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Off-Grid.net

Off-grid brings you news, knowledge, discussion, and classifieds from the off-grid world. What seems like a tiny niche is growing in popularity as people seek a life outside of the city. Off-gridders must find ways to produce their own energy, food, water, shelter, and other necessities. Connect with people who live off the beaten path or begin the search for your own property on this site.

Build It Solar

Dedicated to do-it-yourself renewable energy projects, Build It Solar provides hundreds of ideas and plans for any kind of home energy endeavor. New to renewable energy? Start with the "Half Plan" that uses a variety of energy saving projects to cut your energy usage in half. New to solar? Look for the do-it-yourself site survey to understand your property's solar potential. Not limited to solar, Build It Solar also includes tons of projects for wind power and biofuels.

Earth2Tech

Energy self reliance is a big topic for environmental, political, and individual reasons. Earth2Tech posts news about technological developments that can affect us on personal and societal levels. Stay on top of the news about electric cars, the smart grid, the bloom box fuel cell, solar power applications, and LED lightbulbs.

Wisebread

Wisebread is well-known for its advice on real personal finance. It's a community of bloggers who write about frugal living, lifehacks, careers, and other financial wisdom. Being smart with your money isn't supposed to inhibit you: rather, Wisebread's advice helps people worry less about money, allowing you to focus on the really important things in life. They also feature an active forum where you can ask questions and interact with other people who are trying to live within their means.

Instructables

Do you want to know how to build a vertical garden? How about your own solar panel array? Maybe you're looking for ways to reuse a linen closet full of old pillowcases. Instructables is a community based site that allows anyone to post a how-to project complete with photos and instructions. The result: a lifetime's supply of projects that can help you save money, recycle, or simply satisfy your appetite for making stuff.

Survival Spot

Disasters are a reality that shouldn't be ignored. That's the reason Survival Spot was created - to share information about a variety of survival and preparedness topics. Topics cover many aspects of survival, including gardening, food storage, health, and self defense. Also read about getting by in the wilderness and reviews of essential gadgets and gear. Like any other type of self reliance, preparedness is something to get into gradually and this blog can give you ideas on where to start.

Self-Reliance-Exchange

Written by a group of self reliant people, Self Reliance Exchange is quickly building an enormous database that covers a huge range of categories on self reliant practices and philosophies. Anyone interested in self reliance will find something useful to take away from this blog - recipes from scratch, emergency preparedness, and personal finance are great categories to start looking into here.

Simple Self Reliance

This writer explores the concept of self reliance and how self reliance fits in this modern society. How far can you realistically go down the path of self reliance? How can you stay on track with your priorities? He also writes on the grandaddy of self reliance, Henry David Thoreau. We can't wait to see how this blog unfolds!

American Preppers Network

For information and news from the world of emergency preparation, American Preppers Network is a great resource. Learn about food storage, what to expect during a natural disaster, and about other survival techniques. You can also connect with other preppers in your region and all over the world in the forum and through the numerous links to other prepping blogs on the web.

Animals/Livestock

Growing your own food is one thing - raising livestock is another. While raising livestock is easier in rural settings, more urban and suburban people are using their backyards to raise chickens, turkeys, goats, rabbits, and even pigs.

If you're interested in raising animals, you can use this category to begin your research. Is livestock permitted in your city limits? Are you looking for a few fresh eggs, or do you want to raise animals for meat? What breeds of animals are best for each purpose? What does it take to properly care for livestock? These questions are important to consider: the rise in backyard livestock is correlated to an increase in abandoned and neglected animals.

Many people are very happy with their animals and the greater self sufficiency they achieve with fresh eggs, fresh milk, or meat. Animals also contribute to the sustainability of people's homes by producing fertilizer for the garden and consuming green waste.

Learn more about animals that can be kept in smaller spaces - chickens, goats, and rabbits. Get inspired by the websites on cattle, hogs, sheep, and even exotic animals like emus.

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Latest Additions

Good primer on urban chicken farming
This is a very good article on urban chicken farming. As times change I am sure we will all be looking at certain ideas and concepts in quite a different light.
A Guide to Everything Chicken: Raising-Chickens.org
Raising Chickens is a fast-growing website dedicated to ... raising chickens! If you're thinking about getting some chickens, find out which chicken breeds are the best egg-layers or which are best for meat. Also a great resource for learning more about chicken diseases, coops, tractors, breeding chickens, and almost any other topic for your flock.
Keeping Chickens an Act of Civil Disobedience - Jun 16, 2010
Keeping backyard chickens is illegal in many cities. In Richmond, VA, people are keeping chickens anyway. Is this an act of justified civil disobedience, or are people wrong to think they are above the law? Residents in the Richmond, VA region are joining the nationwide movement to increase food....
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Lifting Chicken Bans a National Work in Progress - Jun 10, 2010
You're creating quite a stir, little chick. One great thing about living in America is that many of us have huge houses with pretty big yards. A little piece of land we can call our own. You can put a pool back there, or keep the grass perfectly green and trimmed. You can build a shed, let the dog....
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Looking For a Great Hobby? Try Beekeeping - Sustainablog
Trees need bees. Without bees, it's less likely that plants and fruit trees will bear fruit. 15-30% of our food is pollinated by bees. Over the past few years, the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder has caused bees to disappear which is a problem for us, as we consume the food that they pollinate, and because we don't understand what caused the bees to disappear. To help us and the bees, some people have become amateur beekeepers. Bees benefit local and organic food production.
utilitypigeons.info
Current project - Created on 04/28/2010 by utilitypigeons
Hello,         I would like to introduce you to what I do.  My goal is to promote the Utility Pigeon Americas forgoten back yard meat.  A wonderfull....
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Oregonians Seize Backyard Chicken Business Opportunities - Registerguard.com
Hatcheries report that the demand for baby chicks has increased 20% a year beginning in 2007. People in Oregon are taking advantage of the increased popularity of backyard chicken keeping by opening stores designed for novice urban chickeners, and chick wholesale companies. Meanwhile, residents are lobbying for relaxing restrictions on backyard livestock. While some say that keeping chickens is rising becoming more common due to the poor economy, interest in personal security and eating healthy, better quality food is helping urban chickenry take off.
Meet the New Inmates at Sandusky County Jail: 50 Chickens! - WTOL.com
That's right. Inmates at Sandusky County Jail in Ohio will be caring for fifty baby chicks which will eventually be "processed" and eaten. Sheriff Kyle Overmeyer believes raising the chickens will teach the inmates valuable skills, and it will also cut down on food costs for the jail. The chicken program is a follow-up to a garden successfully tended by the jail's inmates, which has decreased the jail's food budget by $25,000.
Edmonton Mulls Urban Chicken Coops - Edmonton Journal
Our northern neighbors are following the lead of American and Canadian cities by considering a more lenient policy on urban chicken keeping. The city of Edmonton is adopting a pilot program to gauge the viability of urban chickenry in a residential area. The program will consider the noise levels, odor, disease, and predators that come with chicken keeping. A pilot program would be a good thing for other cities to consider to see if urban chicken keeping is right for them.
Vancouver's Backyard Chicken Ban Overturned - With a Catch - CTV
In Vancouver, WA the city council unanimously voted to overturn a ban on backyard chickens. Now residents will be able to keep up to four hens (no roosters of course). However the stipulation for a $20,000 abandoned chicken shelter has irritated many residents. Many are concerned that the city already has trouble taking care of the homeless and has no business spending money on neglected backyard chickens. Others are concerned about noise or have paranoia about avian flu. What seems like a great idea is off to a rocky start.
Backyard Chicken Business Revving Up for OK From Vancouver - Vancouver Sun
Duncan Martin is waiting for the city of Vancouver to give the go-ahead for people in the city to raise backyard chickens. He's designed a special coop that he plans to sell for $575 a unit. The law in Vancouver would provide for a controversial $20,000 "chicken shelter" as a refuge for the inevitable neglected chicken. It would allow residents to keep up to four hens. This is a great example of people working together to fix a problem in their local community and the potential of urban farming to provide for individuals and entrepreneurs alike.
Hamline Oracle: Chicken Task Force Rescues Neglected Urban Fowl
Minnesota - A special task force cares for neglected urban chickens or chickens kept without permits. Before raising chickens, please investigate your city's ordinances and make sure that you're able to perform daily chicken maintenance.
Sacramento Bee: Why Are Birds a Dirty Word?
December 2009, Sacramento, CA - residents and civic leaders in the state capitol are citing nutritional value, reduced environmental impact, and greater self reliance as reasons for overturning outdated legislation against keeping backyard chickens. Do you live in a city where backyard chickens are illegal? How could a change in laws benefit your efforts to become more sustainable?
Chicken Laws in Your City - The City Chicken
Before you purchase a lot of chicks for your urban homestead, make sure it's legal. Urban chicken ordinances vary from city to city and you don't want to get stuck with a fine and confiscated fowl. This web page lists the chicken laws in many U.S. cities. If your city isn't listed, The City Chicken accepts submissions to help complete the list.
Backyard Chickens
Current project - Created on 02/05/2010 by racheltayse
Raise 3 - 4 backyard chickens Steps: build coop make or purchase food purchase chickens feed and water harvest eggs
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