BrainStorm Acres – Off Grid Homestead

What do you do when it’s a two hour round trip to the hardware store to buy a few low cost parts “needed” to finish a job? And the whole job would take just 10 minutes IF you just had the parts?.

How do you cope when electricity lines are more than 5 miles from your place and WILL NEVER be run close enough to hook up to the grid?

When the closest hospital is more than an hour away by car, what do you do when a medical emergency happens?

How do you respond when the weather suddenly changes with little warning?

These are just a few of the problems that you might face on your homestead – we have!

BrainStorm Acres is here to help you, whether we have suggestions, or everyone pools their knowledge. We’re here to help you – expert or novice.

Irene and Henry have been living off grid since 2005 on a 43 acre off grid homestead in the high desert of Northern Arizona. Situated at 5280′ elevation, we enjoy four seasons of beautiful scenery and weather about 60 miles south of the Grand Canyon.

We built our homestead “from the ground up” by ourselves with a few tradesmen to assist where we needed the additional help.

Our homestead includes a 2,200 sq ft home, 1,000 sq ft studio, 400 sq ft workshop, 480 sq ft greenhouse, and 200 sq ft utility building. The home is powered by 6kW solar panels, 48V lithium iron phosphate batteries, and multiple solar charge controllers. A 30A line supplies power to an RV parking space and supplemental power to the studio. The studio has 1.2kW solar panels and flooded lead acid batteries.

We grow most of our green beans, peppers, yellow beans, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, squash, garlic, and herbs. Specialty crops like asparagus, sun chokes, and lavender are supplemented by foraged foods including wild ground cherries,  prickly pear, and other native plants.

BrainStorm Acres welcomes contacts from homesteaders and like-minded people.