Eric Brende isn't trying to guilt you into giving up your TiVo. But his new book, Better Off: Pulling the Plug on Technology, suggests that you don't really need TV - or even electricity. As an MIT grad student investigating technology's impact on society, Brende spent 18 months off the grid with the "Minimites," a community that lives much like the Amish. He and his wife, Mary, went without telephones, running water, modern refrigeration, or motorized machines. (OK, they did keep their Ford Escort and used it more than necessary - a spur-of-the-moment bridge game isn't really an emergency.) Brende, who now works as a soap maker and rickshaw driver in St. Louis, concluded that technology isn't the problem, it's the way we let it ruthlessly rule our lives. He says low tech living gave him a clearer mind, a slimmer waist, and a sense of freedom. "When in doubt," Brende advises, "use less technology."
Low Tech Modern Conveniences
POWER TOOLS
With the help of a mechanical engineer, the Minimites built a waterwheel out of sheet metal. The wheel spins beneath a small earthen dam and powers a rotary saw in the lumber mill overhead.
CENTRAL HEAT
Besides being efficient, the Minimites' "pioneer maid" woodstove is versatile: It can cook, provide a hot water supply, dry vegetables, and heat 2,000 square feet of living space simultaneously.
REFRIGERATION
In the winter, the Minimites harvest ice from local ponds and pack it into a large shed. The shed is insulated with a thick layer of sawdust to maintain its frigid temperatures.
RUNNING WATER
The Minimites use a basic hydraulic system (plumbers call it a ram) to divert rushing water from the local river uphill into their homes. This saves them from having to haul buckets from a pump.
- Michelle Devereaux
Mary and Eric Brende
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