While scrolling through social media I saw a post with a text asking "Are you prepared for a energy shortage?" The associated video showed a couple filling their car with propane and gasoline tanks. While there is no way I could drop that much cash on tanks & tanks (also, we don't have a generator nor a car) I do feel prepared when thinking about fuel, just not the same fuel they are referring to.
And then, of course, the universe decided to test my confidence and we ran out of gas later that day. Lol.
So, it is back to cooking over an open fire with a make-shift rocket stove of bricks for a few days till we can get the local energy cooperative to refill our gas tank.
Not that cooking over a fire is anything new for my man and I. We have been without gas many, many times. There was a full month during 2020 when we had no gas nor electricity. And while we were broke & traveling, cooking by fire was part of our day to day, and very much the norm in the small towns of Central America where we were traveling at the time.
This particular energy shortage comes at kinda a bad moment though, as we spend long hours mixing cement each day at our build. Covered in dust and tired, my sore muscles want nothing more than a hot shower and a easy dinner. But no. Out to fan a smokey fire it is!
I have been able to make some really yummy meals though! And luckily my man and I have a huge pile of chopped wood and sticks built up over the past few months. So, really, this test comes at the right time to show us all the ways we could survive an energy shortage. And also all the ways we could improve in the realm of resilience.
What a coincidence! The fact that you read about losing power and then it suddenly happened to you... it seems like fate, but I congratulate you because you did the best thing you could have done at that moment. Resorting to patience and imagination is a good solution when there are problems. We recently had a power outage in Spain that lasted several hours, something very unusual. Many people went half crazy and desperate, but we kept calm, adapted our routine to the situation and waited with the resilience you mention. We are so used to comforts that we forget that we can lose them at any moment, and that doesn't mean the end of the world, just that we have to change the way we relate to them. Those ravioli look delicious; meals cooked over a wood fire taste much better. If you have a plan in case it happens again, all the better.
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Thank you! ☺️
I actually heard about the power shortage in Spain. The people in the videos really seemed to be loosing their minds as you say. I am glad to hear that you kept calm. I think it scares people to realize just how dependent their lives are on the electrical grid, but, keeping calm and coming up with better strategies really is the best way to go. Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment!!
The blackout was just a one-off, for the time being. But it has helped us to realise that dependence, yes, it has helped us to learn and be better prepared. Thanks to you for sharing your experiences and reflections, I love reading you, you give me a very special sense of peace. 🥰
Living in the city I'm really missing to see flames a lot of the time, good to see you enjoying the fire
i miss the elements so much when I visit the city too! hopefully you can be back in your cob cabin in the woods someday, when the time is right.
Wow, your post really hit me! It’s raw, grounded, and quietly inspiring. I admire how you faced the gas outage with humor, resourcefulness, and a sense of perspective. It's so real how you said your body just craved a hot shower and easy meal after a long day of cement work—those little comforts become massive when they’re suddenly gone. Yet even in the struggle, you’re finding strength, making good meals, and recognizing the resilience you’ve been building over time. Honestly, it’s not just “back to basics”—it’s back to something deeply human and powerful. Thank you for sharing that. 💞
Living on a reasonable size land I never had to buy any firewood and never will.
even only with the olive pruning each year, I get enough to pass most of a winter.
if I have to, I will cook on fire, no worries.
only last night, apparently the lights died down for over an hour in our area. I didn´t even know until this morning since I am 100% off-grid. kinda prepared.
!BBH
that is great! I am really lucky to live on 10 acres for the past 5 years and we never buy wood. In fact I very often gather wood for my single mom friend as well since we have so much to spare. Our future home is only on 1 acre so we will probably be collecting from the forest around but, as that activity helps prevent wildfires I see it as a good thing. Also our future house will be off grid and have a way more efficient way to cook on a fire inside if or when the gas goes out. It is kinda hard to be building a house because I can't spend much time gathering and gardening and that makes me feel at a disadvantage if anything were to happen but, in a couple of years we will be so much better off so, it is worth it! Thanks for sharing your perspective, it is always so interesting!!
It's great that you cultivate that capacity to be resilient in the face of everything life throws at you!
Congratulations on this attitude!
thank you!! I am learning to have a more positive attitude these days and see times like these as moments to improve my resilience rather than stress about how un-prepared I am.
That's the attitude! Congratulations!
Have a wonderful day and don't forget to smile!
Have a wonderful day too!!!
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thanks!
It's really very interesting to see how you operate. It's a question I've never really asked myself. I must admit that if a gas or fuel shortage were to happen, I wouldn't be prepared at all.
Same for electricity. Actually, especially for electricity.
At my tiny house, I have a stream, a pond with fish, and a solar panel. So if something like that were to happen there, I’d be relatively resilient. On the other hand, I wouldn't be resilient to weather-related events.
In my house, though — 200 km away from the tiny house, I only have a large vegetable garden. Very little firewood. And the house runs on electricity. I don’t really have a way to collect water because the roofs are made of asbestos. I’d need to work on my resilience in that house.
It's a real question you've sparked in me.
For some reason I always thought that you and your partner live in the tiny house full time. It sounds like we are in a similar situation, the house I currently live in is totally reliant on electricity except for heating, we do have a fireplace inside but it is really challenging to cook anything on it. But otherwise my work and lifestyle depends on the grid which frequently goes down here in Argentina. So, the plan is to make the tiny house we are building off grid, though we do have access to the water grid. The only downside is that because it is so much work to maintain our house and also build I dont have much of a garden anymore and all my money goes to building costs. So, if anything were to happen now we would definitely be scrambling to get enough food.
I say that all to explain that although we are resilient where heating and firewood is concerned, there is so much more we could be doing to be prepared but, sadly, we can't do everything all at once. The path to a self-sufficient life is a long one. Best of luck to you and your process!!
Yes, I've never really been clear about this. To keep it simple: after traveling in a converted van, we had the opportunity to buy a piece of land with a small fishing cabin on it, at a very good price. Really, a very good price. The problem is that the land is in a wetland area. So, when the first autumn came, the humidity inside the cabin was constantly around 90%, and everything started to mold. We were always damp, and it really wasn’t good for us.
So we went back to our parents' homes, who kindly agreed to take us in while we figured things out. And by a stroke of luck, we found a house (which we didn’t buy) that we now rent for a very low price. The downside is that it’s far from our tiny house. I go there from time to time.
Life in a house is completely different from what we experienced in the tiny house or the converted van. There’s more comfort, but it’s also much more expensive. And right now, we’re questioning a lot of things because of that. I think @altheana really loves this life. As for me, I like it when things are less conventional. So I’m trying to make this house less conventional. And that brings me back to all the thoughts we share: resilience and self-sufficiency.
There are ways and means when you have the will to get the job done! We surprise ourselves at times like that!
Cooking food over a wood fire gives it a lovely flavour!
Yes I so agree! I also made some fish and flat breads on the fire for lunch the day before the pasta. That particular fish normally isnt very flavorful but tasted SO much better with the smokey flavor.
Food over a fire tastes better!
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STOPIt is great that you know how to survive of grid. I could manage for a while but would have to rely on a generator to preserve my frozen foods. Otherwise we would be fine for some time. Glad you know how for being so young.
It is okay to run a generator!
if the electrical grid went down we would be in trouble but, at least could keep the house warm and cook. Hopefully it never comes to that!!
thanks for your comment.
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So happy to be here!