Self Sustainable living in Ecuador

[fatguyslim]

Hey guys, could someone please advice me the best way to get around what I am trying to achieve. Me and my friend are thinking of moving to Ecuador and build ourselves an Earthship. An Earthship that we are planning to build is aimed at being next to a running water stream, so we have constant water supply at all times. We are ready to invest both our time and expenses to make this into reality but we need major guidance for you guys to help us achieve this enormous task.

I will be travelling to Ecuador in next 2 - 3 weeks and will surely be looking for such places with water streams and other essentials. My friend is currently in US learning about Permaculture and Organic Vegetarian farming because we are both Raw Vegans and only depend on plant based diet.

The water stream is essential because it will be our natural source of water that would be both good for us and the plants that we plan to grow near our Earthship.

Our main aim through this is to build a house all by our bare hands and help the local communities learn about self sustainability. The global aim is to travel to as many third world countries as possible and help people make sustainable houses for themselves and their family hence building a global community.

I graduated from Lancaster University, UK with a first in Physics and I have no plans to use my degree in day to day rat race. I have never been this inspired before in my life and if I don't do this then vicious cycles of compulsive bad lifestyle stand before me.

Look forward to hearing from someone with a like minded mentality.

Thank you,
Abz

 

[lorihadams]

Wow...we have a friend that has been talking about moving his family to Ecuador as well but he just can't swing it yet. He bought chickens from us this year and we taught him how to process them.

It's an ambitious goal you've set for yourself and I wish you all the best! You should start a journal and let us see how it goes!

 

[Wannabefree]

What are you wanting to know? What are you doing here to live self sustainably? You know this isn't something that happens overnight, it is a long learning process...and the only way to suceed is a lot of tiny failures first. I don't know that I would jump in with both feet in a foreign country and try to "teach" anything I was not very sure of myself about in the first place. Inspiration only counts when coupled with knowledge and dedication.

"If I don't do this then vicious cycles of compulsive bad lifestyle stand before me."

THAT ^^^ sounds to me as if you are very young(nice way to say immature ) and not ready for what you are wanting to do. No offense intended, but I have to be honest with you, maybe you should try being SS where you are, then try to teach others.

 

[fatguyslim]

Thanks lorihadams, I will surely keep people updated when I start the project but before I start I need some major advice from someone who lives in Ecuador and who would be able to help find this desired place that I am looking for. I know water shouldn't be our great concern when we know that there is a rainy season in Ecuador that would fulfill the water need for us but it won't do the same for the plants because we are thinking of practicing permaculture on a wider area of land.

Thanks

 

[FarmerJamie]

Good luck with your endeavor, I think.

The way you describe your goal, you'll be setting yourself down in an environment where people have been pretty much self-sufficient for generations. Do you have concerns about any resentment from the locals from a "outsider" coming in to change their version of the world to match yours?

I'm not trying to be negative, just trying to make sure you have realistic expectations. my gut feeling is you might learn more from the locals than they learn from you...

Whatever your path beomes, I wish you well.


By the way,

 

[Wifezilla]

What local building materials are available is going to be a big concern.

 

[VickiLynn]

We sponsor 10- year old boy who lives in Ecuador, and my husband has a friend who is from there. From what I have gathered, FarmerJamie is right, the people already live sustainably. Not sure how much you'd be able to teach them. Maybe they could teach you from their experience.

As for the rainy season, it should be ending about now. I think school starts next month.

 

[fatguyslim]

What are you wanting to know? What are you doing here to live self sustainably? You know this isn't something that happens overnight, it is a long learning process...and the only way to suceed is a lot of tiny failures first. I don't know that I would jump in with both feet in a foreign country and try to "teach" anything I was not very sure of myself about in the first place. Inspiration only counts when coupled with knowledge and dedication.

"If I don't do this then vicious cycles of compulsive bad lifestyle stand before me."

THAT ^^^ sounds to me as if you are very young(nice way to say immature ) and not ready for what you are wanting to do. No offense intended, but I have to be honest with you, maybe you should try being SS where you are, then try to teach others.

This message was posted to get some help on how to go about finding a suitable place in Ecuador to start a Self Sufficient life but instead what I get in return is "I think this is not for you," "You are too young to do this," etc.

I understand that I am young and it may seem I haven't got enough experience in self sustainability but I forget to tell you that I come from India where greater part of my family lives in rural areas of Punjab where I have lived on barely minimal and yet be completely content by it. Since I have come to England I have been studying and working just to get by and it is impossible to self sustain when everything cost huge amount of money to start anything positive. I am a foreigner in this country as it is and through my experience and understand it is extremely hard and unrealistic at times to start a self sustainable life.

I spoke to the previous owner of "The Hexagon House" cambridgeshire, who built this massive house all by himself. He told me that he had to sell his house because he couldn't self sustain the family due to the fact that organic farming wasn't working or him, so instead he moved to Canada with his family and did the same and lives there with much ease in comparison.

I don't know why you would presume that I am only going there to teach self sustainability, I am going there to learn and stand on my own feet before I can even start doing anything else. I mentioned that teaching people about sustainability is our ultimate aim and never said it was going to be easy.

It's like I said before if I don't do this now I will keep hearing these same words, that you mentioned in this message, all my life. So please I request you if you are to post something then at least post some inspiration.

Peace,
Abz

 

[fatguyslim]

Good luck with your endeavor, I think.

The way you describe your goal, you'll be setting yourself down in an environment where people have been pretty much self-sufficient for generations. Do you have concerns about any resentment from the locals from a "outsider" coming in to change their version of the world to match yours?

I'm not trying to be negative, just trying to make sure you have realistic expectations. my gut feeling is you might learn more from the locals than they learn from you...

Whatever your path beomes, I wish you well.


By the way,

See now this is really helpful, of course I am going to take huge help from the locals. When I said that I will teach them I meant teaching them how to build and Earthship (this will only be done once we have built one ourselves).

Thanks for your blessings.

 

[fatguyslim]

Sorry for the confusion I may have caused guys I am not going their to teach Self Sustainability. I am going there to learn myself how to do so. When I spoke about teaching people I was thinking in terms of teaching locals how to build an Earthships (like just a basic one). I won't be able to teach one I have made one for myself so NO I AM NOT GOING THERE TO TEACH LOCALS (who are already very self sufficient) SELF SUSTAINABILITY.

I deeply apologize if I came across as a person who knows ins and outs of sustainable living.

Thanks