Building Off the Grid

What do you do if you don't trust the world around you? You build a new one. That's the motto of Michael Reynolds, Architect and visionary that created the Earthship. Earthships are houses that are completely self-sufficient and totally off the grid with no electricity or water bills - ever. Michael Reynolds and his team of builders along with 50 interns, who have given up their lives to be part of this project, have just four weeks to build a house in Big Sky, Montana for Earthship enthusiast Jeff Saad. Michael and his crew battle nature and time to try and complete this amazing house.

The Perrins brothers are building an extremely remote log hunting cabin in the heart of the Alaskan Range. Steve Perrins II, a native Alaskan, is heading up the build. He will lead his team, which consists of his four younger brothers and his wife, 13 miles on horseback into the deep wilderness of Sheep Lake where they have just two weeks to construct an entire single-story cabin. The build process will include the use of archaic tools, materials, and pioneering techniques throughout. In addition to their tight deadline, unpredictable weather, encroaching wildlife and the daily adventures of building in remote Alaskan will challenge their every will and wit.

Builder and native Alaskan, Jeff Ward, has been building houses in remote locations all over Alaska for years. Now his son Bryce, who is also the current mayor of the North Pole, is lending a hand as they combine their talents to create an off-the-grid cabin not too far from Santa's house.

Chris and Catelyn Williams are building the home of their dreams, a 30-foot tall, 700 square-foot, off-grid yurt in Montana, complete with a breathtaking view of the mountains. And with solar power, its own stream, hot running water, a modern kitchen, all-weather insulation, a second floor loft, and even a guest room for friends and family, this definitely isn't your grandfather's yurt. Follow this young couple as they prep their own land and break ground to build their ultimate luxury yurt in the woods.

Ana and Jacob White and their two small kids are a modern-day Swiss Family Robinson, building an off-the-grid cabin on the Alaska Range. With all of their materials needing to be transported by snowmobile, this adventurous couple will have their work cut out for them as they create an entire home with no utilities available. And with the unpredictable Alaskan weather, not to mention aggressive wildlife, this family will be racing against the seasonal clock to get the cabin done before the dead of winter.

What do you get when a talented architect and a group of daring mountain bike enthusiasts come together to build an off-the-grid Oculus and tree house in the side of a mountain? We follow along as Colorado native Steve Novy and his friends from the Stomparillaz Creative Cycling Collective put the rugged Rocky Mountain terrain to the test in an area known for unpredictable mudslides, snowstorms, and mountain lions.

Matteo Lundgren is taking the art of natural building to a whole new level with his custom-designed Cob houses that blend with the environment surrounding them. Together with his designer, Peaches, they're creating homes built solely from the earth's ingredients, and he wants the whole world to do the same. Follow along as they hand-sculpt houses that are literally grown from the ground up.