Alternative lifestyles

Since the 2008 financial crisis, sustainable living in the U.S. has seen steady growth, but for ages Alaska has been a magnet for people looking to live off the land. Paul and Jennifer Castellani moved to Alaska 20 years ago. They built a house near Anchor Point on land they bought in 1994 for $500 an acre. "We found the land in the newspaper under Remote Properties and hiked out here in the winter the first time," remembers Paul. It was old-growth forest. When they moved, he says, "we brought our stuff with a dog sleigh when the snowpack was still hard." They cut down small trees to make a platform so their tents wouldn't be on the ground when the snow started to melt. Now they grow organic food, home-school their children and have started a farmers' market in nearby Homer. Paul, 45, and Jennifer, 46, were high school sweethearts in St. Joseph, Mo. They went their separate ways, to different colleges, but never forgot each other. "My sister always told me that I was so crazy about Paul that I would follow him anywhere. I guess she was right," says Jennifer, laughing. Their sons — Leo, 14, and Theodore, 11 — were born in Alaska. 

Back to basics: Going off the grid in Alaska (Al Jazeera America)



The man who lives in an egg (BBC News)

Tiny Homes: Man Lives in Self-Built Hobbit Hole in Rural Oregon  (Yahoo!)