Our Self-Reliant Life

Formerly Green Dream Project
We're Jim and Jess, an off-grid couple building our dream of a sustainable homestead in Southern Arizona. What is it like to live on rainwater in a dry climate and build a huge 14,000 gallon earthbag cistern by hand? How can you thrive comfortably on 100% off-grid solar energy? How do you build a beautiful dream home out of dirt with no heavy machinery? We're working towards self-sufficiency and a healthier, happier, more fulfilling life together. Join us on our journey to watch all our failures, triumphs, and fun with new videos each week.


Our Self-Reliant Life

Hello! We hope you all are having a great weekend with friends and family. We've been spending a lot of time with family over this holiday, and because of that, our video will be out late. We'll let you know when it drops. Thank you all for understanding.

1 week ago | [YT] | 1,216

Our Self-Reliant Life

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours. We're so thankful for each other and this amazing life adventure we're on. Thanks to each and every one of you for being a part of this journey with us.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1,286

Our Self-Reliant Life

Today, we're celebrating 🍾

Our anniversary was a couple of days ago, but Jess ended up very sick that day. After a bit of rest and some pampering, she's feeling much better. Now we're taking a little time to enjoy some time together and celebrate 19 years of marriage. Time flies when you get to live the adventure of a lifetime with your soul mate. Here's to many more happy years together. ❤️

3 months ago | [YT] | 1,589

Our Self-Reliant Life

Hey, y'all! We hope you're doing well out there. You may have noticed we missed our upload yesterday. We're having technical difficulties. Life in the middle of the desert.😁 Keep an eye out. Hopefully, we'll have everything uploaded tomorrow. 🤞 Have a great day.

4 months ago | [YT] | 1,487

Our Self-Reliant Life

A big happy birthday to Jess!🎉 We actually took some time to relax and have a little fun to celebrate. It's amazing to see our dream coming together a bit more every day. None of this would be possible without her vision, creativity, and tireless work ethic. Here's to another year around the sun. I love you.😘

7 months ago | [YT] | 1,396

Our Self-Reliant Life

We did it!🎉
Our earthbag wall is finished. This is the last of our exterior walls and the most labor intensive as well. It's beyond exciting hitting this milestone. Now that this wall is finished, it's time to button up the roof.
Check out our latest video to see the exciting conclusion to this project.
https://youtu.be/PdoE_kJVL0M

7 months ago | [YT] | 861

Our Self-Reliant Life

We're ready to build the final earthbag wall to our modified earthship home. We just built and installed the door forms. These will be necessary to create the openings in the earthbag wall. This is the beginning of the next chapter in building our own offgrid home. Check out our latest video out now.
https://youtu.be/gLqHRfGGX28

9 months ago | [YT] | 663

Our Self-Reliant Life

The polycarbonate panels are going up! It feels like it's been a long time coming. Sealing up the greenhouse will be a huge step to getting the full house closed in. We just released a video today showing the panel installation so far.
https://youtu.be/L1ztJpjCgm4

9 months ago | [YT] | 624

Our Self-Reliant Life

Happy Valentine's Day! We hope you get to spend time with loved ones today.

9 months ago | [YT] | 534

Our Self-Reliant Life

The doors are in! We're excited as we reach a new milestone with the build. We just put the windows in, and with the addition of the doors, everything is looking a little more complete. Check out our latest video to see our salvaged doors go up.

https://youtu.be/3TukgAqO9bM?si=0m9uh...

10 months ago | [YT] | 616