Brian Williams and his partner decided to be self sustaining and live off the grid.

At Brian Williams' house he has to shower outside, hand pump his water and manually empty the toilet - and that's exactly how he wants it.

Williams, 27, and his partner live out the back of Pahiatua, near Palmerston North, and "live off the grid".

They bought the already eco-friendly house in January for $175,000, and it is almost entirely self-sufficient - collecting its own water and generating its own power.

Murray Wilson/ Fairfax NZ. Brian Williams and his partner generate their own power, hand pump their water and empty the toilet by hand.

Built four years ago, the walls are made from straw with mud and the floor is made of compacted dirt with a beeswax varnish.



Moving in, Williams said he knew what to expect but did not realise how much of a change it would be.

"I don't think I did realise, but I also didn't realise how fun it would be - I wanted to know if I could do it. It's not for everyone, you have to want to do it."

His partner was fully on board.

"There was a lot of considerations we had to make. But we didn't want a 30-year mortgage. We didn't want to spend $200,000 to $300,000."

Water was collected from rain and filtered, and manually pumped to a raised tank to get pressurised.

"It's a little bit stone age, but it works and you get a bit of exercise at the same time," Williams said.

"It can be a pain, it's more of a pain if you have a shower and run out of water - so we try bulk pump it."

That meant about 10 to 15 minutes each day to fill the tank.



To empty the toilet, Williams has to take the bucket of solids out, combine it with sawdust and put in a bin to compost.

"When you come back in six months it doesn't resemble what you put in there."

Heating was covered by a fireplace with a wetback. They have a diesel generator for emergencies.

The pair also grow most of their own food, with their own mini orchard, beehives, free range chickens and free range pig called Piggy.

"We made a deal, if we couldn't eat him, we couldn't eat pork anymore."

Other features include a worm farm, outdoor fridge, outdoor shower, and manual coffee bean grinder.

The couple do still have electricity, but it comes solely from solar panels and a hydro generator.

"So we can have a few small luxuries of life."

Prior to the move, Williams said he had been much like anyone else spending hours on a computer or watching TV, but did not miss it.

"It is amazing how long you can spend in front of a computer screen doing nothing.

"We turn the internet on when we need it, just not all the time."

They are not completely off the grid though.

"We do still have jobs, so we do have exposure to normal life."