About 40 years ago, William bought 1.25 acres for $6000 on the Big Island of Hawaii and began growing his own food and building his own shelters. He was inspired to leave his native Wisconsin for a place where it would be easier to live off the land.
Today he lives with only solar power (with an array built from recycled panels), without a car (he uses an electric trike or carpools), without a job (except for rent from his self-built shelters) and he grows much of his own food, including coconuts, mangos, citrus, macadamia nuts, pumpkins and a huge vegetable garden.
He has built a dozen structures on his property, using recycled materials and spending next to nothing to build by hand. His wooden main house is half greenhouse with windows of an ocean view that he built for $500 to $1000. Most of his shelters are topped with green roofs, including a 2-story stone yurt with a lush green roof, an underground music studio lined with local rock and topped with vegetation, a bamboo quonset hut, and two green-roofed converted truck homes.
“Nature does a pretty good job,” explains William. “These living roofs… you know, I wanted everything like that, 'cause it makes everything invisible, and blended with it.”
The impetus to begin this project, which he had hoped to turn into an eco-village and invite others to join him, was inspired by the book “Survival in the 21st Century” by Viktoras Kulvinskas (1976) and thinkers like Buckminster Fuller (William has a geodesic dome sweat lodge.
On *faircompanies https://faircompanies.com/videos/oldtimer-builds-rustic-ecovillage-in-us-southern-most-point/
I reeeally wish you would stop this disgusting neocolonialist series. It’s not the flex you think it is to build an ecovillage on land that is not yours where the locals are having the land stolen from them by rich mainlanders. You are contributing to a really nasty situation and glamourising the people who are doing it. It’s so out of touch it’s mindblowing
Thank you for this.
There’s a reason why Minecraft remains the overwhelmingly most popular game.
Oh how special to see this! William is a smart man, going off grid and living a great life on his land. I wonder how old he is? 65 maybe? He’s in great shape too.
What a resourceful man he is, totally content and living his best life.
This is how we’re meant to live.
The Garden of Eden.❤
Thank you Kirsten, for allowing William to live on forever, with your visiting him.
“Survival Into the 21st Century” Viktoras if I remember correctly. I still have that book, have dreamed of living this lifestyle since buying that book in the mid 1980’s.
What an inspiration William is! Another amazing find, thanks Kirsten
Viktoras Kulvinskas. It’s good to know that someone besides me has found inspiration form that wonderful book.
This is civilization ❤
ONE OF MY HEROES!! 🙏🕉🖤
hmm
Won’t stop the crazy world out there, but will still be here when it’s gone. Nice.
I have much Love for William ! why is his community empty though! it should be overrun with helpers and families! – id love to volunteer there and help Him !!!
“Survival in the 21st Century”. Originally published in 1975, when I bought it. I still have my copy somewhere. It was the book that changed my life, all for the better.
I was born too late… 1 acre for 6000… building a house for a few hundred… we’re so fucked.
Not the southern most tip of the u.s at at all it was stolen! Apart from that great video
Oh I love this video and this guy. It doesn’t happen every day that you come across a soul mate.
Beautiful place.
Well done Mr ❤
Always look forward to your videos! These are the people that will survive a collapse