Many people these days are interested in learning how to go off the grid; to learn the systems needed to be self-sufficient in a remote location. These systems can include a humanure toilet system, rocket stove and open fire cooking systems, food storage systems, grey water systems, homemade solar power and hot water systems, and more. There are many books and videos offering advice, but they are pieces of a puzzle. And like a puzzle, you can’t see the whole picture until the pieces are put together.

When people arrive at the Jack Mountain Bushcraft field school, they step into systems that have been functioning for years. It’s easy to view the whole picture because it is currently functioning. The setup work has been done, and the new person is shown exactly what to do in their role in maintaining the system. They can live with it, ask questions, and view it from the micro (individual system) and macro (how the systems work together) perspectives without having to set it up from scratch.

If you’re interested in learning the off-grid lifestyle, go somewhere that has currently functioning systems in place. It’s a much shorter road to view things in action than to try and set them up from scratch from the information in books or videos. Later, when you go to set up your own system, you’ll be modeling it after something that is proven to work and the task will be much simpler.