Acorn Land Labs’ Path to a Sustainable Future Through Off-Grid Systems

In this modern society, the 5 basic physiological needs of humans, which include water, food, energy, shelter, and sanitation, have become quite inaccessible for the average American. Many are required to work tirelessly paycheck to paycheck but still barely get enough of their basic needs.

With a growing awareness that self-sufficiency, meaning attaining those 5 basic needs directly without having to rely on capitalistic sources, is possible, billions of people around the world have taken leaps to achieve this, one way by living off the grid.

Living off the grid has turned into a viable option for many families in the United States, mainly with the help of the internet providing how-to guides on living the off-grid life. With the world population becoming more and more environmentally conscious, living off the grid has also become an option for those who want to live sustainably.

To provide those needing guidance on living a sustainable, off-grid life, non-profit organization Acorn Land Labs studies and tests out innovative off-grid systems and provides educational courses on said systems. The organization also takes a step further by creating a Kickstarter-funded off-grid simulation designer app named The Land Lab Simulator.

Acorn Land Labs’ Cause

Realizing that the way of living with stability and sustainability is a goal shared by many, Acorn Land Labs makes the provision of insightful knowledge on the matter of the utmost importance, especially for future generations.

Pollution, inequality, land degradation, disease, and overwhelming waste, which are the results of our age being fully occupied with booming technological change, expanding but at times weakening economies, and compounding growth, make the 5 human needs hardly accessible anymore for most. Acorn Land Labs believes that a systemic change is needed, and knowing that no one organization, no matter how important or powerful, can do this, the organization invites the population to grow aware and study ways to make that change happen together.

The team of engineers, creatives, gardeners, and visionaries behind Acorn Land Labs has explored the natural way of living while developing skills in ecology, agriculture, permaculture, biodiversity, STEM-focused knowledge, as well as many other off-the-grid disciplines.

Though the organization has performed its fair share of text-based research, it goes through its journey of discovery through hands-on, outdoor experience.

Land Labs and Educational Courses

With the resources they’ve acquired, the organization built land labs, which are labs filled with circular systems like rainwater collectors, permaculture gardens, methane digesters, solar ovens, bio pods, and compost systems. To share the knowledge they’ve learned and all the systems worth studying, these land labs come in the form of outdoor classrooms, school, and community gardens, as well as homesteads and community grounds.

The organization not only uses these labs as locations for them to experiment but also to teach anyone interested in healing our environment. This includes scientists, farmers, conservationists, community leaders, educators, students, and the general public. The team teaches topics like organic agriculture, composting, rainwater collection, solar energy, aquaponics, and so on. This type of hands-on learning is hoped to deepen people’s understanding of how to properly care for our land and inspire them to continue doing so.

Participants are also given the space for experimentation through project-based learning. They can learn how to develop sustainable practices of food production, energy generation, shelter construction, sanitation management, and water conservation, which, as we can see, comprises all 5 human needs. The labs offer projects on aquaponics, composting, permaculture gardening, methane digesters, solar panels, and mycology.

To further spread the ideas of sustainability and the means of turning our world into a greener and healthier one, Acorn Land Labs aims to launch its first online course regarding land labs, circular systems, as well as permaculture systems in the Autumn of 2023. The organization’s comprehensive off-grid course will go live next week, its snippet teased on Acorn Land Lab’s Instagram account.

Off-Grid Simulator

Aside from the on-location learning and the Autumn release online course, Acorn Land Labs ups the ante with its off-grid sustainable simulator. The Land Lab Simulator reached $67,851 on Kickstarter, thanks to over a thousand backers in support of the cause.

The simulator is a design app that users can use to build virtual off-grid systems that can provide food, water, energy, sanitation, and shelter. The simulator has every off-grid system that exists today, whether those available for purchase or those people usually build with DIY plans.

Users can drag and drop those real-life systems onto their land in the simulator. The simulator makes the cost of each system visible, along with the raw inputs required to create certain outputs. Users can also see how long and how much those outputs can support their basic needs. With this simulator, people can learn how to live their lives sustainably, affordably, and more independently.

All the off-grid systems inside the extensive list of the simulator were well-tested by the team. The team has also been studying urban settings, suburban zones, and rural locations in order to build blueprints for the simulator. By gathering real-world data and fine-tuning the formulas needed to run various circular systems in different places, Acorn Land Labs hopes that it could open up users to more diversified living locations.

Six different versions of The Land Lab Simulator, which includes The Circular Closed Loop SIM, The Regenerative Home SIM, The Micro Farm SIM, The Homestead SIM, The Woodsman SIM, and The Iron Hermit Sim, are available for pre-order and will be released in October 2023. The apps range from $35 to $1000, depending on how comprehensive users require their simulator to be.

With Acorn Land Labs’ extensive knowledge of off-grid, circular systems, as well as its awareness of how wasteful society has made the world run, Acorn Land Labs believes that living with sustainability, freedom, and independence is possible and will give us a brighter future.

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