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Off grid video diary: Cow chaos & power cuts – By Kate Priestley

Here is an honest account of what one aspect of off-grid life can look like. Life here is very unpredictable and sometimes frustrating! I have suddenly found myself being a cow herder for over a month, and being thrown into darkness as our solar power cut out for nearly 2 weeks. Living outside of financial systems comes with its successes and failures – none of which I regret, though, as my partner and I get more clear on what we really want and need. Life continues on for us with its adventures!

Below is a photograph I took on one of my nighttime walks with the cows. It reminds me of lungs opening out into the stars. I have titled it “Breath of Time.”

8 thoughts on “Off grid video diary: Cow chaos & power cuts – By Kate Priestley”

  1. Heikey

    Dear Kate,
    this photo & your update reg. your off-grid life have touched me deeply again 🙂 The photo & the title is really outstanding and absolutely resonates with me :).
    Thank you for sharing 🙂

    Reply
    1. KatePriestley

      Hello Heikey! Thank you so much! We have just been on vacation with my family and a tonne of cows came back the day before we left. We weren’t sure what we’d return home to! But luckily it seems the farmers took them away again and only about 2 cows remained by the time we were back. And the chard survived in our chard prison 😛 I am glad my photo and title resonates with you 🙂 Sending lots of love xxx

      Reply
    1. KatePriestley

      Unfortunately that would create a lot of trouble with the farmers who own the cattle and land. I can’t imagine what it’s like for the cows to hear those bells all day and night though. Luckily since this blog post had been posted a solution came very recently. Some semi residents of the village returned who know the farmers personally and were able to come to an arrangement that we can contact the farmers to take the cows away if they invade again. So we hope that’s finally the end of that cow drama!

      Reply
  3. ML

    Dear Kate: I so admire your courage and perseverance, how frustrating indeed to have to deal with the same thing over and over again! Who would have thought cows would be a thing! Loved the video, your honesty about the whole situation shines through, and the photo is beautiful & poetic. I’m sure you find much of that in the world around you despite the ongoing challenges. Thanks for sharing with us some of your experiences living off-grid, it’s obviously not for the faint of heart.
    <3 <3 <3

    Reply
    1. Kate Priestley

      Hi ML, thank you so much for your lovely comment! Keeping it as real as possible… the good and the bad! It has improved a lot with the cows at last and things are looking a bit more positive right now <3 xxx

      Reply
  4. linda riccobene

    Thanks for sharing the reality of a lifestyle that many would romantasize. To be immersed in nature that way is beautiful and nourishing to the soul however, it is also very challenging in many ways not just the cow issue. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

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Carina Ramm

Carina was the original founder of SunBeings who approached Kate to do the design for the platform. In the 3.5 years of working together, a friendship blossomed, and creative ideas arose between the two of them that has helped build what SunBeings has the potential to grow into.

Since December 2025, Carina has left to move onto engaging with the world in other ways, but we cannot forget the legacy she has left behind – SunBeings wouldn’t have existed if it wasn’t for her!

Her dedication, passion and knowledge was very admirable. She managed to research and write summaries for nearly 500 ethical businesses! She brought further to light how we can live with less dependency on money and banking systems, how we can use gift economies, a new donation model, what real ethics aligned with nature is, the true histories of this planet and more.

Carina has lived for many years without a bank account or phone, engaged very minimally with financial systems, travelled to many parts of the world, and lived in deep trust and communion with herself and nature to receive what it is she needs. She has contributed many posts onto the blog inspiring others with her experiences and findings.

You won’t be forgotten Carina! We hope to continue what you have started.

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Owen Hanner

Owen is Kate’s partner and a grounded presence behind SunBeings. Both highly creative and logical, with a gift for words, an eye for beauty, and an artistic soul. With his keen eye and a good overview of what’s in alignment, Owen gives feedback, helps with writing and streamlines the content.

He is a gifted musician who can play many instruments, often capturing those who happen to come across his live, dynamic improvisations, and the magic that happens when he gets together with other musicians. A treat for the ears and those who are willing to dream – which fulfils his sense of purpose as his music contains messages of his dream of the new world. Owen’s music has often been his key to opening doors in his life… including in bringing Kate to him. He has had his music included in some of the SunBeings videos.

As a video editor, he is excellent at creating dreamy worlds bursting with freedom, colour and natures dance through his videos he attaches with his music.

Highly creative at whatever he applies himself to, he leans towards creating complex layers to his creative projects with a high attention to detail, that reveals more subtleties when one looks deeper. It reflects his feeling and sensitivity for the intricacies in life.

Owen has a deep sense of love and beauty and lives in deep communion with it. With that, Kate and Owen share an adventurous life together that has provided a driving spark behind SunBeings. They have dived deep into exploring what following nature and a new earth looks like… this can be both a painful and joyful process, and one of deep growth, that helps to ignite this platform. Thank you to Owen for the flame and loving support!

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Kate Priestley

Kate is an original co-founder and the current coordinator of SunBeings providing much of the foundation and is the designer. Bouncing around with creative ideas, listening to others’ ideas, she has a way to ground them into the physical.

She is a passionate multi-disciplinary creative, and she treats this platform as a creative outlet, to make a space where people can commune and share themselves. Kate loves to nurture others’ gifts and help bring them out into the world. She likes to share the good and the innovative and has a natural passion for community.

An adventurous and playful spirit who likes to push the usual boundaries of the known. Through answering nature’s calls, she has found life to reward her in ways often very unexpected. Discomforts and challenges are often met, but they provide doorways into her own understanding of herself and life – they become something else in her eyes. As a storyteller, she is enthusiastic about sharing her experiences with others in case it may benefit another.

She also is a painter, illustrator and photographer. Her works are often highly expressive with an explosion of colour and play.

Kate has long been interested in projects that bring about change or have a positive impact on the world. Since a young age, she has liked to combine art and social engagement. Now all her interests come together in running SunBeings, and growing its community platform for all of us.

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Nixi “No fixed thing” Cole

Coordinator, Coach, Creative and Champion of whole hearted projects and creatives. Nixi offers her gifts as a writer, editor, group holder, artist and art curator. She also loves being in a garden and growing things.

Nixi has a passion and strength for recognising and nurturing gifts in people, places and projects. She is empathic, intuitive, enthusiastic and dynamic in nature, naturally uplifting and energising in many of her offerings. Making connections across the physical and non-physical and encouraging our full and true expression.

Wonderful at coaching, mentoring and holding a safe space, she is gifted in seeing and expanding possibilities with a great sense of joy, play and creativity that pushes on our usual boundaries of imagination.

She has been helping behind the scenes at SunBeings for a little while supporting Kate and Owen and the wider field of the platform and its potentials, coming up with fun ideas, gently questioning, feeling and finding possibilities.

She loves playing with words, pens and fabric and hopes some of this will find its way on to SunBeings offerings too.

Nixi has a free and bright spirit, with extremely sensitive sensors for all subtleties of life. She is connected to the vastness of the universe and yet deeply grounded and anchored in nature. She moves fluidly between energetic, emotional and practical levels, integrating it all with humility and humour.

Nixi is full of magic, joy and love, while also not scared to sense and feel what’s uncomfortable, painful, or unfamiliar. Her curious and listening nature have carried her to many places and experiences and she has been nomadic for over two years.

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