Simple but not easy

The other day I read a post on Instagram where someone was telling the story of how they sold their homestead and moved back to city life after being disillusioned by what is often called “the simple life”. 

It made me smile, because there is indeed a huge difference between a simple life and an easy life. And it inspired me to write this article, illustrating the difference using my real life example.

I live in a 30m2 hut in the woods, in a valley at the foot of a sacred mountain, which is nourished by a small river, 4km away from the nearest village and 20km from the next bigger city. There is no phone coverage and wifi only in the retreat center 5 minutes walking distance. My water comes from a fountain and I heat with fire wood and gas. Electricity comes from solar panels (or a backup petrol-fueled generator). Instead of a proper bathroom, I use my kitchen sink, have a compost toilet and a (warm!) outdoor shower. I have to bring the garbage down to the village and wash my laundry at my partners house. I have my own chickens and started to grow a few veggies again this year, the rest I buy from people in the area who are growing food (supporting them in their efforts). Meat and chicken I order from local, regenerative producers online (yes, I have a fridge/freezer!), as well as my whole grains, flours, etc. I don’t usually go to the supermarket and the only exotic foods I buy are some chocolate and coconut. I also don’t have a 9 to 5 job and pretty much follow my own rhythm. I use to say that I am always on holidays but you could indeed also turn this around and say that I can never go on holidays… all a matter of perspective.

So it is definitely a “simple” life, comfortable enough for me, but without lots of luxuries. And definitely not an “easy” life.

There is a lot of physical work and effort involved in this kind of lifestyle. First to put everything into place, and then to maintain it. This summer especially, there is constantly something going on with the water or the electricity which has to be fixed. The house needed a lot of reforms and improvements (which are still ongoing). Moving the chickens to my land, and setting things up to have them graze in a regenerative way, has been a project of more than a year. Preparing the space and soil for the vegetable garden also does not happen overnight. Clearing the land and keeping it clear is a constant occupation as is taking care of the animals (for now 10 chickens, 2 roosters, 3 large dogs and 1 cat). Firewood has to be cut, chopped and carried…

Basically, Life in this way is about investing your energy directly into securing food and shelter – rather than investing it into a job which earns you money that then allows you to buy your food, energy or rent, which is an indirect way of securing food and shelter. This is why it is almost impossible to lead this sort of “simple” life while also pretending to work full-time. Of course, you can still pour your creative energy into other projects – I certainly do! But it will usually not be 8 hours or more a day.

Also, this is not a life I would recommend to do all alone. Especially as a woman, you need a (handy) man with you (and also some dogs!), at least if you do not want to kill your health and hormones (been there, done that) or spend all your money to bring in helpers (and then still… not as easy to find people who are willing to drive off grid, bring in machines etc). Even better to be a group of people so that you can also leave everything behind at times for a few days. I personally could not live completely isolated in the middle of nowhere, which is why for me the combination between remote living and social interactions with the other people living in the same valley and the people coming to the retreat center is perfect.

So yes, homesteading or living off-grid is often romanticized. It is not for the faint-of-hearts. And still, I would not change it for anything at this point. I love the (relative) freedom and the empowerment that comes from learning how to do basic stuff we all should have learned at school but most of us didn’t (like basic handy-man stuff, water supply, electricity, growing food, raising animals etc.). I love the more real social connections as well. Here, we are closer to each other living in different villages than I was with my neighbors in the cities!

It is a constant learning process and things do not happen over night. You need to be patient and realistic and not set expectations too high. I personally learned to be more resilient and to let go of wanting everything to be “perfect” instantly – and also of wanting to do everything on my own. It is much wiser to take things step-by-step as to not overwhelm yourself. I would love to bring in more animals in the future like rabbits and sheep… and then there are days where I am more than saturated with what I am responsible for right now.

It is ok to delegate. It is fertile to collaborate. It is enriching to share, to exchange, to swap, to barter. Not everybody needs to produce everything they consume. As a community, in a narrower or larger sense, we can cover our needs, while respecting Nature AND our own nature as human beings.