Living off the grid can be as rewarding as it is taxing, as it takes a lot of effort to live off the land and its resources. For Kris Harbour, who lives in a tiny rural home in the Welsh woods, he’d rather have it no other way.
London-native Harbour sold his possessions and purchased a piece of land in Wales where he built his own self-sustaining home.
For the last five years, Harbour has been living in a roundhouse built from natural materials such as logs, stone, and even grass for the roof. The home features basic amenities with running water, heating, a wood stove, windows, electricity, and even wi-fi.
Living there requires constant monitoring and upkeeping. “The logs crack and split and you get some little air gaps through there,” Habour said in a YouTube tour of his home, “but I just fill them in with some caulk.” Thankfully, it’s manageable and there is no sign of deterioration.
Habour gets most of his power from a hand-built hydroelectric grid housed in a nearby shack.
Solar panels are also used, although they don’t provide much power and there isn’t a lot of sunlight during most of the year. All these power sources are connected to a central power hub with controls and a battery bank located in a separate building.
Habour also has a separate workshop where he works on projects and a nearby outhouse to go to the bathroom.
He wanted to show his home partly to answer any misconceptions about living off the grid. “I don’t think it means the film version of running from the FBI,” Harbour joked, “it just means you’re not connected to the grid.” Living off-grid also means having a lot of responsibility.
Before giving his tour, Harbor shows his audience his morning chores of feeding the hens and roosters and chicks housed in chicken coops that he built. He also makes sure to collect firewood for his oven to cook himself some breakfast.
Every morning, he feeds his livestock that provides him with a steady supply of food.
Although there’s no shortage of eggs, Harbour occasionally travels to the grocery store and uses his chimney to smoke meat, showing how living off-grid is to also live creatively.
Despite all the hard work, Habour doesn’t find it stressful at all.
“Everything’s going great here,” Harbour said. ” It’s not an easy life, it’s difficult. Very hard work. Not stressful, but just labor-intensive. I’m just very happy and feel very healthy.”
If you’d like a tour of this quaint, cozy cabin, check out Habour’s video and see how he lives.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
