With my courage and my inner strength clenched between my teeth, I set off to Spain with a 60L backpack in search for a different path, one that would change my life forever. Over a year a go I was in Montreal, Canada, scrolling online courses of permaculture around the world when I suddenly stumbled upon one given in Orgiva, Spain. After having lived 20 years in Canada, I was ready to leave and move to a new country. By some magical, almost improbable occurrence, the town of Orgiva drew me closer.
This very small jewel, hidden in the Alpujarras of Spain became my new home, opened and exposed my heart to a more profound me. It has been the most rewarding and equally the most difficult experience of my life to date. A mixture of revelations followed by self-doubt, nourished then with a gained sense of strength and courage in myself and my abilities. 'I am a woman and I am capable of anything' started flowing through my conscience, baring all the struggles I faced leaving my nest and thus channeling my own emancipation.
Upon the completion of my Permaculture Design Certificate, I decided to remain in the Alpujarras of Spain and live in an off-the-grid lifestyle.
I received a beautiful, straw-bale house built by an English gentleman in an off-grid community 30 minutes by foot from Orgiva. How incredibly lucky I felt to have been gifted a precious little space on a piece of this sacred earth of ours, with space to grow my own food!
In the past year I have learned a lot about myself and what it truly means to live off-grid. There are so many elements we take for granted and we've constructed a way of living, in urbanized cities, that no longer takes into account individual autonomy. This has been my biggest and most important lesson; providing yourself with the basic necessities such as: hot water, electricity, proper heating, cultivating your own food and lastly, the most challenging of all, earning a living in such conditions.
This leads me to share with you my passions, aside permaculture and the world of sustainable agriculture, which I aspire to one day enable me to be financially autonomous. My main passions revolve around the need to express myself creatively by painting, making ecological perfumes and craft jewelry.
This is my way of breaking free from certain societal constructs that limit our ability to express and tune into the creative, sentient beings we are.
I believe these social platforms, such as Steemit, can open doors for individuals and allow them to live differently.
Pleasure to meet you!
Love,
Bagheera
welcome :) a kindred sister! we'll be following you for more on your journey :) the #homesteading tag also holds a lot what you write about and people search that tag often. found you through @trucklife-family's resteem :) welcome to steemit <3
Blessings brother, kinds words coming from you, thank you! I am still very new to all of this and will learn what 'resteem' means and the rest :) Sending positive light your way!
So how do you earn a living or are you still working on it? Do you sell your crafts?
Oh I am still working hard at it, it really isn't easy. And this topic of autonomy is quite challenging but I believe in my heart of hearts we need to focus our energy on what our passions are, and I stress the need to stay creative. I am making perfumes again and my craft jewelry, which I hope to live off of.
How about yourself? What are you aligning yourself towards?
thank you for the reply :)
Hugs,
Bagheera
Oh yes!
You are so right! and after a month here you will realise infinite possibilities with this amazing community.
Great intro post @vvanamaria!
Resteemed!
Woah thank YOU! Yes, it is incredible, sharing and hopefully inspiring along the way. :) Your story a special one and very motivating. Sending light your way!
incredibly inspiring! i am currently visiting Montreal, considering moving here to be closer to family. but despite being my hometown, montreal doesn't really feel right to me. perhaps i can put some of this inspiration from your post to good use and chart a different path! thanks for sharing.
Woah! My goodness YES! I mean we are all here on this social platform to hopefully plant a seed 'somewhere' ;) and thank you for taking the time to read it. It isn't an easy decision, one that took a long time to settle in, but I can tell you it's the best thing I've ever done. Montreal is great, but every now and then you reach this point in your life where you don't feel a sense of inner growth, and that's when you must take a decision. We have a whole world to discover and possibly ways to implement change if there's something very dear to you. Be courageous and dare! Much love to you Audrey. xxx
Wow it looks amazing. I can't wait to go off grid, I am saving for some land I have a little plan to go with it. You house looks perfect, can I come join you haha. Follow for more updates 💯🐒
haha cute, thank you!! I am also planning on eventually getting a small piece of land in Spain preferably. You are more than welcome to come see this place, it is stunning and full of likeminded people. I'm going to follow you as well ;) hugs xxx
I might just take you up on that idea. Need some where for my summer trip :). To combine some useful learning in too would be cracking. Nice to have you join me. I struggle to keep up with all the post on here but am following also . 12:56
Hey there @vvanamaria, we're in the same part of the world. Welcome to steemit. Nice intro, take your time, get a feel for the platform and most importantly find those you relate to and get involved. Resteemed
Thank you guys, this is powerful and I hope we can all be driven closer to our wishes with this tool. Slowly but surely we are getting there, thanks for the reply <3
Like everyone else is saying..great story and takes so much courage to do that. I look forward to reading your future posts about living off the grid.
Go You!! I have always wanted to do the same. I love your little home. It looks so colorful and cozy. Many blessings on your journey! Following
Oh thank you so much, very kind of you. Let's see what opportunities lie ahead! Warm hugs!
Very nice presentation and I admire your values. Crypto will provide you the means to remain off grid along with your other creations. Good luck and many blessings.
I very much hope so! Thank you for the comment, many blessings to you.
vvanmaria, welcome to the Steemit commuity. Great share on your journey to abundance and freedome. Looking forward to see you ideas and projectds. upvoted, followed and resteemed.
Thank you and likewise!!
Thanks for sharing your story Bagheera, Ive enjoyed reading about your adventures so far.Takes a lot of courage to live a life like yours. Looking forward to read more !
Thank you sister. I highly recommend putting oneself out of their comfort zone at least once in their life time. The biggest teacher lies very close to us ;)
Love and light
x
Looks like a very interesting life! Welcome to Steemit!
Ha! Thank you!! First step is done ;)
hugs!
Wow what an amazing lifestyle you live! I'm envious! Look forward to seeing more!
Thank you!!
Wow , really great story and so many would love to do this but don’t..
Yup and I recommend who ever is interested in this kind of lifestyle to give it a go, its worth it and will give you completely new perspectives on life itself. Thank you for the reply, <3
Awesome post. You make beautiful things.
Spain is on my mind too.
Just out of curiosity. (you don't have to answer if you don't want to.)
Do you speak Spanish? That would be my biggest hurdle.
Hey there!!
Yes Spain is a good destination to start because there are so many likeminded people and also very alternative. I sincerely think its the best place that can serve as a big mirror to yourself; who are you really, what do you really want to do in this lifetime. Now with the language, I think it would be an amazing asset for you to gain and a language that is spoken in many countries so it will serve you quite a bit :) Spanish isn't difficult and I'm sure you'd manage fine. I learned to speak spanish here in Spain so.....do it!!! Be courageous and believe in yourself <3 if you have any other questions, I'd gladly answer them. xxx
it is nice to have the courage to discover a new place and go there. I want to do it, but time and money and my family problems are preventing me. I am very happy for you.
Thank you, I appreciate it. I left Canada with a backpack and very little money. I didn't leave in the most calculated and organized manner but I felt in my heart if I weren't to do this then, I would regret it eventually. And there's this saying...that you're never 'really' ready, you just have to push sometimes. Now I must empathize and understand that family is also a big issue, which I understand. I hope you get close to what your heart desires, baby steps until you can take one big leap. Much love to you!
Interesting journey. Good luck and steem in touch!
Thank you very much!
Welcome home @vvanamaria! :) Happy to find you here. Fallowed and resteemed so that more people can read your beautiful message. <3
Thank you sister, you're been a super force since I met you! I will do the same, Love you. <3
Wow...what an amazing journey! To be able to live off the land in harmony with nature...I think that must be the best kind of balance of mind, body and spirit needed to bring out the most beautiful manifestation of creativity. Making sustainable goods that also allow you to the freedom to live outside of societal constructs...what a fulfilling dream!
Hi @creativesoul ! Thank you for the reply, its beautiful to see all of you connecting and highlighting the value of symbiotic living, I wish to see more of this in our lifetime. I hope your creativity is bringing your to higher places. I'll be following you! Love and light <3
I feel as though steemit is allowing me to live vicariously through others. I always imagined I would travel and soak up the culture of the world but I have not. I did visit Spain 16 years ago though and found the country beautiful. I loved the architecture, the art, the culture. But while I am not travelling I can still enjoy all that nature has to offer. My husband and I have 50 acres waiting for us to settle onto. We want to create a sustainable lifestyle for ourselves using permaculture principles. We look forward to seeing what you have to share. -Aimee
Ha, are you from Canada by any chance? I left Canada after living there 20 years and moved to Spain. What you're writing about to me seems very achievable! And if in your heart you feel this desire to get a small piece of land and building something special on it, then you should give that thought more attention! These social media tools like steemit are a great way to share information and hopefully to spread some motivation around! Maybe you'd like to come by Spain or Portugal? Hugs and thank you for replying!! xxx
Yes, we are in Alberta Canada. For now, the focus will be building a home for our family and setting up a sustainable permaculture farm. Perhaps, in the fire I can visit Spain again. I would love to experience Portugal as well, I am hearing more and more about it from Steemit. Cheers, Aimee
Ps. I missed the payout window on your introduction so I am upvoting your comment instead.