Rise | We've Done the Research
Building an Off Grid Home in the Tropics
Moving to the Central American jungle to build an off-grid home, and raise pigs and chickens, isn't an aspiration for most people. It's seemingly even more unlikely that a big-city fashion model and a cameraperson would choose this sustainable lifestyle.
Tyler Rumsey and Hannah Cee, however, exemplify a growing number of people interested in returning to the land and living a more sustainable lifestyle. Here's the story of how this couple went from city dwellers to full-on homesteaders. They are building a beautiful, minimalist off-grid home on an enchanted landscape they refer to as Isle Delfino in Reino Dehongos.
Starting with the Land
While working as a cameraperson for a TV show in Central America, Rumsey "fell in love with the area and immediately started looking into buying property here," he says. "About six months later, I brought Hannah down to show her the place, and she fell in love with it, too."
"We had been talking about someday buying land and starting a homestead and building our place," he continues. "When Hannah saw this location, we decided to start building as soon as possible. We got my brother, Austin, on board as well. He helped buy the land, and together the three of us have been equally involved in building the house and planting the garden."
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Building smaller also added several sustainability benefits. "Going smaller is more eco-friendly, uses less lumber and materials, and has a smaller footprint, too," Rumsey says. The house is being constructed of milled lumber: yellow pine. "The post and beam construction is built around six yellow-pine telephone poles that we cemented into the ground."
Rumsey and Cee are interested in incorporating recycled and salvaged materials into their homes. For their energy needs, a friend is helping them source second-hand solar panels, which they plan to hook up using Tesla car batteries. While they're having their solar system installed, the couple is renting a small apartment in the nearby village to charge power tool batteries and camera equipment.
Watering Plants, Sustaining People
For their water needs, Rumsey and Cee found an old abandoned well in the jungle by their land. They also have a water collection system from their roof. The house's gutters are hooked up to a 2500- liter tank under the house, which collects runoff also used to water the plants. "We want to install another water tank on the hill behind the house, and will have a gravity-fed shower and water for the bathroom—all from rainwater," Cee says.
For Rise homeowners interested in off-grid living or homesteading, Rumsey and Cee offer these simple words of advice. "With the internet and YouTube, anything you want to do is now possible," Rumsey says, of the vast number of tutorials available online.
"We had no experience with off-grid living before undertaking this project, just the desire to do it," he adds. "Honestly, it hasn't been that difficult. The community of people doing what we're doing is growing. The idea of off-grid homesteading is becoming more popular and more accessible. It makes so much sense. Our advice would be: If you want to do it, there's no reason not to."
You can follow the progress on Tyler and Hannah's beautiful off-grid home and homestead on their YouTube channel or Instagram account.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
