Matthew Watkinson and his wife swapped conventional lives as vets in Essex for living off-grid in a remote part of North Wales
He and his wife, Charis, 39, decided to move to North Pembrokeshire with their two children, Elsa, 10, and Billy, 6, after becoming disillusioned with “how the world works.”
The house grew organically from this point, with the family using recycled materials where they could. “We picked up a load of junk and made a house,” says Matthew. “The composting toilet is probably the toughest bit, but everyone’s used to them now. Charis finds it strange that normal toilets use drinking water to flush waste away.” Instead, the family recycle their own waste, using it on what they grow to eat. “Toilet waste is composted with bracken, which we then use to fertilise the land. Once the toilet fills up, we put it in a corner, and it’s composted for a few years. We then tip it out around fruit bushes when they need it.
As part of the planning policy that gave them permission to live on the land, they have to produce 65 per cent of the food of what they consume. “We’re trying to grow as many fruit and vegetables as possible. It’s not possible to grow your own chocolate though, so we do still have to use supermarket!”
The couple estimate they spend about £1,000 on food, their car, council tax, mobile phone bill and internet costs. They make around £6,000 a year from farm produce and doing educational courses while Charis works part-time in a B&B for extra money for the things they need to buy, earning about £500 a month.
One of the things that the family struggle most with when they go to other people’s homes is the central heating. “It’s so hot. The kids are used to the cold and running around in shorts and T-shirts in the winter. Streetlights and the noise of cities are also difficult for us.”
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