About Gary Collins:
Gary spent 20 years in Military Intelligence and as a Special Agent for the U.S. State Dept, U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services and the FDA.
After leaving the US Gov., He decided to pursue his passions and started a company promoting the primal, paleo and self reliant lifestyle.
He’s an author of 4 books on both Health and Fitness and off-grid living.  His latest one details his off the grid project he has been working on for the last three and a half years in NE Washington State.
Why Should I Live Off-Grid?
We discuss how one person decides to create an off-grid home, and many of the troubles that he ran into.  We discuss Gary’s new book, “Going off the Grid.”
Gary had done construction and remodels, so he wasn’t new to the concept of building a home.  This helped him out.
Why a Book about Off-Grid Living?
Because he wanted to help others simplify his life, he decided to write his book about his project and the many lessons he learned along the way.
What Are the Main Challenges of Building an Off-Grid Home?
In the podcast, Gary tells us about many of his obstacles along the way, such as dealing with contractors, the time it takes to build something off-grid, going through the maze of the local permitting network, and even security issues he ran into quickly.

TPP 131: Off Grid with Gary Collins from Ken Jensen
What are Some Lessons to Learn from Your Off-Grid Project?
Solar is really expensive, and was probably one of the most difficult pieces to the puzzle of an off-grid home.  
Digging a well for the home was more expensive than the land itself!!!
The best advice for someone considering an off-grid project is to be patient! Be practical with the needs and timeline a build like this will take.
Be practical with the amount you will have to downsize as well.  Consider downsizing in an RV as a test of how you will be in a small, off-grid home.  Use this as an opportunity to visit the areas that you would want to build your home in.
If you can handle travel trailers, you can probably handle living in an off-grid home.
What is a Helpful Resource for Building an Off-Grid Homestead?
Backwoods home magazine was one of the biggest helps for Gary during his build.  The magazine has been changing their label to Self Reliance Magazine at http://self-reliance.com/
Free Resources for Building an Off-Grid Home
Free Off-Grid Resource #1:
Gary and I discussed that we will provide a way for people to win a free copy of his book. The book is both hard-copy and electronic.  Click the photo below for a chance to win a free PDF version of Gary’s Book, “Going Off The Grid” or go to http://theprepperpodcast.com/freeoffgrid.
Free Off-Grid Resource #2:
Go to Gary’s website where you can download two different resources for living off-grid: www.primalpowermethod.com/offgridresources
Where to Buy Gary’s Book, “Going Off The Grid”:
(Buy Directly from Gary)
(Buy from Amazon)