Tim MacWelch - How to Survive Off the Grid: From Backyard Homesteads to Bunkers (and Everything in Between)

F or most people, getting off the grid means specifically that you are independent of the electrical grid, and the utilities and services that accompany it. But more detailed definitions for off-the-grid are as diverse as the people who are choosing this self-reliant lifestyle. Maybe you have a desire to go green or you want to be a modern day pioneer. Perhaps youre a prepper with the goal of being independent and the drive to take your fate into your own hands. Whatever your reason for choosing to live a life unplugged, going off the grid displays not only the American spirit of independence, but the human spirit as well.

For those who are ready to take this journey, the first step is finding a place where you can live by your own means, and building the infrastructure youll need to live under your own power. Once youve created your new home, youll need to gain the skills and knowledge to sustainably provide nourishment for yourself and your family. In fact, one of the biggest parts of your OTG education is learning how to raise plants and animals for your nourishment. All of these skills can be very empowering. They also put our feet squarely on the same path that our ancestors once followed. And in a perfect world, the material well cover in the first two chapters of this book would be enough to live off the grid indefinitely.

But its not a perfect world. Bad luck can strike at any time. So to round out the information in this book, weve added a section to get you ready for unforeseen emergencies and take your self-reliance skills to the next level. Who knows? One major disaster, natural or man-made, could force an entire region or nation to rely on their own personal means, or perish from being unprepared and uneducated in the techniques presented here.

If you cant survive after all this? It was your time to go.

TIM MACWELCH

From growing his own veggies and raising his own livestock, to being a multiple New York Times bestselling author, Tim MacWelch is truly a modern day renaissance man. He is the author of the Prepare for Anything Survival Manual , the Hunting & Gathering Survival Manual, How To Survive Anything , and the Ultimate Winter Survival Handbook. He has also been an obsessed practitioner of survival and outdoor skills for over three decades, and he has been teaching the skills he loves for over two of those decades. Tim became interested in survival skills and woodcraft as a result of his experiences backpacking as a teenwhile out in remote areas, it seemed like a smart plan to learn some skills. The majority of his training over the years has involved testing survival skills and devising new ones, but the biggest leaps forward came from his experience as a teacher.

Tims diverse teaching experiences range from spending hundreds of hours volunteering with Boy Scouts, youth groups, summer camps, and more to working with and training adults in all walks of life. Tim and his school have been featured on Good Morning America , several National Geographic programs, and in many publications including Conde Nast Traveler , the Washington Post, Business Insider , and American Survival Guide .

Since late 2010, Tim has written hundreds of pieces for Outdoor Life magazine and many other publications. Tims current and past articles and galleries can be found at outdoorlife.com and you can learn more about the offerings of his survival school on the web at www.advancedsurvivaltraining.com. When hes not teaching survival or writing about it, he lives a self-reliant lifestyle with his family in Virginia.

Since it was founded in 1898, Outdoor Life has provided survival tips, wilderness skills, gear reports, and other essential information for hands-on outdoor enthusiasts. Each issue delivers the best advice in sportsmanshipas well as thrilling true-life tales, gear reviews, insider hunting, shooting, and fishing hints, and moreto nearly 1 million readers. Its survival-themed web site also covers disaster preparedness and the skills to thrive anywhere from the backcountry to the urban jungles.

Tim McDonagh spent his younger years growing up in a rural part of West Virginia, surrounded by rattlesnakes and snapping turtles, which in turn led to his fascination with animals. He takes a more traditional approach to illustration using brush and India ink to draw the image and then applying limited color palettes digitally. Tim now lives and works in Brighton, in the United Kingdom. His work has appeared in many publications, including WIRED magazine, Variety, Entertainment Weekly , and Mojo .

Id like to dedicate this book to all of the wonderful people around the world who are taking the leap of faith and living off the grid. These impressive displays of independence proves to me that the human spirit isnt dead, its just gravely illand we can make it well again. For those of you who have chosen a path of toil to live a more meaningful and sustainable lifestyle, I hope that nature rewards you accordingly. Keep walking the talk!