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 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.