A MUM lives off-grid with her kids in a tiny home with a tin roof – growing her own food to save cash.
Ember Smith, 35, has built a family home from recycled materials in the Devon market town of Totnes.
The home has a fully-equipped kitchen and bathroom – as well as a loft room for her two children, aged 10 and 12.
Cheshire-born Ember moved to Totnes after a friend invited her to set up home on their land.
She said: “Our friends had bought this land with the intention of creating a community.
“They wanted camaraderie and a support network not based on money, but time, friendship and connection.
“I fell in love with the place, its beautiful ethos and ethics. The ethos is all about living with the land and regenerating it.”
Around 16 people live in the off-grid community – including Ember’s partner Steph Gabbadon.
The couple lived in separate vans in the same car park for three months before bumping into each other for the first time.
Four years later, Ember and Steph have built two tiny homes side-by-side.
The community has a 40-foot polytunnel full of vegetables, fruit and cereal crops to feed its members.
Ember’s children are in mainstream education – splitting their time between their dad’s house and the off-grid community.
The mum-of-two has a business making reusable sanitary towels with a solar-powered sewing machine.
She said: “Living off-grid was a pipedream I always had. I grew up in a council estate surrounded by big marshes.
“It was the nineties, so I was tree climbing and not seeing my parents from breakfast till teatime.”
Ember’s off-grid journey began in 2016, when she took her kids to a community in Wales.
They suffered setbacks almost immediately – from “torrential rain for a week” to losing the family car when someone crashed into it.
The family lost a chunk of their savings but eventually managed to save up to live in a yurt.
Ember home-schooled her children for their first year of school while also running her business.
Her partner Steph’s own off-grid journey began when he found himself living in his car and sofa-surfing aged 15.
Ember said: “I was getting used to the van life. that’s when I met Steph who was doing the same thing – it was lovely.”
Steph, 35, said: “We get to grow together and to watch the children gain a wealth of wisdom and experience.
“The lifestyle lets me live how I want to live but also allows me to help others to live how they want to live.
“And it reduces our carbon footprint and revitalises and rewilds the land.”
He added: “Many varied characters make up our little sliver of paradise.
“My neighbours – if you can call them that – often feel more like a family than anything else.
“It’s still punk rock, we’re still rebelling – but in a much quieter humble way.”
Ember said: “I would say to anyone absolutely do it – but my advice would be to be aware of the realities.
“Winters suck – chopping wood in the rain, constantly keeping fire going.
“Doing that on your own is really hard, so finding a community is so beneficial and everyone helps each other out.”
Mum-of-two Ember added: “I wouldn’t live any other way – it’s amazing.”
