off-grid

um jornalista inglês resolveu passar um mês com três crianças (e a certa altura a mulher) numa cabana remota, sem água corrente nem electricidade. tudo em nome de uma tentativa de viver de acordo com uma nova filosofia de vida independente, "não-ligada" (aos sistemas centrais de abastecimento, ao consumismo, ao estilo de vida dependente). a expressão é off-grid. eis uns excertos da experiência (que correu bem).
>It's bloody freezing. Inside I light the fire. At the heart of the shack is a small but efficient multi-fuel stove. This will provide heat and a means to warm water and food. As well as the fire, I have a small propane cooker, and I go to fill a pan full of water and put it on to heat.
>(...)the shack is lit by candles and oil lamps.
>After eating, we get out a board game; the kids crowd round the table. Despite the icy cold outside, the shack is suddenly lusciously warm.
>Photovoltaic power is a mystery to me, but I'm amazed to see, within an hour of my connecting up the panel and tilting it towards the thin sunlight, the read-out on my charge controller telling me that my battery is charging.
>Washing-up is a long operation, without a dishwasher or a hot water tap. Gathering and sawing driftwood from the estuary for the fire is a constant task. As is boiling rainwater for drinking.
>Those pioneers of disconnection who live in vans are clearly connected to a grid of petrol stations. (...) this lifestyle is only possible because of the less tangible grids of internet and mobile phone.
>The children have adapted easily. They spend long hours hunched around the table drawing cartoons, or playing on the beach, or in the mud of the estuary.
>I may be getting very little paid work done, but the days are full of routine low-level tasks - clearing the gutters of debris so the water butts fill properly, sawing still more wood, tinkering with paraffin lamps.It's a temptingly stress-free life. And cheap, too.
>The truth is it's much easier to go off-grid when you know that the grid is still there to run back to.