Like so many other city-dwellers, Cam and Michelle Mather longed for a simpler, quieter life in the country. When they found a century-old farmhouse on 150 acres of land that was in their price range, they jumped at the chance to make their move. The fact that the home was "off-grid" with no power or telephone lines connecting it to the outside world seemed like a bonus!
Twelve years later their life in the country is not quite as simple as they had envisioned, but it is peaceful. There were more challenges than they could have anticipated, as well as more rewards.
Along the way they installed more solar panels, erected a wind turbine, and upgraded and replaced all of the major components of their off-grid electrical system. They installed a solar-thermal hot water system; figured out how to have a phone, internet, and satellite TV; and kept their home heated with wood cut from their own property. They also carved out a garden and began growing much of their own food.
They acquired new skills and knowledge, but, most importantly, they learned to appreciate the value of good neighbors, good books, and good manure.
Cam Mather is a writer, publisher, and video producer who knows how to equalize batteries and pinch suckers off of tomato plants.
Michelle Mather looks after the editing, the website, and the dwindling bank account and keeps Cam calm during times of crisis.

Little House Off the Grid: Our Family's Journey to Self-Sufficiency

Mather, Cam

Mather, Michelle

Parenting & Relationships

Aztext Press

As the news reports an endless array of chaotic events from summers of record-setting wildfires, heat waves and droughts or winter polar vortexes, Hurricane Sandy convinced many that climate change is real and that catastrophic weather events are the new norm. Many people resolved to be better prepared for the next big crisis and to make a plan to deal with the disruption that will come. The Sensible Prepper provides readers with the tools to make a plan and be prepared to deal with the next storm. The book takes a big picture look at additional challenges such as economic collapse, peak oil and global pandemics that form the zeitgeist of “angst” many people are experiencing. It provides a framework for taking steps to build personal resilience examining such questions as where to live, how to power your home, how to grow and store more food as well as new models of economic exchange. The tools and knowledge exist today for people to be more independent and better able to deal with many of the challenging issues of our time but what has been lacking is a coherent, achievable plan to build that resilience. Unlike the “stock up on guns and ammo” books of the past, this book provides a logical road map to build independence written by people who have lived independently for more than a decade. Michelle and Cam Mather have lived off the electricity grid for 18 years heating and powering their home sustainably and independently with renewable energy while growing food for themselves and for others in their community.

The Sensible Prepper: Practical Tips for Emergency Preparedness and Building Resilience

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

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Books by Mather, Michelle