Breaking free
Once obtained, freedom is truly always one generation away from being lost
Why does our team at Acorn Land Labs bother with all of these off-grid systems?
We turn heavy compost piles weekly, shovel manure, work in the garden under the baking sun, install solar panels that provide less energy than the grid, fiddle with rainwater systems, tweak and adjust the land lab simulator app, and dozens of other difficult or inconvenient tasks…
Why?
In a single word: freedom
We want the freedom to…
spend much more time with our families, rather than working away all the time.
be outdoors more in nature, rather than inside a small cubicle or a big warehouse.
live simply & frugally, instead of working into our 70s to pay off massive debt.
be healthy and active, instead of fueling the broken for-profit medical system.
live affordably with purpose, instead of working 24/7 to enrich Wall Street’s greed.
have time to cook healthy slow food, instead of being rushed into buying fast food
teach our children and spend time with them, instead of commuting for hours.
grow and know where our food comes from, instead of fueling toxic corporate ag.
break away from big tech & big media’s grip, to help a friend or hold our children.
disconnect from the broken global financial system, to live with more peace.
rely far less upon the dollar, to pay less from our hard work in misspent taxes.
build up our local community and restore local connections to be resilient.
heal the damage wreaked upon soil and the earth by poor stewardship.
Beyond all this, we want to share these ideas, tools, and methods with others...
With you.
We need a global revolution of local & personal freedoms.
Americans are working harder, paying more, getting less, and living shorter lives today than just a few years ago. Not just Americans, people all over are experiencing this. Something is not right, and we can all feel it.
A simpler, local life - chosen by us - might just be the key to regaining freedom.
The modern system is pumping wealth, health, prosperity and well-being from regular people to the tiny cohort at the top of the economy. We have to opt-out in order to break free.
We need to create new, local, parallel economies.
Parallel economies for water, food, shelter, sanitation, energy, transportation and the other key needs normal people have.
The sooner we rebuild skills and community the less painful this transition will be.
Our modern world has turned into an economic trap masked as convenience and ease.
Massive housing debt, long supply chains, car centric communities, sweeping automation, financialization, consolidation, corporatization, and centralization are now rapidly changing our lives for the worse. Decades ago some of these dynamics ushered in prosperity for the middle class... Now, these overgrown forces are creating a whirlpool that is capturing people who are not prepared. We are seeing the rise of neo-feudalism in America. Indentured serfs are not a thing of the past; corporate landlords are pushing hard to restore medieval economics. They want you as a subscriber and a renter in their systems for life.
The company won’t remember you staying late those nights.
The government isn’t trying to give you more family time.
Your worth is not in a bank account.
Your true purpose is not a business or a job.
Your ultimate journey is not to an apartment or a house in the suburbs.
You are not a number.
Your needs are simpler than you realize.
Your family needs you more than things.
You have one life to live beautifully and freely.
Why do we turn the heavy compost, build the tiny homes, research zoning, shovel manure, pick okra in hot weather, try new things - fail and then start over, and sometimes wear ourselves out trying?
Why bother?
Freedom.
Learn how to break free in our 10 hour off-grid systems video course.
Our mission at Acorn Land Labs is to share the ideas, methods, tools & concepts needed for people to leverage off-grid systems to live more freely and affordably. Go build something!
🎥 Off-Grid Systems Video Course - 10 hour off-grid systems course
📗 Acorn Off-Grid Home eBook - 50 key off-grid systems we use for living simply
🎧 Acorn Off-Grid Audiobook - 50 key off-grid systems we use for living simply
📚 Acorn Off-Grid Systems Paperback / Hardback Editions - buy on Amazon
Could not agree more about creating parallel local economies...and with a more distributed & decentralized electrical grid, food production system, transportation network, etc etc...we’ll definitely be moving in the right direction! And don’t forget open source systems, verified and cheap / free educational resources, and training systems for “blue collar” workers!
Another great article and motivation! On a Friday after my 3rd week back to school...this was a great reminder for my motivations moving forward. A solid reality check!
One of my favorite quotes regarding freedom...
”It may be that the human race is not ready for freedom. The air of liberty may be too rarefied for us to breath. Certain I wouldn't be writing this book, on this subject, if living with freedom were easy. The paradox seems to be, as Socrates demonstrated long ago, that the truly free individual is free only to the extent of his own self-mastery. While those who will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters to govern them.” - Steven Pressfield (from “The War of Art”)
Thank you for helping to push others to gain a bit more independence and freedom! To return back to what we once were but better this time! 🤞
Well said! We call it getting out of Babylon. With Abundaculture we try to develop simple, elegant solutions. For instance, we never shovel compost. God takes care of it just fine. We just let it sit for a year. With careful planning and good designs, we can live comfortably with less work and less energy. You really get it! It’s all about freedom.