts on a new off-grid property, a set of planning decisions determines whether the eventual build goes smoothly or runs into expensive surprises. This is the pre-build checklist — what to evaluate and decide before breaking ground, as distinct from the actual construction …
Cole Bennett
August 18, 2025
Chickens are one of the most common first additions to an off-grid property, and the usual first livestock in a homestead build-out — they convert kitchen scraps and forage into eggs and meat, produce garden-ready fertilizer, and require less infrastructure than most other livestock. Coop Space …
Cole Bennett
August 14, 2025
An off-grid sawmill turns standing timber into usable lumber on-site, avoiding the cost and logistics of hauling logs to a commercial mill. The right type depends mostly on scale: occasional small projects call for a different tool than regular structural lumber production. Chainsaw Mills A chainsaw …
