Family Living Off the Grid in a Tiny House in New Zealand

Tom, Sarah, and their daughter Neesa live in a 20sqm off-grid tiny house on a property on the Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. Instead of paying rent, they share the work of looking after the land with the owners, and both families share in the farm’s abundant produce. We were inspired by how much happier they’ve found themselves by living with less.

Tom is a medical doctor and Sarah is an illustrator but both have chosen to reduce their work to almost nothing in order to have more time to focus on living well – a lifestyle choice that is more possible for many of us than we might think. This little 6-minute film has been one of our most popular to date – perhaps because it describes a lifestyle so many of us would love to be living.

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[KoiAquaponics]

The hardest part is finding a partner who is willing to live like this and enjoy this in the long term and not just the novelty of it.

[elianah]

Music, books, children, good and abundant food, trees, a supportive and loving partner and the time to enjoy it all. Looks like a rich life to me....

[LOEWE-MEDIA]

"emotionally I am healthier" ... looks to his wife for approval... Melted my heart a little

[katyoutnabout]

I think you begin to talk softer when you are immersed in nature

[Offwiththefaries]

Stress is a silent killer, I feel like in our society we glorify people who are productive and never stop working and running around but we forget that all this pressure puts a toll on our relationships with others and our overall well being. 🙁

[archhaneen]

its not about the tiny space .. they have the whole earth and sky !

[andyfranklin]

We need to return to this. Is anyone really happy living in modern society? I know I'm not.

[oiledor]

Ive been through anxiety for this couple of months. One of my friend advised me to stay away from social media, so i deleted my fb etc. and it helps a lot. Having a simple life without media is a good thing

[ej_l]

this is the kind of lifestyle I've been wanting and dreaming since a child.

[sporto]

I feel so sorry for people that think that these people are missing out on something living like this.  This is how we are supposed to live.  In peace with nature.  Concrete cities with all their EMF radiation and lack of vegetation and life are literally killing us slowly.  Get back to nature and live!

[lifesuchasthis]

I was raised like this and loved it you could lay in the fields at night looking up at the stars

[charlenagarcia]

3 years later and this video forever changed my life. I wish there was an update of this family.

[ems]

they look childlike happy. very peacefull

[theshacall]

That woman loves that man so much! :-)
You can see the way she looks at him.
That is all they need to be living there!

[therisingsun]

Did anybody notice that the child was playing with the veggies and fruits rather than the toy. How eco friendly that could be

[dyazkiprit]

i don't know why, but I'm so happy seeing this little family, he's such a gentle man, even the way he talks is so calming.

[jetta.silence]

i have been thinking about living this way for a long time. I miss human positive interaction which has been replaced by cold technology. Yes technology is great in some ways. But to walk across a lush field to visit your bff and have a cup of her tea with a slice of your homemade pie?...What a nice thing. And to be close to animals and nature. Yes please!

[stwgl]

In case anyone is wondering, the poem he refers to is "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver:

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

[outbackeddie]

I think my blood pressure would drop substantially if I could live like this for just a few weeks.

[cracksofthepast]

This is actually how we are supposed to live! Kudos fo this beautiful family!