Blog
Off-Grid Homesteading

No Septic, No Problem: Great Alternatives To Household Waste Disposal
Part of being ‘off-grid’ is not being hooked up to the systems of electricity, water or sewage. While electricity usually gets the limelight in homestead discussions, when you go off-grid, your sewage system is very (very) important. So, this post is about everything...

10 Ways To Become More Self Sufficient Even If You Have No Money
It’s really easy to get stuck in the capitalist mindset that you need money for everything, but that can’t be further from the truth. The beauty of going off-grid is that you are free to come up with creative solutions The more creative, the more you can...

10 Mistakes Homesteaders Make That You Won’t
I’ve been homesteading for almost two decades, and believe me, I made plenty of mistakes along the way. I’m going to share what I’ve learned personally and observed from other homesteaders over the years to help you avoid the most common mistakes homesteaders make....

Do Swales Belong In Wet Climates?
Image Courtesy The Lili House Farm If you get plenty of rain year-round, as we do in Hawai’i, then you may think that swales aren’t that useful for your homestead. But, when swales are properly designed, they perform an important duty of not only collecting but also...

Growing Guavas: The Only Guide Youʻll Ever Need
It is easy to grow guava trees in Hawaii, our climate is perfect for these evergreen fruit trees. They are best to grow from cuttings or by air layering, as they are a very slow-growing tree and growing from seed will take a long time. Guava trees are easy to grow on...

Beginnerʻs Guide To Growing Mamaki
Hidden beneath the forest canopy of Hawaiiʻs endemic Ohiʻa forests grows a plant native to Hawaii, the Mamaki plant. If you are lucky enough to find one, youʻll be happy to know that youʻve come across one of Hawaiiʻs most favorite plants for making into tea to...