Greetings fellow Steemians, I've been offline for a while and wanted to share with you our family's adventures over the last couple of weeks. It's also been 1 year since I wrote my Introduce Yourself post. I missed my Steemit birthday as I was offline, but will celebrate the anniversary of my first post instead.

It's been one of our dreams to live off-grid and as sustainable as possible for some time now. Over the last few weeks we have been pushed into a position that has made us rethink our lives.

I think we had become quite comfortable in our search for the perfect place and a little complacent with it, having not achieved much to move us closer to that dream. Our original intention was to buy some land and start an off-grid community. Somewhere along the line this dream had paused, but now we are determined to set the wheels in motion now.

Backtrack 2 weeks

We decided to visit an already established off-grid community. Whilst there, our original aim was to look for land for sale nearby.
The current owners have been building their home over the last five years. In that time, they have had a large number of volunteers staying for various amounts of time. They have had help with building, crafting and various other tasks centered around community living.
In recent months, they have opened their doors to people who wish to join them on a permanent basis.
The land is set off the beaten tracks in a hilly area in Spain. Peaches and Almonds are the main crops in this dry and arid environment. Most of the water has been diverted into a dam to supply the towns and cities which has adversely affected farming in the area.

We chose to drive down which took almost 20 hours in total. The aircon had stopped working in our car and the only thing we hadn't had fixed after its 3 year rest at a friend's place on another island from where we live. (Cars aren't allowed where we live only bikes, horse and cart and tractors.)

Hot, exhausted and extremely tired we arrived at the campo. At first sight, the atmosphere felt welcoming and inviting. The owners are warm, kind people whose goals are very much aligned with our own. It was early evening when we arrived and we sat and chatted over some lovely food cooked in the outdoor kitchen.

The outdoor kitchen area, inspired by Tulum, Mexico

Introductions, connecting, disconnecting and discovery.

Getting to know the owners, who we had only ever chatted to through technology was brilliant. We had so many questions and even though we were tired we still managed to enjoy a relaxed evening together. We had originally planned to sleep in our tent but were offered one of their other dwellings. The family who currently reside there were back in the UK sorting out their affairs before they move in on a permanent basis. The conversation ranged from sustainability, world problems, yoga to simulation theory and so much more.
There really is something to be said about conversing with people who share similar interests and goals. It like a feast of creation exploding right in front of you.

The campo is completely off-grid. Water is a precious commodity here and has to be sourced manually from the nearest spring outlet which is about a 15 minute drive away.

They have internet but it is extremely limited and unfortunately our own data roaming rinsed through our credit on the drive down. At first I was a little bothered by this, not as much as my 13 year old (I have to admit I was secretly pleased about this as she spends too much time attached to her phone), but then I began to feel at peace, knowing I was in this amazingly beautiful place. Undisturbed by social media, able to fully immerse in nature.

Electricity is provided by solar with battery storage. There's plenty of sun in this area, so not many problems with reduction.

Most of the building work has been done using reclaimed materials for as little money as possible. It just goes to show that you don't need to spend big bucks to build your dream.

As we settled in for the night, my partner and I talked about how at home we felt here and wondered whether joining a community with people who are well versed in off-grid living would be better for us instead of jumping in the deep end and doing it all alone.
We had much to think about over the next week and much to learn...