New, bewildered and a little bit concerned...

[hossylass]

Hi everyone.
Is this site the answer to my prayers? I hope so!
A little bit about me...
I have arthritis, Fibromyalgia and will be homeless in six weeks. I also have 7 acres, 3 horses, 1 dog, a dilapidated caravan, water but no phone or electric. And a cash flow problem.
However I do have an enormous amount of practically organic compost...
So in 6 weeks I intend to move into the caravan. Thats the short term problems dealt with.
Over the next year I want to become as self-sufficient as possible, growing and storing as much food as I can, and I guess I'm writing because I know I need support.
Any-one out there want to be my mentor, buddy, shoulder to cry on, type person? Look forward to being part of your community.

[Shirley]

Hi Hossylass

:welcomeish:

I don't want to pry, but how come you are going to be homeless in six weeks, and will you still have the 7 acres, 3 horses and a dog when you move into the caravan?

[Tay]

Hello, and welcome to SSSH. Hopefully, you'll be able to find lots of advice and answers on here to help you with your problems.

Will you be able to get electricity and a phone line hooked up to your caravan? Being able to use a freezer will be a big help if you need to store your produce. Where will you be living? UK?

[hossylass]

ahhhh, I just knew some-one would notice! The caravan, acres etc are rented from a mate. The horses live there, however at present there is no planning permission for me to live there.
So I rent a property and the owner wants the house back so... it's the leaky, draughty caravan! (or a b and b, been there, seen it, its a bit grim if you are ill and have mobility problems, actually is a bit grim if you are perfectly well too!).
So the caravan it is, but I have a horrible feeling... There is so much to do!!!
Could be a utopian dream, but the reality isn't quite so rosy. Suppose the gales, driving rain and rocking van dont help much! Just wondering how feasible it is.

[hossylass]

the electric connection quote was £10K!!!! Shopping around for cheaper but at this time of year the contractors dont want to do it, something to do with wet clay soil, driving rain and gales I suppose! And as you've probably guessed from my weather description, yes I live in the UK.

[Tay]

That's scary money! Have a look at the Alternative energy section on here; you may find some useful info/suggestions for a cheaper alternative. Our neighbouring farmer was quoted a ridiculous sum for a connection - the line to be connected from was just 100m away. He has ended up using a generator instead.

Where in the UK are you? Some areas will be better than others for other means such as solar or wind. A clay soil is a pain for growing your own vegetables, but if you have a large supply of compost, you should be able to improve the soil with it.

[Shirley]

Do you have a tenancy agreement? Isn't there somewhere else that you could rent instead of the caravan/b&b route?

Which part of the UK are you based?

[pskipper]

Look in the green building section of the site, providing your friend doesn't mind you could build a wood fired oven. As well as being able to cook with it they can be used to dry food for long term storage. Everyone here is really friendly so never be afraid to ask questions etc.

[hossylass]

Hoping for solar and wind in the long term, luckily studied this at uni so I'm a tiny bit ahead of the game, but finances are a problem. My mate will stump up for the electric if its cheaper, its just the time scale at present. Think I'll be roughing it for a few weeks! Got calor cooking and lamps (by heck they are expensive to run! ) and a wind-up lantern and stuff, just hoping for an early spring.
The phone can go in with the electric so that wont be expensive, but its more essential to me than the electric. Actually hope to hardly use the electric eventually. The land is a south facing slope and gets good wind being on top of a rise above a plain, and I am in Wiltshire so we get decent summer weather too. I admit that in the long term it couldn't be more perfect, except for the clay soil, but its a bit sort of sudden!!

I started on a raised veg patch, it got a good layer of horse manure last year, and some coarse manure with a bit of bedding in it over autumn. Just needs a good rotovating and hopefully it should produce a 'lively' though slightly sticky soil this year.

[red]

:welcomeish:

[Muddypause]

Hello Hoss,

When you say "at present there is no planning permission" do you mean that you are in the process of applying, and intend to build your own house on the land?

Your plan with the caravan brings back fond memories of several years I spent in an increasingly dilapidated caravan when I was in my teens and 20s. The roof leaked badly, the floor was rotten, electricity was a cable from a nearby farmer's shed, so was the water (via a simple hosepipe, that would burst when it froze in the winter). Keeping warm was often a matter of going down the pub. For a while, lighting was by oil lamp and candle. Plumbing was a bit Heath-Robinson, to say the least, and I lived on £10 a week.

Absolutely perfect for a young man to find his feet in. I loved it. A bed-sitter (or worse, B&B) would have been crushingly dull by comparison.

It wasn't my caravan, I didn't put it there, and I doubt it ever had planning permission to be there. But it was secluded, and somehow I got away with it.

That cost for the electricity connection is presumably because it has to be brought in a long way? That sort of price has got to make you think about a decent diesel generator as a cost effective solution (think veg-oil), though with care you could probably do a lot with a little wind and solar. And maybe with a little ingenuity you could rig up a 3 horse power generator that is fueled by grass?

Let us know how it all goes. Good luck.

[Millymollymandy]

Hello and welcome! You imminent move sounds.... well, interesting! I hope you get everything sorted out.

[Wombat]

G'Day Hossy!

Welcome to the site and good luck.

My brother lived a caravan in Tamworth(Norther NSW) for several years whil building their place, it was an intersting experience, but their problem was heat and dry, not cold and wet!

Nev

[aussie]

...and country music. Not Sudanese, then, I gather..?
My wife and I lived in a slide-on van for almost two years..a bit squashy,but cosy in winter, and comfortable.

[Wombat]

.... Not Sudanese, then, I gather..?
.

Nah mate!

Nev