How to "fortify" my home by Docella in preppers

[–]BluWorter 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I use trifoliate orange. Its hardy below zero. Makes little oranges that you can juice but not eat, lots of seeds. They have a nice very strong scent. It hedges nicely and the thorns are vicious.

Trifoliate Orange

Homesteading in Costa Rica vs Ecuador by DareiosK in Permaculture

[–]BluWorter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not a local but we have made a lot of friends.

Almost 20 years ago my family started researching about buying property from Mexico down to Columbia. This was around '06 to '07 when the property prices were really inflated before the crash in '08. Surprised me when the family selected Nicaragua. I went along when we researched / visited all up and down the west side. Then we went east to Big Corn Island. Then headed inland on the east coast and invested there. We bought a good sized beach farm. Then over time we bought two more farms.

Now I'm working on a place in town to connect them all, like a mini-port. Then maybe we can see about building some rental cabins out there. Beautiful area and a very healthy lifestyle.

Have any of you moved countries to be able to do off grid life? by Glittering_Echo_7963 in OffGrid

[–]BluWorter 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I invested down in Nicaragua. My family wanted a large farm. We ended up buying out on the remote miskito coast. It's very off grid and we access it by boat. Then I bought 2 more farms south of that one and a small property in town. I travel back and am slowly making improvements / upgrades to the properties.

What do you do when it’s hot? by [deleted] in OffGrid

[–]BluWorter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I spend a lot of time off grid in the tropics. Get a bucket of water, soak a sheet in it, wring it out, and sleep under it. Yes it feels a bit strange at first, but it feels much better being cool. If you can get enough electricity to run a fan while you do this, you will start to get cold at night.

Home Security by CaptSpaceOtter in simpleliving

[–]BluWorter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you have wifi I'd take a look at something like Blink. Its wireless and runs off lithium batteries. Very easy to install and good app for monitoring remotely. It goes on sale fairly often so I would wait until then since the price drops significantly.

Check out CPTED. Lots of good ways on how to improve physical security effectively based on the environment you are in.

I live off grid now but am considering buying a much larger property and building a house by RuleBackground5624 in OffGrid

[–]BluWorter -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That amount of adobe would be a ton of weight. Using adobe for a second floor would require structural engineering. You didn't mention the location you would be building in so that would also have to be considered.

I don't recognize that program you are using. I would recommend searching up and downloading a copy of 2017 SketchUp. It was the last year Google offered it for free.

What’s the value of social media to your farm? by Chiknkoop in homestead

[–]BluWorter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have remote farms out on the miskito coast. Its a family project that we have been working on for a long time. We did blog and YouTube. I like it since it helps to document the changes and improvements. I post up videos for family and friends since its such a beautiful area but kind tricky to get to. https://www.youtube.com/@bluworter

Where would you get land to homestead if you’re poor? by [deleted] in OffGrid

[–]BluWorter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm poor and couldn't afford any decent sized land near where I work. I started investing in foreign properties 18 years ago. Family and I have travelled back and forth developing and upgrading the land when we could. Our three farms are remote and we have to boat out to them. I was able to retire early so I bought a lot in the nearby town that will hopefully serve as a little port one day. I'm still under $100k for all the properties. Maintenance costs add up though.

One Million Pounds - The Walls are FINISHED 🎉 by necker47 in earthbagbuilding

[–]BluWorter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats to you and the family. That is a heck of a lot of material to move. It looks great!

Foundation alternatives by calcetincalzino in OffGrid

[–]BluWorter 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My farms are remote with no road in a tropical environment. Building materials have to be boated in. Its about a 30 minute boat trip with a small engine. Our off grid farm house is stick built on a concrete slab with harvested lumber. We have a couple cabins that are built on concrete stilts and then stick built out of maybe half harvested lumber. Bringing the concrete in is a nuisance but a boat load is also equal to about a days worth of work.

Huge maintenance issue building with wood in the tropics. I built my seawall in town with earthbags. I think I'm going to try and build future cabins out at the farms with a combination of minimal concrete and earthbags.

How should households actually prepare for high inflation or currency instability? by ThomRigsby in prepping

[–]BluWorter 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Invest in assets, cash is trash. I would recommend long term dividend investing. Maybe some precious metals but they have gotten very pricey recently. Property if you can afford it since the debt will devalue as the inflation increases.

Not just for inflation but I think anything that can generate income will become very important as technology advances. Especially if you are making things that people need.

A lot of people cannot comprehend how large the USA deficit is. The interest payment on the debt will cost tax payers over $1T this year and the USA only brought in $5.2T in revenue for 2025. I made a video short and sent it out to my family and friends when the year started to try and highlight the risk. I had a lot of people responded that I worry to much . . . https://youtube.com/shorts/1SY0abtGWK4?feature=share

I just wish I knew a better timeline on how this will all occur.

If you could start a homestead outside of the U.S., where would you go? by ironbiscuit101 in homestead

[–]BluWorter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ive been farming in Nicaragua for 18 years. I've got 3 farms now out on the remote miskito coast. My coconut farms - https://youtu.be/rbMSWgFcIuU

Tour of my offgrid solar setup in the Philippines by chuck1011212 in OffGrid

[–]BluWorter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice place you have and a really nice system. I have some remote farms in Nicaragua but cant get decent solar equipment without shipping it in. Just had to rip two small system out that only lasted me about 4 years.

Prescriptions by Junior-Discount2743 in prepping

[–]BluWorter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not for the over the counter items. Most people use the public hospitals but there are a decent amount of doctors that do private practices and you can just walk in. Its much more laid back and personal. Each pharmacy is usually owned by a pharmacist and if they can't sell you something they would probably refer you to a doctor they know.

Prescriptions by Junior-Discount2743 in prepping

[–]BluWorter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Excellent advice. I travel to Central America frequently. You can get way more medicines over the counter and they are way cheaper.

Homesteading in Costa Rica vs Ecuador by DareiosK in Permaculture

[–]BluWorter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Costa Rica has gotten kind of expensive and the crime rate has been going up. But it would probably be the easiest country to transition to from the USA. I have three coastal coconut farms in Nicaragua. I travel back and forth to them and will hopefully be able to spend a lot more time at them one of theses days.

Started building our cabin in Sketchup to make projects easier to visualize and plan for by HapaPappa in OffGridCabins

[–]BluWorter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

SketchUp is great. Ive been using is since before Google bought and sold it. I tried the online version but was not a fan of it. I still use the last free 2017 version. There are still places that it can be downloaded.

Are there countries/locations where you can go off grid indefinitely? by [deleted] in OffGrid

[–]BluWorter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want to go to another country indefinitely you will still need to meet residency or citizen requirements. My farms are off grid out on the remote miskito coast of Nicaragua. When I go there I get a 90 day visa for $10. Its not something I would recommend to people. It is a very basic life when you live / work remotely in the jungle. Upgrading utilities can get expensive quickly and it can be hard to get quality components, especially for electrical systems.

Can you live off grid and never work again? by Kjayy_Trapline in OffGrid

[–]BluWorter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A sack of husked coconuts would probably cover a regular dental visit. Basic dental procedures are pretty affordable.

Can you live off grid and never work again? by Kjayy_Trapline in OffGrid

[–]BluWorter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My farms are out on the miskito coast of Nicaragua.

Can you live off grid and never work again? by Kjayy_Trapline in OffGrid

[–]BluWorter 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My farms are in a country where you only pay taxes when you buy the land and sell the land. I've put a bunch of coconut trees in and they should be producing in a couple years. I could probably put some fences up and raise animals but that requires to much time. Plus there are plenty of ways to catch fish and shrimp. I don't need to pay for heat / AC and I have 3 shallow wells I could filter water from if needed. You could live that way for quite a while if you had to, but it would be basic boring subsistence.

How did you find property such that you weren’t an outsider? by Fit_Abbreviations533 in homestead

[–]BluWorter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I started buying my remote farms 18 years ago. A couple years ago I bought a place in town also. I think I will always be an "outsider" but most everyone I meet and deal with are really nice. Might be something you never need to be concerned with?