Off Grid Behaviors
Off Grid Behaviors
From Classroom to Wilderness: One Teacher’s Journey to Off-Grid Homesteading
Escape the humdrum of modern life with me, Barry Smith, as I recount my transformative journey from a high school teacher to an off-grid homesteader on this episode of Off Grid Behavior. My story isn't just about leaving the city behind; it's about rediscovering the self-sufficiency of my grandparents and finding solace in nature's embrace. Nostalgia for the simplicity of their lives and the burnout of urban existence spurred me to seek sanctuary among the trees and streams—a quest that's renewed my spirit and skill set.
Throughout our time together, you'll hear how my naval background as an electrician equipped me with the knowledge to harness solar power and generators for my off-grid adventure. Watch the progression from tent to camper unfold, with practical advice on gear investment for sustained outdoor living. I'll share the pivotal moments that led me to prioritize light and life during my lunch breaks and the dedication required to convert passion into preparedness. No matter where you are on your own homesteading path, this conversation is an invitation to explore new horizons and the possibilities of a life less ordinary.
Hey folks, I'm Barry Smith and welcome to my show Off Grid Behavior, where being abnormal is highly acceptable. What I want to accomplish on this show is learning more about homestating and off grid. What's the difference? What are the differences? Hopefully we can find that out together.
Speaker 1:I started this quest about 3 years ago Probably more actually it's when I went on a camping trip with my granddaughter's Girl Scout group. It reminded me of those days when I was in the country of my grandparents house and going fishing with my father, just being out inside nature. I started because I'm currently a high school teacher and I spend most of my day inside of a classroom, no light coming in. I work in the studio, so there's no windows in my room. So I started taking walks during my lunch period to get more light, because after school I had other things to do as well Family duties, trying to support kids in games basketball, football, soccer, track volleyball, softball, you name it. I was there doing photography and videography and it was fun, but it can burn you out, and that's what happened to me. So I wanted to find another way to get some type of relief, if you will, without hanging out in bars or clubs or anything like that. So it reminds me how I spent summers in my grandparents house.
Speaker 1:They had small livestock. They had chickens. I remember having to shut corn and peas and other things that they grew. There was no outdoor plumbing. There was no indoor plumbing. Everything came from a well and that water tastes very good. She didn't have a wash machine. We did everything by hand Wash clothes and hung them out to dry. We took baths and a foot tub, no showers. Wood had to be chopped for heat and for cooking. Kind of reminds me of things like on Little House on a Prairie. I show my wife when I was a kid and I really loved it the whole Ingalls, which also reminds me of all those people did homesteading back then.
Speaker 1:Being 100% self-sufficient is somewhat difficult. They still had to go to the general store in town, which was a thing for them. So let's fast forward 10 years or so when I joined the Navy and traveled across the country on board a tin can that's what they called it. My trade was electrician, so I got a chance to learn a lot about generators and power, which helps me understand a little bit more about living off grid when it comes to solar panels, batteries and using propulsion for things that use out here, off grid. Furthermore, traveling to different countries helped me appreciate what we have in the United States, the basic thing, whereas in some countries might seem to be a luxury let's say, running water, electricity, goose and just a decent roof over your head. So how did I get to this part After that camping trip?
Speaker 1:My granddaughter took me probably two years of talking about it, thinking about it, taking this solo trip because I knew many people around me probably weren't going to go. But if you know anything about camping, it can be somewhat expensive to start up. I mean, you can go cheap, but that's not something I want to do. You can get a small single camping tent. You can get a small styrofoam cooler to put your food in, but that's not comfortable. And, yeah, pack a cup of sandwiches and some snack. What about dinner? What about breakfast? Yeah, you can get by for a day, maybe two, but there's no fun in that if you plan on doing this for long periods of time.
Speaker 1:I bought some things new on Facebook. I mean, I'm sorry, I bought some things. I bought some things new and used. All right, the tent was probably the big start. Of course, I used what I already had some blankets, pillows and other comforter items that I could use without having to buy things. Initially, you wanted something nice like a good mattress pad, which I found out later and that's why I no longer tent camp. Sleeps on the ground is probably not for me, and I ended up buying a camper and also ended up building an enclosed trailer camper. So the initial cost, you know, bought a nice cooler, not a $300 one, but I spent over $100 for this cooler, kept stuff cold for several days, five, six, seven days. Of course you need to freeze the two if you plan on being up for long periods of time, buying things like batteries and charts for the ground, shoes and a portable power block to keep electronics charged, even a portable toilet. So was this overkill? No, not for me, because I knew this is what I wanted to do for long periods of time. In future episodes I'll discuss a little bit more about my first solo camping trip and how I got into leasing this land off grid. As for next weekend, I'm going to be going to a homesteading conference, the first annual conference held in Augusta, georgia, by Augusta, locally Grown. So here at the end of February I'm going to start getting the land prepared for crops in the spring summer grow.
Speaker 1:Some of the things that I enjoyed growing a couple years ago when I wasn't too busy were gouache okra. Cucumber did very well. I had a small tomato plant when it got robbed by I don't know a deer, rabbits or something, but this year I'm going to close all this stuff off and get to it. I bought a used tiller until the ground up, but of course, last year I didn't do anything because I traveled most of last summer and I was finishing graduate school and I'm proud of myself for that, did a lot last year, did a lot of traveling and finished that degree up.
Speaker 1:One thing I suggest is, when you start gardening and whatever it is, start growing things that you would enjoy, do the research and grow the things that you know you're going to use. I took a class online and I found out you know a little bit more about gardening, which I didn't know, and it's a steep learning curve. I started out by putting things in raised garden boxes. I haven't put anything into the ground yet. Although I did till the ground, I didn't do anything with it because I didn't have any water out there. That was also a struggle bringing water into the facility, which made things more difficult. Hopefully at this convention this weekend I'll learn a little bit more about capturing water, as I do have two of those 275 gallon drums out there, but those things are heavy to lug around if you don't have a trailer big enough, so it's just work to do more work. For this summer I will do more experiment with that and how to get water to the facility, as I don't own the land, so doing it well would not be something that's beneficial for me at this time until I get my own land as a school teacher.
Speaker 1:That first week in April we enjoy spring break, so I will be going to Puerto Rico, getting out of town and thankful for that, because where I live, my primary residence is less than two miles from the Augusta National. That is the big golf tournament that's held every year. So we're out of school for a week, eight days actually. I would not miss the traffic or anything in this area, but I will be enjoying myself in Puerto Rico, get a chance to get some great content, learn more about that culture and relax. Once we get back from Puerto Rico, we'll have about a month left in school, so as May comes in, hopefully I have some stuff into the ground, some stuff that usually takes maybe 50 60 days to actually grow. So that is something I'm definitely looking forward to, and just summer I'll plant some crops that I know I like and are popular in this area.
Speaker 1:I thought I was going to try to grow some stuff that I could sell, but it's very time consuming and the plot of land that I'm using is massive. But I am considering actually splitting some of that land out and sharing with others so they can come out and have the experience as well. Some of the class I'm going to be taking at the conference include capturing water, building raised beds and creating a compost bin. The possibility of networking should be huge, meeting people in the industry from all over the place, and maybe we can share some ideas and stay in contact. I'm going to leave that link in the description of this podcast so you can take a look at that link and some other videos that I've done as well. So until next time, I'm going to leave two words with you. Get lost.