Interview: Living Off the Grid in Style: Super-Homesteader Jane Dawson

You may think one of two ways about homesteading: either you have an overly romantic vision of a lifestyle of living off of the land, or you might imagine a tiny log hut in the back woods of Alaska shut off from society.

Enter stage left, Jane Dawson, homesteader, owner and proud user of big screen TV, electric tooth brush, fish tank, fax machine, toaster, and many other creature comforts you might imagine wanting. While staying on her land this past month I asked her to share with us how she came to a lifestyle of living off the grid.

Planet Green: What kicked of your interest in living off the grid? Jane Dawson: I started thinking about living in a remote setting while attending Antioch College (Antioch has an experiential learning program that places student in field work/study courses). Every job I held when in a city I felt I was in the wrong place and every job I had in rural areas were right for me. When I took a job in Coos Bay, Oregon, I met a huge group of people from New England who had moved to Oregon to be back-to-the-landers. They had come out of the protest movement from Vietnam; they felt there was a loss of focus in the protest movement, and held a cynicism that real change needed to happen by starting over away from current society.

Meanwhile, I fell in love with the Pacific Northwest, and got a job while in college at San Luis Obispo. While there, the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant became a huge political issue. People were protesting because it was the first nuclear power plant that was going to be built on the central coast, it was being built on top of two major fault lines, and that was the beginning of my education about nuclear power and energy. I began to understand the connection between the arms race and getting electrical energy from nuclear power. There was something in seeing that this beautiful area taken over by the government despite the protests and concerns of the people who lived there that I realized I wanted to move even further away. In the process of that protest, everyone involved in that movement started to question there own ethical and moral position in their use of and dependence corporate made energy. have.

Some friends from that area who were lawyers moved to Willits because of Diablo Canyon power plant being unstoppable. They started to subdivide parcels of land into pieces affordable to individual families. So that was my true initiation into the back to the land movement. I came to visit, and basically never left. For me, it was an ideal setting: a small rural town, with people committed to developing communities, having a political voice, but also educating themselves and others about how every decision we makes effects the world that we

PG: How did you make the transition to owning your own land and starting your own homestead?

JD: I lived outside of Willits for 4 years, and that's were I got exposed to alternative energy. I was married to a man who started a solar energy company, and was the first person I had met who ran everything off of solar and wind energy (and PG &E went through his property, it was a political choice not to use it). He ran a full wood shop, ran hot water in his house, pumped his water and powered other major appliances such as blenders with solar and wind. So it demystified solar energy and solar hot water, and showed me how simple it is.

(Many people don't understand solar hot water: it doesn't take high tech equipment to make solar hot water. For ex: Japan is not a hot and sunny place, but most of their hot water is generated by solar.)

I started to learn about current electric water heating systems, and how to redesign them. For example, the idea that you have to keep 60/ 80 gallons of water hot and ready and waiting is a waste of energy, especially when you could be using a flash heater which are much easier and more fuel efficient, and just cost $200 more to purchase, and you spend much less in energy bills.

I started looking around for land, and found a piece of land that had been for sale for over a year. To me, it looked my dream property, it had a view of the ocean, and was in a remote place in the forest. The only reason it was so affordable is because no one had figured out the off the grid elements, like finding the water and hooking up to an electrical system. Everyone else saw the problems, but after all of my experiences, I understood it would just take time and money to make the place into my home.

PG: How did you begin? What were the first systems you built on your property?

JD: That's not quite so simple to answer. I began by building a small octagon cabin out of recycled wood that had a full view of the ocean. I started with the lowest tech energy solutions. We built a hole in the ground that was lined with cement that we used as our ice box, I collected rain water off the roof for my baths, and my hot water was provided by a "breadbasket" (an old water heater stripped of insulation, but in a box surrounded by Mylar).

We put a second battery into my car, so every time I drove I charged an addition 12 volt battery that stores energy. That battery ran lights and a radio, and that's how I started.

PG: And then what? JD: Well luckily, I had moved into the heart and center of people developing alternative energy (Willits first then Humboldt). I was lucky to be living so close to people who were developing alternative energy, (Real Goods, & then David Katz, Alternative Energy Engineering to name a few), so I was in an area where other people were seeking solutions.

Major systems: The first system I got was an array of solar panels. The alternative was a wind generator, and I didn't want to have to climb up and down the tower. I started with just 5 solar panels.

If you live in a rainy and foggy area, then you run into solar limits, the amount of energy you can use. My next "high tech" system was one of the early versions of the hydro electric systems used through out the country. Luckily, there was a man nearby who was building these new and much smaller hydro systems they are perfect for areas that have very small amounts of water in the source. It was the perfect compliment since it rains allot in the winters where I live. This is the time of low solar energy and the greatest need for electricity.

For pumping water I use a "hi-lifter", a water ram that uses the pressure of water falling down hill and creates enough force to pump it back up hill (you can actually pump 1000 vertical feet, which made it so I could avoid gas pumps, which I couldn't afford).

PG: Did you move off the grid to remove yourself from society? JD: I once took a class with Wendell Berry, who is a great example of someone who is fully engaged and informed about the world, but has time to process it, because he lives on his traditional family farm. I can only speak to myself, but living the way I do allows me more time to digest the news and make sense of the world. I am fully engaged and aware of the world.

PG: What are some key messages you would convey to people who are just getting started?

JD: The back to the land movement has been a spearhead to understand that alternative energy isn't some weird kooky thing, if a country can get a man on the moon, there are solutions out there in every direction.

One of the key concepts of off the grid living is, "how to get the biggest bang for your fuel buck?" For example, your going to drive a car, why not get more energy out of it? It's all about how to be maximally efficient with what you are already doing.

It's a matter of temperament. What I see is that I have a more fulfilled life if I limit my stimulation, that's my personal taste, that's why I came to the woods. It's all about what you want your stimulation to be; are you stimulated by running errands and the rush of the city, or watching the trees blow.

It is definitely harder when you set the bar not to flip a switch, or be able to call the plumber who can arrive in 10 minutes, you become responsible to maintain your usage of everything you have. It becomes a discipline not get frustrated, and to realize that this is part of your daily life is managing, caring for, and fixing your systems.

The main thing I've learned as a woman, our generation talks about how men aren't taught to be emotional. But women aren't taught to be handy. There is something you gain, it's a type of confidence you can't gain any other way but hands on.

Patience is the name of the game. It was a slow process, it took 4 years before I had my solar system that gave me all of the electricity I really needed, and within another 4 yrs I had hydro power that generated more electricity than I ever needed. You become intimately aware of your impact on the planet when you monitor your systems and have to carry your garbage to the dump.