Off the Grid: Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government and True Independence
When Nick Rosen started writing about off-grid living–away from utility power and water and outside the system that is letting us all down–the idea was not on the cultural radar.
Since Penguin published his book OFF THE GRID: Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government and True Independence in Modern America in 2010, it’s become almost mainstream. “The Simpsons” went off the grid for their 500th episode. And The Oscars advance publicity video had Billy Crystal being brought out of off-grid retirement by Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox. There are a slew of reality shows like Doomsday Preppers as well.
“What they all have in common,” says Rosen, “is portraying the crazy, paranoid, head for the hills aspect of off-grid living, which I do not deny does exist, but it’s the minority.
“I want to show the success stories and emphasize the positive aspect of living off-grid – the way it combines ancient wisdom with the latest new technologies.”
Now Rosen is making a series of short films about 12 off-grid families and communities which are just successful examples of people who have taken control of their own lives, reduced their dependence on “the Man” to a bare minimum, and have not sacrificed any comforts nor adopted a hard-scrabble existence.
“It will illustrate the beauty and the simplicity of living off the grid,” says Rosen, an award winning documentary maker.
The series is “both a how-to and a why-to,” he says. “By carefully choosing the participants, it covers every aspect of living ff the grid – from the different kinds of energy supply to food and water and building techniques.”
Along the way, Rosen meets people who have left corporate life behind to live their dream. There are also characters who still live in the City for half of their lives, but use their off-grid existence as an antidote to that.
Check out Rosen’s Kickstarter site by visiting here.
