LIVING OFF-THE-GRID
Making the Transition
Hubert and Jacomyn have boldly gone where not many have gone before: they purchased
311 acres in a beautiful part of Northern Ontario to build the solar-powered
strawbale-house-of-their-dreams. It has been an exciting journey for them,
creating some wonderful (and occasionally terrifying) moments.
This workshop takes you on their journey, the
many joys and rewards, but also the difficulties and occasional set-backs. Hubert
and Jacomyn will share with you how they came to decide on this life style and
how they made it possible. Participants will get a chance to explore many of
the Eco Centre’s special features, the obvious and not-so-obvious. We will
look at what it’s like to live in a strawbale house, what it takes to set
up a photo-voltaic system, domestic solar hot water, passive solar design,
and more. You will also get a chance to hear the stories of others who have taken
the same step and their reasons for doing so. Participants will leave with a
realistic idea of what it takes to live lightly on this earth, and with enough
information to help them decide what route to take for their own journey.
co-ordinators: Hubert Den Draak and Jacomyn Gerbrandy
Hubert is a filmmaker and photographer, born & raised in Holland. The
visual image has been his passion from the moment his dad lent him his wind-up
8mm camera. Many years later when Hubert won a Canadian scholarship to work
and study in Montreal at the internationally renowned National Film Board
of Canada, he got hooked to Canada. Back in Holland he started his own successful
film production company, until he was invited to join the roster of directors
at a Toronto-based production company, 10 years ago now. Hubert took the
leap and never looked back. He has directed at several film production companies
in and around Toronto, taught at Confederation College’s Film Program,
and now applies his passion for the environment at the Nolalu Eco Centre.
Jacomyn is originally a textile designer, also born and raised in Holland,
and always dreamed of living somewhere there’s lots of room. She therefore
very happily joined Hubert to the land of wide open spaces where she worked
as a graphic and web designer in and around the Toronto area. Jacomyn has
travelled all over this globe, which provided her with a passion for life
styles that are in harmony with the earth. She loves playing her old piano,
growing her own organic veggies, or going for (snowshoe) hikes on her property.
She feels entirely at home here in Ontario’s Northwest, but still gets
blown away by the magic of the Northern Lights.
