Choosing a Path – Part 7

Since I’ve done this journey before, I’m confident that the choices I’m making will not only work, but allow me to survive the winter. My strategy is simple but can be challenging without the help of the tribe. The shelter I’m building came from an idea that I saw visiting the Ukrainian Village Historical site just outside of Edmonton. The idea was to place logs over a hole and cover with sod. There is no sod here, so I modified the design and decided to use the gravel that I’m excavating to cover the roof and then put a cement cap over top of it all. The idea here is that I need a building that can accomplish a number of features. It must be able to access the thermal mass of the earth to help keep me warm during extreme temperatures in the winter. The building must be able to handle 6 feet of snow on its roof as well as all the snow melt during the spring and summer rains. I also need to make sure the building will not flood and will not burn down during a forest fire.

The site I chose is on top of a hill, so risk of flood is low. To ensure a fast snow melt does not flood me out, I’m going to build a swale around the building that I can then use to collect water or redirect it around and down the hill. Fire protection is done by putting gravel on the roof but also covering any exposed wood with cob. While it is not 100% fire protection, it will provide some protection. The thermal mass of the building will be very high, so I’m confident that it will function fine during the winter. I’ll fire up the stove as soon as I get it enclosed so that I can start drying it out and charging the thermal mass. I also suspect that 6 feet of snow on the roof will provide a warm blanket for the building during the winter and keep me nice and cool during the summer. I’ve worked with and lived in thermal mass buildings for over a decade, so I’m confident that it will perform as I need it to be.

I also wanted a building that will rot and fill in itself when I go, whether I move away or leave this realm. I want to make sure that my foot print is very small. This building is only temporary anyway as I plan to live in it for only a few years, which gives me time to build a more permanent one. Why put in so much effort for a temporary shelter? Because winter comes very quickly. Right now my shelter needs is being supported by the tribe. I’m living in a camper, which is a huge boost as it gives me time to setup a shelter. If I did not have this, my strategy would be a bit different.

Without a tribe, I would take this stepped approach.

  • Top priority is to build a small shelter to handle the elements. This shelter would accommodate my needs for a few days while I build a larger shelter to handle my summer needs.
  • The summer shelter is a bit larger but still very basic and can be built in a few days. Once this shelter is built, I would then start work on a winter shelter.
  • This is the stage I’m at right now. Tribe allowed me to skip these first two steps. When starting in the spring, I only have a few short months to get the winter shelter built. The goal here is to not only survive a winter but have a shelter for a few years to buy time to build my permanent shelter.
  • Permanent shelter would then be designed to survive for the rest of my life, have room for visitors, family, friends or even tribe members. More importantly, I need room so that I can pay it forward and provide shelter for others who are starting out so that they too can skip the first two steps and jump right to the third step.

When people are being forced out of their homes due to mortgage foreclosures, tax notices, war, famine, etc, we will need to find a way to provide shelters for people off all the grids. The price of lumber has sky rocketed, which makes it nearly impossible for people to build shelters the traditional way. How do we build shelters without the resources of the grid? We do it by looked back at how our ancestors did it 100+ years ago. I am doing this work to explore what it is like, how long it takes, effort, cost and feasibility. If I fail, the tribe has indicated that they have room for me for the winter. So the risk is much lower than if I was on my own. I’m confident that I could be living in my new shelter by August. I’m hoping to be into it before the UNGRIP Boot Camp on August 9-13.

Tribe is important during times like this. I encourage people to setup their Sacred Heart Circles as this is how tribe is formed; by being vulnerable and working through our shadows together. We will be discussing these topics at length during the boot camp. I encourage people to sign up if even a little bit of this resonates with you. I have a feeling that we will need ideas like this in the coming years, especially as the tyranny progresses to march along. Being able to survive and thrive in extreme climates like the north will be a huge benefit for those willing to do the work.

It is also important to have the knowledge and skills to be able to build shelters when we UNGRIP from the state and no longer have a person to interface with the coming mark of the beast.  These passports, social credit scores, etc are all designed to enslave people and when we take a stand and remove ourselves from them, we also remove ourselves from their supply chain, goods and services.  That leaves each individual responsible for fending for themselves and knowing how to do that without stores is going to be a critical skill to have.

Peace Garden

In the spring of 2020, I recorded a series of videos to help people navigate through the challenging times we are facing. I shared my 15+ years of experience living off grid and explored what it would take to remove my dependency from the grid and obtain true independence. Below is a series of videos that covers six topics. It is an introduction into the type of work that is required to reconcile our relationship with Mother Earth, Creator and empower ourselves to build independence and say no to those that would entice us into slavery. Welcome to the Peace Garden and it is recommended that this be viewed as an introduction into the Pacem Arts.

Food Sovereignty

The premise of this video is to explore what steps an individual can take to not only remove their dependency on the corporate industrial food complex, which is toxic and extremely unhealthy for life in general, but also to rebuild our relationship with the spiritual beings on this planet that are here to serve, nourish, cloth and protect us.

Water Sovereignty

Water is life and through pollution and corporate efforts to control and capitalize on water, it is no longer being viewed as a basic human need. People are completely dependent on the state and corporate empire to provide them with water to drink, bath and cook with. It is time that we explore how we can take back the responsibility for providing for our own needs and water is near the top of that list.

Shelter Sovereignty

It may seem odd to people, but in this area of the world, shelter is the top need we have. We can survive weeks without food and days without water, but only hours without shelter. So this is the top priority when exploring how to return to the land while removing ourselves from the grip of the banksters, government thugs and truly connecting with our duty and responsibility for providing for our shelter needs ourselves.

Energy Sovereignty

This video discusses my experiences exploring how I could become energy independent. When people talk about living off grid, the first thing they think of is solar panels, but this topic goes far beyond electricity and explore energy in general. This includes electricity, but also heating our homes, storing energy and how to manage it when we are no longer dependent on the industrial energy mafia.

Waste Sovereignty

Waste sovereignty may seem like an odd topic, but the goal here is to modify our behaviours so that we don’t produce any waste. This is a monumental challenge given the industrialized system that we have built around us, which generates a tremendous amount of waste. By exploring the waste we produce, we can find areas where we can modify how we live and find more gentle ways to walk upon the earth.

Personal Sovereignty

The last of this series of videos, I explore what it will take to remove our dependencies on external authority and accept responsibility for self-governance. This is a complex topic, which is explored in far more detail in other courses and offerings on this site. But this video is a good introduction to the topic as we examine the journey of maturity, self responsibility and even building inter-independent relationships with others who are also on this path.

When you are done these videos, I recommend you watch the UNPLUG workshop as it expands on these principles and prepares the student for the Journey Towards Truth modules. I hope you enjoyed these videos.