Horses were domesticated about 5,500 years ago and used for agriculture for the last 1000 years. Only a little over a century ago, 90% of all forms of transportation was horse powered. Yet, within a decade after the introduction of internal combustion engine, we shifted dramatically away from the humble animal. From this week, I’m…
Category: Experience
Winter Pyrenees
Last weekend, I was invited for a hike over the Pyrenees into Val d’Arran area of Spain by my new local friends. I jumped at the opportunity, dribbling, since I’ve always wanted to try winter alpine climbing but I didn’t know anyone experienced and willing to take a novice like me. But here was someone…
Home Mushroom Cultivation – Inoculating the Substrate
I think it’s important to note at the beginning that these “how to” posts are in no way conclusive and I’m an absolute beginner figuring things out. Indoor mushroom cultivation is, to my great surprise, a relatively new subject and many home level cultivators are performing ongoing experimentation and tweaking different methods. As such, a…
Sark Experience
Last September, I stayed on a tiny island near Guernsey called Sark for a little over 3 weeks. I was volunteering to help set up a small Permaculture themed festival with music, local beer and workshops. My girlfriend enrolled on a Permaculture Design Course running up to the festival, taught by Aranya who was my…
Scotland Roadtrip
Me and my friend Sam drove the North Coast 500 route – a 500 mile route along the Northern and North Western coasts of Scotland around the end of May. Setting aside a week, with a few day-hikes planned in, we drove the route anti-clockwise as recommended, coming off the route at the end to…
For Those Thinking of Starting a Van Life
A few pointers to get you under way in exploring the various avenues of living small and mobile. First published 16 April 2018 on Wix. I chose living in a camper van as a way to move from farm to farm and be able to easily carry my pet cat around. As it turned out,…
After a Year of Living in a Van Part 2
This post was originally on Wix dated 12th March 2018 In part 2, I will be looking at things that have worked really well. Ideas that I’ll take into the future, whether that’s building another van, a tiny house on wheels or a full-on house on top of a foundation. Minimalism The process of moving…
After a Year of Living in a Van Part 1
This post was originally posted on Wix dated 8th March 2018 I can confidently say that I’m still loving it but I took a moment to reflect on the experience and thought I’d share a few things over several posts. There are many bits that I’m glad I included in the build and some that…
Hunting in Japan
Another key event from my trip to Japan was a brief introductory course on hunting from my uncle. I’ve always been fascinated by hunting and eagerly tagged along to watch as he set up traps amongst the dry winter mountains of Izu. As with many temperate countries around the world, Japan used to have its…
How to Grow Organic Rice in Japan
Around this time of the year last year, I spent 3 weeks in Japan and one of the key experiences from the trip was going to visit my uncle’s place at the Southern tip of Izu peninsula. It’s a lovely place where rolling mountains and oceans meet with plenty of onsen (hot spring bath) dotted…
jizoku.co.uk 