The Folklore1685 project started in 2015 when both myself and my partner decided to try living a more sustainable life. We didn't know at the time that this would in turn become a journey to a better, more enjoyable and healthier life. Our out-look confuses a lot of people, because on the face of it we have to think about everything we do and 'miss-out' on many things our friends view as necessary parts of modern life. For us, we see our friends having to miss-out on many of the things that make our lifestyle precious.

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We don't want to live in the stone-age, yet we believe we can do without many of the modern necessities that trap most of our generation in a 'work to live/live to work' cycle. Our work is for our own future. The days are long, but we are our  own boss.

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We grow much of our own food, as living on a plant-based diet means that we can produce a significant amount of our own produce, topped up with a few things that either don't grow in our climate or we don't have enough land for. A well stocked spice-cupboard and dry-goods pantry can make a million different meals! It also means that we barely spend anything on our grocery shop, which in turn reduces our need to go out and work a 9-5.

 

To those that view this rejection of the 9-5 lifestyle as a cop-out, I will point out that we have never claimed benefits or accepted any governmental assistance. We simply reduce our out-goings by living frugally and live within our means.  

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 What money we do have comes from occasional part-time employment and our handmade business, where we sell the things we make to pay for those things we can't eliminate, like council tax, water-rates and the rest of the 'system' related living costs. Our long term plan is to buy a plot of land with a private water supply and build an eco-house to further reduce our dependence on the grid. We consider a healthy work/life balance the most important thing to our well-being, and although growing food and making the things we need are labour intensive, they are part of a lifestyle. We don't make the distinction between work and pleasure because they are all one and the same in our world.

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