Woah, there's a board for this here?
Awesome.
This is putting out a bit of my personal brand of craziness, so feel free to critique or tell me I'm nutso for this kind of plot, but try not to critique too harshly.
I'm a poor college student but I'm growing increasingly skeptical about the value of the degree I'm pursuing, largely because I'm starting to think there might be more promise in just trying to make a go as an independent coder than of going off to get crammed in a cubicle somewhere. So this has led me to something of a desire to pursue a lifestyle a bit outside of the norm.
I work two jobs and I've spent a couple years saving up a fairly decent amount of money. This summer, I plan on buying a sizable piece of wooded land, clearing some of it out (or not, depends on the lay of the land itself), and building on it. I figure this is the ideal time, because property values in my area are at record lows.
I'm looking into building a 'cob' house. These have been touted by eco-crazies a lot, but they're actually pretty damned cool. They're sturdy, cheap (you still have to buy electrical and plumbing materials, but the walls themselves are practically free), and very economically friendly, which I actually do think is a good thing (I believe in keeping natural environments undisturbed where possible, not necessarily all the global warming stuff). Plus, it's basically a DIY house, as much as one ever can be.
http://www.daycreek.com/DC/html/DC_cob.htmhttp://planetsave.com/files/2008/09/hildecobinsnow.jpgI got the idea from watching an episode of 'Dirty Jobs'.
So, the game plan is: buy the property, sucker my more knowledgeable relatives (I have a lot who know how to build, wire, and plumb things better than I do) into helping, and start out building a couple storage sheds or the like that I can afford to screw up on. Later, probably next year or the year after when my experience with this stuff is a little more solid, I'll start on a house. There are more practical matters of building permits and junk to deal with, but I'm not too concerned about that stuff out here in the boonies.
Then, I wanna hook these things up to wind and solar power, heat them with wood... essentially, eliminate as many bills as possible and make them as 'survivalist-ready' as possible. I want to learn to farm, too - which I plan on starting ASAP, though this summer (or even next) might be too early to hope for between two jobs and the research and early building process.
Anyway, once I'm done, I want to give a big
to the grid.
I also want to build one of these things for my parents if I ever get good at it, but I'll keep my ambitions low and focus on managing one of my own first. I'm already thinking this will be a half-decade to decade long process. But I don't trust the Fed to help my family in old age, and family looks out for its own, so it is an eventual goal. My mom is pretty liberal and she'd go crazy over this 'natural building' crap without realizing that's not my motive at all.
Heck, maybe I'll even make a few posts here about progress over the summer. I'm sure I'll be encountering lots of setbacks and getting myself neck-deep into this stuff, but it's a dream, and it's a productive thing to keep myself doing.
So, I'm curious... anyone else have any cuckoo plans like this they've done, are doing, or are thinking of doing?