Change of Plans

So, it's been over a year and I've decided to stay overseas yet another year. I'll try to make it back sometime this year but I may opt to visit someplace new while I can. I've been doing quite a bit of research on living off-grid but for now, I think I've done all I can do since I'm not actually on my land right now.

I haven't been living off the grid over here but I have been living rent free which is a start. I do have to pay a bit in utilities once a month. So, I've been saving up as much as possible. I've been making my own body and health care products for some time now but recently, I've been trying to find an affordable distiller. It's been almost impossible over here. The ones back home in the states are quite pricey too. So, at some point, I'm going to attempt to build my own.

While looking for the distiller, I came across this pretty cool press in which one could take, say, a bunch of sunflower seeds (or any other seed or grain) and make sunflower oil. Boy, was I excited to find that! I haven't purchased the machine yet but I think I might- It's a bit pricey. Also, I have to keep in mind the power requirements and conversion issues and how much energy it might suck up from a modest off-grid power system. We'll see. Here's a pic of the press:
The down side is that it costs about $700 bucks U.S. According to the advertisement, it's supposed to be pretty heavy duty though. I'd love to have one of these even before I'm able to harvest my own crops.

I've been walking through my neighborhood and I've noticed that the people here, use every bit of land for some kind of edible crop. One day, you'll see a bit of a junk yard but the very next, there's corn or rice or eggplants growing. This fall, I harvested quite a few jujubees and chestnuts as I walked to work. Once, I had to fight a crow over a chestnut. The crow won. He was a bold little buggar. I've included a few pics from around my neighborhood and my walk to school. One of the old farm houses even has a solar water heater.



So, today, I cooked some of the rice from my friend's rice paddy. It was pretty good. I stir-fried it with some bbq beef and served it with fresh sesame dressing, spicy red paste and sesame leaves. To drink we had fresh pressed organic apple juice and some oolong tea.