It may not look like everyone’s idea of a dream home but for Tim Dakin this converted shed in East Gippsland represents financial freedom and self-sufficiency.
“We literally stumbled across this property that was advertised in Burger Bill’s fish and chip shop in Briagolong, we met the owners then and there and decided to buy the property on that day,” Dakin says. Dakin says living in an off-grid home has forced a more sustainable lifestyle on him – but the upfront costs are still considerable.Off-grid homes have a growing appeal in regional Australia, thanks to rising energy costs and the high cost of connecting a new build to mains power. Reducing costs and addressing environmental concerns, by living a more sustainable lifestyle, often go hand in hand.Dakin was quoted up to $65,000 to build off-grid systems for his home.
He does not have council rubbish collection and has whittled down his waste to just one bag of rubbish every six months. Living off-grid has forced him to become more conscious of decisions that, when he lived in the city, he never questioned. He avoids unnecessary plastic and packaging and shops for fruit and vegetables at roadside stalls.“We saw it through Covid when we had this big push out into the regions, and then people found these sites that they fell in love with,” he says.