Help me explore self-sufficiency / homestead in Europe this summer and document it !

Hello everyone,

My name is Ulysse, I am 18 years old and I am from Paris, France. Currently studying graphic design at the Estienne school, I have the dream of building a self-sufficient house in Brittany. As part of my project, I aspire to undertake a trip to Europe this summer, probably from July 1 to August 1.

Passionate about art, graphics, printing, video, French politics, hiking and DIY, I want to make a documentary journey with the help of a Zellidja scholarship. My goal is to house, film and document self-sustaining habitats, as well as those who inhabit and build them. I want to capture the ingenuity, the tricks and the daily life of these people in search of self-sufficiency.

Thanks to the scholarship and an InterRail pass, I will already have the means to travel. However, my main challenge will be to find accommodations and people to film. So I am looking for everything that could help me during my trip to Europe: contacts, useful sites or forums, resources such as PDFs full of information on self-sufficiency (your "bibles" of self-sufficiency), places or essential habitats to visit, and of course, welcoming people.

I want to thank in advance all those who can help me. I am passionate, young, dynamic and ready to support in different ways during my stay, whether through manual work, cooking, making photos/ videos/ art, graphic design, website development, printing, etc.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have suggestions, ideas or if you want to welcome me during my trip. I look forward to this adventure and share my discoveries with you all.

hovaulysse@gmail.com

Thank you so much!

Ulysse

Welcome to the forum.

Your project sounds exciting.

There is a program that might be of interest to you:

Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is a worldwide movement to link visitors (WWOOFers) with organic farmers, promote a cultural and educational exchange, and build a global community conscious of ecological farming and sustainability practices. WWOOF started 50 years ago and has grown from a small group in the 1970’s to a worldwide community of hundreds of thousands of people today.

As a WWOOFer, you will participate in the daily life of your host, help on the farm, learn about sustainability, experience a new culture and meet new people,, and receive free room and board during your stay.

https://wwoof.net/

WWOOF enables people to live and volunteer on a variety of organic properties. Volunteers (WWOOFers) help on the land and home for 4-6 hours a day and hosts provide the food and accommodation. If you want to have hands on experience, learn and share organic and sustainable ways of living then WWOOF might be for you.

https://wwoofinternational.org/how-it-works/

Hello, Valuable project, challenging pursuit.  

Years ago but already experienced myself with a long-time homestead I joined WWOOF in one country of interest, searched out & sorted all the listings of particular interest for research/ exchange, but was in the end unable to carve out the wherewithal to travel.  

Now we're on sabbatical as a very experienced family with own homesteads, on the move across a much wider area, & I have primarily searched on this site, through LinkedIn.com, on WorkAway.info, YouTube, & search engines.  I haven't yet made workable connections with specific exemplars/ for case studies, due mostly to our constraints as a family plus somewhat the specific requirements/ time frames/ high costs of maturing/ sophisticated sites/ projects of interest.  

You might need more time & wider networking.  Good hunting!