Off Grid in the Mediterranean
Living off grid can be a challenge for anyone but often here in the mediterranean areas it is just a necessity where luxuries of the urban areas are just not available and so it was for me.
When I arrived on our little homestead about twenty two years ago it had no running water, no electricity, no sewer. It was completely detached from everything the urban areas had to offer. At the time I thought this to be a problem but as time passed I grew in faith that this would make a wonderful home for me and my growing family. It also was what I could afford at that time and so I was to make the best of it.
Up in the corner of the property was, what we might call, a bunk house. It was just one room with an old kitchen fireplace and an area to put a table on the weekends and enjoy a paella with family and friends. This was and still is very much a spanish tradition. On the front of the bunk house was a long covered terrace which ,in my creative mind, would become something else.
I chose to put in a solar panel system which would give me some lights and a little possibility to use some small electrical appliances. At least to get started building our new home. I was a single mom and needless to say this was a challenge. I had more dreams than witts.
The next step was to make a bathroom and put in a sewer system which I did using a side shed where animal food was previously stored but conected to the bunk house.(It had beautiful old wooden doors on it.) The property is on a little bit of a slant downward from the house so that work wonderfully for water flow. It did have a cistern for water storage so we had water trucks come in and fill it. This is very commun for all rural homes and even in town up to this day. Later I would catch the rain water from the roof and store that seperately to use for watering garden and animales. We added a small pump to bring the water up from the cistern but still have the option to pull it up in buckets if we had to. My boys remember the days they bathed themselves dumping the buckets of very cold water over one another. This is very stimulating for the body as they later came to learn.
Fencing for animales was a big job for me although I must admit that I was lucky all stone walls were already built around the outer boardes of the property. We pounded in wooden posts and did a combination of wood and electric fencing. Slowly and as they came we brought in our farm animales. All of them rescued or given to us. So many little creatures without a homes.
The summers here are long and very hot. The thick stone walls of the home would help with some of that but we did put on some vintage table fans as well as a ceiling fan. Airconditioning just was not an option for me not only because of the electric system but also it is just not a healthy choice. The old mediterranean customs seemed much better. Those include, shading and shutters, closing windows and doors at the hotest hours and opening wide at dusk. Following the natural rythms of day and night, chill out times such as the siesta where you stay in the shade and rest. We then enjoy the mornings and evenings. These are thing that all mediterranen areas do. France, Italy, Greece, Spain, North Africa etc. This knowledge is shared between us and in my opinion should not be lost in time.
Our winters are mild but with high humidity in the air so our homes will quicky create mold on walls and in closets if not kept heated and dry. For this reason we eventualy put in a wood stove and water fed cast iron radiators to both ends of our home. Because I am a lover of wood fires we would later put in another log fire stove in our cosy little front room and recently bought a wood fire cook stove that I am so excited to experiment cooking with. I am a daughter of old and just love and admired old ways and traditions. Things I will share on this blog soon.
Gardening and food supply is also a priority for us. What better way to get healthy food but to grow it youself and cook at home as much as possible. And so my homesteading skills begin. Weeding, digging, seeding, growing, harvesting, perserving and cooking. Sooo many things I have learned along the way. Our challenges with having little water has truely made me search for sustainable solutions. Nothing like adversity to get ones creativity going.
Our little family has come so far and done so many projects. Sometimes when frustration gets the best of me I just have to sit back, be still and count my blessings. Focus on the things we have already acomplished and let go of all I still would like to do. Our home is small and cosy and I don t desire to change that in any way. Our progects and dreams are small as well. We are rich in family and friends and we expect not big things but little insignifcant things that bring us joy…