Having grown up in rural New Zealand on a small organic farm with no electricity, low impact living was an obvious choice but not one I had really contemplated until about 2005.

I had lived in several cities since leaving home to study at high school. The urban lifestyle was exciting and was, at the time, a prerequisite for my career path into software and web design. After some time I decided to get outside my comfort zone and embarked on the obligatory overseas experience.

During my travels I encountered poor people, unfortunate conditions of over population, pollution and conflict yet almost everywhere a strong sense of family and community. This inspired me to return home with a new appreciation for the fantastic privilege we have here in New Zealand.
At first I just fitted back into my old life in Wellington but the more I looked about the more I realised that this experiment called civilization that we have come to take for granted is headed for rough times and possibly the rocks.

It became evident that serious issues like species extinction, peak oil and climate change pose an enormous challenge to humanity and that even minor disruptions to our 'just in time' way of life would have severe impacts on city living.

So I worked hard and kept my eyes peeled for a suitable location that might shelter me from the coming chaos. I wanted to be able to garden, raise a few animals, avoid rising sea level and generally attempt to survive the converging catastrophes of the 21st century.