How to navigate planning and regulations at the Off-Grid Festival 2023

In April this year, myself (Rachel – town planner, researcher and natural building consultant) and building engineer and surveyor David Flanders from Earthsteading hosted a panel at the Off-Grid Festival in central Victoria on planning and permits for your off-grid home.

This was in fact the second of these panels that we have hosted, having conducted the first at the same festival in 2022 to great success.  We realised that while there are a lot of beautiful Instagram accounts showing beautifully designed off-grid cabins and homes, there are very few opportunities for people to get the low down on what’s involved when trying to build something a bit different.

We could see there also isn’t much information online on how to find good engineers and surveyors, and why people are afraid to take on projects themselves because they don’t feel supported. It’s clear that with the demise of big building contractors there isn’t a lot of faith in the building industry at the moment, which is a good reason to start promoting the alternatives. We wanted to demonstrate that you can have the dream home of those Instagram accounts, and that the outcomes for building what you want, in the way you want, might be very different if you can find someone who is on your level, and understands the constraints and visions of your project.

The panel was aimed at anyone, from those who may be building, or want to build with natural materials, to give an idea of what’s involved if you choose to owner build, and how a specialised surveyor can help, and not hinder, that project. This year we were joined by natural and owner builders looking to do something slightly outside the box, specifically Earthships and superadobe.  We were joined by Martin Freney from Earthship EcoHomes, Kate and Jason who are in the process of working with Marty to get their permit for an earthship BNB in central Victoria, and Hayden from Curvatecture, a natural building business that specialises in superadobe homes. We asked the panel to share their experiences working with council, and independent surveyors and from the other side, as a natural building contractor, how to work with clients who want to run workshops and run their project themselves and on their own timeline.

The lessons from the panel were clear.  To spend the time looking for people that will support your project is critical.  To be flexible with timelines (and often budgets too) and to be prepared to be a lot more hands on than you might be comfortable with, but that will ultimately make your project (home) more rewarding at the end.  It is very hard to convince many people that there are alternatives that are viable, because it means work, and networking, but there is a growing community across the country who are there to help, and who have specialist skills navigating building permits, engineering reports and the rest.

Many of these businesses have started registering themselves on our site, so check out the directory and if you think you know someone who would fit the bill, send them our way.

We are also working towards creating a bigger and better natural building wing at next year’s festival (April 2024) so get in touch if you’d like to be involved as a presenter, or as a business who would like to spruik their wares.  The Off—grid festival has been going for 6+ years now and regularly attracts 10-15k people.  You’ll be run off your feet with questions but it could open up doors and help build your networks.

Get in touch!