Intro: Hello my name is Marcus and my Wife Julie, are raising funds to setup an off grid mini farm and campground bnb, “Famping”. It all started with some patio growing about 4 years ago. We discovered how nice it is to have herbs and flowers around. Then we started thinking “I wonder what else I can grow?”and “how can I share this experience?” We want others to be able to experience a small piece of “farm life”, enjoy in it’s bounties and taste the difference of nothing added period. If you want to help in the daily chores, well that’s up to you. Our modo is “where fresh and care go together”.

    This thought process led us to look for a homestead or vacant land we could afford on the east coast. The market for such land near the coast was scarce or way out of price range. So we decided to move more inland, and kept going all the way to Washington. Now  three years later, we have the experience, knowledge, and ingenuity to  farm in the Washington State area all year round. Extensive research and  experimentation with various plants, some tropical, some hydroponics,  and aquaponics as well. To date I’ve been using indoor growing methods during the winter months, for the new year with your help we can move to grow outdoor full time!

    After  steadily increasing our “garden” foot print year after year we now have  enough to start selling. The market is starting to become saturated with do it yourself backyard gardeners with mixed success. I would like to show “fampers” that you don’t have to kill yourself to grow great food. That there is science and art to productive gardening, building animal habitats, and off grid living.  

 We are passionate about the general population  getting access to natural foods at an affordable price. Buying a tomato  at the store just doesn’t compare to having a fresh tomato from the  vine, grown without any chemicals, spray to preserve color, or pesticides. An advantage we have is growing produce you would normally have to have shipped in. The rarity and variety we are able to carry is also an immediate advantage.

Plan: Going off grid to us is desirable and advantageous, by reducing our bio footprint and becoming self sustaining we will thereby pass savings on to our customers. It will also show our “fampers” that it can be done and doesn’t require much more effort once setup and incorporated into our lives. We plan to do this by powering the farm with both wind and solar as our main source of power. Each campsite will have its own system for powering small devices with an optional RV plugin, an outdoor solar shower, internet, small wood stove, and outdoor projection screen with player. 

Propane and wood will be used for cooking mainly during the winter as we want a heavily wooded area. During the summer thinking of a small electric appliance like a toaster oven, or a large solar cooker would be great when we have “fampers” for community cooking.  Wood will also be the main source of heat for the greenhouse during the winter months. This will be accomplished with a rocket stove type setup where  radiant heat from the stove and piping will keep the greenhouse toasty. I plan on using bricks, cement and metal piping so that it can be used for years to come. I’ve built a temporary stove to use as a test with a small greenhouse setup and it works wonderfully.

    The greenhouse will be  covered in thick 4yr film double walled, using a new form of clear insulation and fully supported to  handle snow load. My experimental $100 greenhouse has survived 3 years  now with snow accumulation up to 62″s. 

During the summer the greenhouse windows will be open and solar powered fans mounted for a breeze when the greenhouse heats up. Please note: the pics are of the old setup, new ones will be uploaded and more content once the new setup is complete. Supporters get first look and shared knowledge of anything cool.

The type of plants in the greenhouse and garden areas will vary from season to season, visitors may see and taste big leaves of lettuce or run into a bush of raspberries. We plan to plant quite a few perennials that will produce fruit and or flowers every year for sustenance and enjoyment that will take very little work once established.

    For our animals we will  have a simple array of solar powered security lights, and a small solar  backup for interior lighting. In the winter a smaller rocket or wood  stove will keep the animals warm during the night to keep our sustenance  up and make a small profit when others production dwindles. Depending  on how well the solar/wind system works a small electric heater may be setup instead. To make sure we have enough fowl we have invested in a incubator and will run it during the summer months when there is more solar energy, warmer temps, and a higher survival rate for the chicks.

    The  main system will also power the electric engraver which I will use to  make the reward for signs/plaques. In the future I’m also wanting to  invest in a low powered laser engraver for wood and other pliable  materials, using my technical design skills along with nature to create.

     For water we will use water collection systems where  applicable. Without going into too much detail about our water system it  will hold enough water for at least two months. The water will then be  filtered and a natural antibacterial/fungus added (apple cider vinegar)  for the animals. For the humans we will then distill the water using a  solar custom made distiller and use a carbon based filter setup to slowly acquire extra safe drinkable water. 

 Our current animal  population includes: Variety of Chickens, Variety of Ducks,  Guineas (during the early summer), Turkeys, Rabbits, 2 Dogs,and Cats. Future animals will depend on what we feel our system needs or that will enhance the “famping” experience.

    A pond will also be put in for fish to add  to our permaculture goals. This will serve as sustenance for ourselves,  the animals, and bi products for the garden (nutrient rich water, and  fish oils). We like to feed our animals the best all natural products we can find and afford. Our flock receives both fermented and dried seeds, fresh and dried veggies, corn, and oats. They also get micro greens (fodder) on occasion during the winter and every other day during the summer. 

The rest is planed out as much as possible,  and will be a labor of love to build. There will be bits of tech mixed into both the farm and campground. This farm/campground will hopefully show a  new generation that technology, nature, and agriculture can be  harmonious and very productive.

  By trade I’m a graphic arts directer/engineer and my  wife is a medical professional that just love to farm and camp! We are in our late 30’s and our love for both has led us to get creative in using this platform to find like-minded people that want to make this vision a reality.

Tag along by becoming a contributor and receiving 1 on 1 time, newsletters, updates, pics and more. Your contribution will go towards purchasing land and materials which will determine the number of “famping” sites. Thanks again for your support and interest in “famping”!