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To Build a Home Cheaply, a Young Briton Escapes to Zanzibar!

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Here is an extraordinary and completely off-grid house, built with the help of local craftsmen by a complete novice – and for just $35,000!

A young man from England escaped the 9-5 routine and struck out with this entirely new life, in Zanzibar.

Making use of local Zanzibar building techniques, and local builders, this twenty-something was able to economize, and build a mortgage-free home for life.

The house is built green, and off-grid, of necessity. Not only are all the materials locally sourced, but the coastal site can create its own electricity supply: that is a 4 KW wind turbine being erected there. Far from the grid, of necessity, the house is totally energy-independent.

A locally built turbine produces 700 kilowatt hours of power a month – more than enough for almost any home – even in the developed world. In addition, a solar hot water heater provides the warm water needed for showers.

While the wind turbine brings electricity into the home, native craftsmen impart a charming local style to the details.

As well as Africans, many Arab, Indian and Chinese people also live in Zanzibar and contribute to the local building vernacular.

But its not just a one way street. His own work is with a local tour company in Zanzibar, doing their web design, programming and online marketing.

He plans to start to provide free training to local people in basic IT skills so they can be eventually be employed by the company to work on real world clients, giving them work opportunities that were not otherwise available on the island.

That is – when he is not entertaining his very envious young friends from the home country come to see how on earth he made his magnificent escape!

Via REDDIT