Self-Sufficient Living

Power your life off-grid, one DIY project at a time.

This is where lifestyle meets function. From catching rainwater to building rocket stoves, we explore tools and systems that make daily life more independent, sustainable, and satisfying - especially when the nearest hardware store is a long drive away.

Off-Grid Living – Power, shelter, food, and freedom. Learn how we set up (and maintain) our off-grid systems.
Water Conservation – Catch, store, filter, and reuse. Real-world strategies for managing water as a precious resource.
Homesteading & DIY – Build what you can’t buy. Fences, solar dehydrators, root cellars - hands-on projects with clear guides.
Natural Building – Explore techniques like cob, earthbag, and lime plaster through our own home rebuild and other experiments.

Rural house with wooden upper walls and granite stone base, surrounded by two olive trees, a fig tree, greenery and scattered rocks.

Buying Land for Off Grid Living: Assessing Stone Structures, Wells, and Location

Buying land for off grid living feels like a dream — until you discover the “charming stone house” leaks like a sieve, the “abundant...

Fire fighting aircraft flying overhead near a bright sunburst in central Portugal, scattered clouds and leafy branches visible along the edges.

Wildfire Resilience in Portugal: Causes, Patterns, and Protecting Your Homestead

Here in central Portugal, we don’t need a calendar to know when fire season has begun. The signal is unmistakable: the roar of...

Makeshift off-grid station using pallets and a small roof, with foldable Bluetti solar panel, a Bluetti EB240 solar generator, and storage tanks scattered across dry grass.

Choosing the Best Solar Generator for Off-Grid Living: 2025 Buyer's Guide & Setup Tips

When the summer heat pushes grids to the breaking point and storms knock out power for days, you quickly realize how fragile our energy...

Vibrant summer front yard filled with dense green foliage, trailing vines on a wooden porch, and an array of potted succulents and herbs beneath a pine tree against a cloudy sky.

Water-Wise Garden Makeover with Drought-Tolerant Lawn Alternatives

Another summer, another scorched patch of lawn. You water, it withers. You stop watering, it dies. Meanwhile, supermarket prices spike,...

A fully opened purple agapanthus flower photographed from above, displaying a starburst pattern of tubular petals, set against leafy ground cover and garden soil.

Mediterranean Fire-Resistant Landscaping: Safe & Sustainable Plant Choices

Summer in the Mediterranean can feel like standing on a barbecue plate. Smoke drifts across clear skies. Heatwaves push daytime highs...

Wooden diy off-grid compost toilet interior with open sides, a white toilet seat on a box, a pink shower curtain hanging, and a plaid mat on the floor, surrounded by trees.

DIY Compost Toilet: How We Built Ours Off-Grid (and What We’d Do Differently)

Living off‑grid comes with unique challenges, and building a DIY compost toilet was one of our first big projects. We needed something...

A cozy outdoor patio with a red metal roof, surrounded by lush greenery and trees, featuring a wicker egg chair, potted plants, and a small table with cushions.

Rainwater Collection for Gardening: Sustainable Solutions for Homesteaders

Living off-grid on our Quinta, I’ve learned that every drop of water counts. When my wife MuDan and I moved to our off-grid property in...