Mark Young has been living a self-sufficient lifestyle on a remote off-grid island in British Columbia for the past 21 years.
He has built 9 experimental buildings on his 20-acre property using local and natural materials like wood, stone and cob, including: a cabin for himself, utility buildings for his solar power systems, a sauna and dormitory.
His most impressive building is a 2,000 square foot dance studio with a sprung dance floor that is built on recycled car tires! He runs events and workshops at his Leviathan Studio – so named because the inside of the structure looks like a whale’s rib cage!
Mark’s off-grid systems include two solar power setups for electricity (one with lithium batteries, one with lead acid batteries), a micro hydro water wheel, a drilled well, satellite internet, wood stoves with heat exchangers for heat and hot water, rainwater ponds for watering the gardens and for fire protection from wildfires, and outhouses for toilets.
He covers his expenses by teaching dance workshops, both on an off the island, and by selling eggs from his flock of hens, and selling lumber that he mills himself.
His unique building style and experimentation are possible because the island does not have a building inspector to enforce the local building code. But building in this way does present challenges, for example not being able to get different types of insurance.
Mark also gardens and grows some fruit and vegetable produce for himself and his guests, he raises chickens for eggs and meat, and then he also orders food from a neighboring island for the rest of his food needs.
The community on the island is pretty active, so Mark is able to play chess and give/provide help to neighbors as needed. He says no matter how self-sufficient you want to be, you should always know your neighbors because everybody needs help sometimes.
You can watch the video at www.youtube.com