Kia ora! I’m just another solarpunk in Aotearoa looking for other like-minded friends, inspiration, and advice on other ways I can green up my life.
I live in an off-grid tiny home I built with my partner in 2016 out of wood and second-hand windows/doors/appliances. We run off solar power, rain water, a composting toilet, and try to repair, mend, make, borrow, and buy 2nd hand or local. Our meat is all hunted, which here in Aotearoa is a huge help for our environment as our only native mammals are seals and bats. Everything else is a pest. We also grow a lot of our own fruit and veggies, but the garden is still a work in progress.
I’m looking at irrigating the garden and automating the process. I saw something about https://www.home-assistant.io/ online but would love any advice you might have. I’d like to automate and chart my watering as well as integrate moisture monitors and a weather monitoring system.
I have an electric bike and an old 1996 honda crv. I’d like to switch to an electric vehicle, something like a Pickman 4x4 or another small farm vehicle, as I only need to get to the village bus stop, neighbouring farms, and the occasional trip into town via back roads.
Clothes are me-made with 2nd hand materials, mostly from the dump shop. I’ve helped start a collection point for alternative recycling like bottle lids and tetrapaks, a library of things, and a community workshop. We are working towards a bike repair hub and time bank but it might be a couple years before they are operational.
Please share all your inspiration, book recommendations, and thoughts around other ways I can make an impact in my community 😊
I’ve not got anything useful to add but what you’re doing sounds awesome! Do you have a blog or anything?
Is this something you can do between work in your free time or is it a full time commitment?
I also had to look up where Aotearoa was as I’d never heard of it before, surprised to learn that it’s New Zealand! My sister has lived there for nearly 20 years and I’ve never heard the name!
I don’t have a blog but I do post little snippets on the big social media platforms. They aren’t super detailed as I’m trying to use my aesthetic appeal to drag unsuspecting viewers down my leftist rabbithole. I was going to revive my tumblr but I actually think just making posts and commenting around Lemmy is better. No follower metrics or corporate algorithms to worry about.
I’m currently an unemployed author under contract, but I don’t get paid until it’s out. The economy is rough here at the moment. My partner works in forestry, and I’m hoping to pick up a 2nd shift apple grading this autumn.
Aotearoa is her first name and what we as a people are slowly moving back to. This may or may not be related to it bumping us up above Australia in drop-down selection menus.