Alternative Living: Co-ops, eco villages and yurts oh my!

[Mabon]

OK silly thread title but you get the idea.

I am currently living in a house in suburban Sussex that I own jointly with my civil partner and our mortgage provider. However, I've been drawn to exploring alternative, sustainable living models for a few years and I would love to hear about how housing and lifestyle work for you? And in an ideal world - how it would work for you?

REALITY:

I have a pretty typical household set-up by today's standards: A semi-detached 3BR house with small garden and conservatory which is dependent upon the national grid for gas central heating and electric cooking. We will pay a mortgage for the rest of our working lives unless one of us inherits significant money - not looking likely . We are a lesbian couple and my partner's two school-aged kids live with us and our two cats.

DREAM:

After the children leave home (which I do hope will be at age 18...), and pretending for a moment that my partner would be totally aligned with this....I'd like to sell-up, live off-grid and probably in some form of eco co-op. I'd like to barter and take a shared approach to the labour required to cook, clean, mend, raise chickens, grow vegetables and fruit, bake, sew, knit and weave. Ah yes - the simple life. I love the idea of building my own straw bale / cob home. Is living off the land still feasible when you are old or become unable to work though?

What are your lifestyle realities and dreams? Oh - and what alternative communities exist in the UK - do any of you have practical knowledge of any of these?

Mabon

[BlazeLeeDragon]

There are things like this in America, called communes. However normally it seems to work best when it's an entire community living and working together. As the older generation ages, they still contribute with there wisdom and the younger generation helps pull the more physically demanding weight. Okinawa an island off of Japan is similar in many ways to this and many of the older individuals still live full and active lives, there are some fishermen still fishing to this day in there 90s. I would imagine though that with only the two of you, to go off grid in any country maybe a challenge. It seems people seem to thrive in society best, some better in nature based ones, some in suburban areas, some in cities. Just something to consider

[Aphritha]

Hm.
My reality:
I live with my husband and son in a pocket sized rental house. I grew and will grow as much of our food as I can, and when I can't provide my own food, I attempt to feed us with as natural of a product as I can. We own one car, me being the driver. He works, I drive. We use electricty and gas from the city to suit our needs, though our needs differ from the modern person. We keep many pets that require heating. Also, 5 cats. We do not do extensive technology, we have no televsion and our phone makes calls only. Sometimes we have internet access, sometimes we don't, depending on our roomate(who is a person we attempted to help out on hard times, but has become an unwelcome freeloader).

My dream:
To live in a small hut on a large plot of land, with a well or creek nearby to get water. I'd like to live off the grid, though the appliance I worry most about losing would be the refridgerator. Perhaps I could use solar panels to run this? I'd like enough land to grow a garden big enough to suit all our needs, and if I am able to sustain what I need at home I'll have less reason to travel, getting rid of the car.

[Whitemane]

Trying to get two or three other couples together to share resources and workloads might be a good approach.

Another option might be sweat equity - basically you work for payment in kind, such as housing and resources for building or improving the property. That way you can find something run-down and cheap that otherwise meets your needs. Sweat equity is practiced in the US, but I don't know if there is a British equivalent.

[Whitemane]

Trying to get two or three other couples together to share resources and workloads might be a good approach.

Another option might be sweat equity - basically you work for payment in kind, such as housing and resources for building or improving the property. That way you can find something run-down and cheap that otherwise meets your needs. Sweat equity is practiced in the US, but I don't know if there is a British equivalent.

[Mabon]

Home ownership and the nuclear family model seems so devoid of community sometimes. I think I'd like a Clan. I'd be in charge, of course.