Moneyless couple reveals how they built a remote Canadian cabin for just $5,000 from salvaged goods they found in a dump – as they lift the lid on their unique off-grid lifestyle

Talk about going back to basics.

With little money to their name, a couple from Ontario, Canada, have shared how they started living off-grid in a cabin they built from scratch using salvaged materials.

Joel and Stephanie told their special story via the popular YouTube channel Explore alternatives.

While giving a tour of their characterful property – which has now been their labor of love for 15 years – the duo reveal it cost just $5,000 to build it using scraps from a local landfill and a dilapidated shed.

The total expenditure includes a range of new tools including drills, lathes and hammers.

The outhouse was the very first structure on the property, and Joel said he built it with “very minimal tools.”

The couple then set about building their home with their grand designs, including a master bedroom in the attic, a bedroom on the ground floor, an open-plan kitchen, dining and living room and a bathroom.

Stephanie explains to viewers in the YouTube video, which aired in October 2022: ‘We had no money. We were saving from the dump.

‘There was an old shed on the property that we took apart piece by piece and de-nailed all the planks and such.

“You know, that was a huge project. We built our house with… everything salvaged from the landfill and whatever we could get our hands on for free.”

The first season the couple lived in their house, it was partially built, so Joel says there were still “holes” in the structure and they had to “break it down in the winter.”

Gradually their house took shape and after making do with candlelight for a while, they went out to get power.

Stephanie said, “So we went from candlelight and then we finally got our first solar panel with a small deep cycle marine battery.

‘We used this for a few years. Than [we got] lights and from there we just continued to expand. We bought more solar panels.’

Today, the couple has five 320-watt solar panels, paired with four lithium batteries to store excess energy. During the winter months, when there is less sunlight, they use a generator.

As for their water supply, there is a well on site for drinking water and they pump water from a neighboring reservoir for washing dishes and bathing.

Instead of a flushable toilet, they have a composting toilet to save water and still use their original outhouse.

On the food side, the couple grows much of their own produce.

Stephanie says, “We have three big community gardens, we plant corn and we have raspberries in them and we have potatoes and tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers and pumpkins.”

Meanwhile, Joel adds: ‘On this property we grow and produce all kinds of vegetables, meat, milk, honey, grapes, fruits, juices, wines… We are very rich in food.’

The couple say they are eager to learn more about foraging so they can instantly identify “mushrooms, medicines and herbs.”

‘We want to teach other people something. That’s why we would like to hold workshops that address these issues,” Stephanie continues.

When it comes to earning an income, Joel works as an arborist, while Stephanie runs an off-grid Airbnb that they also built themselves. Since living off-grid, they have also started a family, and their two children now share the main floor bedroom space.

Stephanie summarizes the off-grid lifestyle and concludes, “There has been so much satisfaction that has come from our off-grid lifestyle.

“There’s that satisfaction that we built the house we live in.

‘We love the satisfaction you get from growing your own food.

“That makes it all worth it… We spent a lot of time farming, experimenting, doing all these things and then we’re at the point now where we’re just trying to take a step back from those things.” intensive things and just starting to enjoy our lives together with our children.’