Wanting to live a green life, off-grid but cheaply. Can it be done? Might need some expertise to answer this!? We%26#039;re looking at buying a house for the first time somewhere within a few miles of Cambridge, England, and perhaps spending up to £160,000.

We%26#039;d like to live off grid, and have a reasonable sized garden to grow some of our own food, but can%26#039;t really afford to if we buy a house.

So then we got to thinking, could we simply start with a plot of land and go from there? Perhaps if we paid for a small house to be built simply and from non-conventional building materials it wouldn%26#039;t have to cost too much. Otherwise perhaps we could use a mobile home.

So then we might have money left over to install solar panels and wind turbines instead of connecting to the grid. Maybe even a self-composting toilet instead of the regular kind which I suspect would also be cheaper. That just leaves water, which we could either plumb in the regular way, or if it makes sense perhaps we could even collect and filter our own via wells/rainwater collection etc.

So is this an impossible fantasy, or can it be done? Can someone give us any guidelines, such as what our realistic options might be, and what they might cost? What might be the more expensive or less expensive options?

Many thanks

Additional Details

1 week ago

We%26#039;re not looking to live away from it all. In fact we both work in Cambridge so it%26#039;d be essential that the it%26#039;s reachable by bike. The land plot also doesn%26#039;t have to be huge, just big enough to grow a good proportion of our own food, not necessarily all of it!
http://www.dreamgreenhomes.com/
http://www.energyconservationinfo.org/al...
http://www.cat.org.uk/index.tmpl?refer=i...
http://peopleinaction.com/alternativetec...
http://www.atl2.netfirms.com/engy/index....
http://www.greenphase.com/
http://www.ecoiq.com/energy/
http://www.thesolarguide.com/
http://www.grannysstore.com/Do-It-Yourse...

Any plot of land you buy would be subject to planning permission. From the sounds of it you would like to live away from it all and most likely the land would be in a greenbelt area and you wouldn%26#039;t get planning permission. However this does not mean you should give up on your dream entirely - just be careful when buying land. Check out www.cat.org.uk as they have all sorts of books and gadgets for living greenly.