A man who lives off the grid in a house made of clay, cow dung and bamboo in the middle of a rainforest in Ghana, and who generates income from social media, says life off the grid is just “so good” he can’t to keep it to himself.
Joshua Kwaku Asiedu, 31, who grew up in Milan and now lives in Ghana, was inspired to live off the grid after traveling the world for seven years to “find himself” and has been living remotely since 2019 after his father told him his family had land available in Ghana.
He started living remotely in Ghana in a bed on the beach, with a mosquito net, tarp and some tools, before upgrading to a tent which he lived in for about a year until it attracted mold – then, in 2020, he started building a house.
Joshua spent just £1,000 on materials, using mainly clay, cow dung and bamboo, to build his 27ft by 10ft house – he completed the project in just six months and is now a fully functional house with no monthly bills, complete with shower . , toilet, bedroom, kitchen and living room, with running water and clay refrigerator.
Joshua shares his offline lifestyle on TikTok and Instagram, where he has hundreds of thousands of followers, to “show people that people can have a similar lifestyle to (him).”
He makes a living through his social media, as well as hosting workshops on his off-grid lifestyle, inviting visitors to stay on site in tents and sell items he and local people have developed online.
“There are two rooms, a bedroom, a lounge/kitchen and then there’s a spacious terrace,” Joshua said.
“I also have a beautiful terrace shower with a beautiful rock platform.
“I have lights from a small solar panel, all my utensils are mostly recycled glass jars, and I have a natural fridge that I made out of clay to keep things like fruit and vegetables fresh for longer.”
In 2012, at the age of 20, Joshua left his life in Italy to “find himself” and embarked on a journey around the world.
He said: “I decided to go and explore myself, I didn’t set out to travel the world, I set out to travel within and explore myself and that consequently brought me to many different parts of the world.”
Joshua’s seven-year journey saw him meet Aboriginal Australians, travel to India and stay with monks, having adventures that ultimately inspired him to live an off-the-grid lifestyle.
One of his most memorable experiences was staying with a family in Samoa.
He said: “They lived very sustainably, I lived with them for a few months and they speared fish, picked their own fruit, made their own clothes by pulling fiber from the leaves.
“It was a beautiful and rich culture that gave me so much and pushed me and made me realize, even in the 21st century, this type of life is still very possible and powerful and beneficial.”
In 2019 Joshua decided to settle down and embrace the off-grid lifestyle he had experienced while traveling.
He said: “The main reason I went off the grid was to reconnect with nature and my heritage.
“I was looking for a piece of land but I refused to buy land because I don’t like the concept of buying.”
After searching for free land and failing, Joshua met with his father and told him of his plans, and to his surprise, discovered that his father had inherited land in Ghana from his grandparents.
Joshua joked: “I didn’t know about these lands at all, so I was like, ‘Oh, thanks for telling me now, awesome.’
When he told his parents he planned to live there, he said, “I think they admired that I was reconnecting with my roots.”
Between 2018 and 2019, Joshua went to Ghana and surveyed the land.
He said: “There wasn’t just one piece of land, but several pieces of land – I decided to go on that particular piece of land because I felt it was the most untouched and the most isolated, it’s about a kilometer from the nearest village.
“Well, it’s in a rainforest and the land used to be a cocoa farm.”
In 2019, Joshua moved onto the land, which he said did not require a permit.
He said: “When I first came, I slept on a bed on the beach and the only things I had were a mosquito net and a plastic sheet to cover me from the rain, and a spade and some tools to dig a well. for water.
“Then I moved into a tent and lived there for about a year, but it started to deteriorate from the dampness and it attracted mould, so it wasn’t suitable for me to live there, so I started building a house.”
Joshua built his house in just six months, spending just £1,000 on local materials.
He said: “Over three months, with one of the village elders, we built the house and after three months he left and it took me another three months to make the house work.
“The house is built mostly of clay with a few recycled materials, but mostly clay rocks, cow dung and bamboo.”
Joshua’s house also has a toilet and shower.
He said: “I have running water, so the water is collected from the tank or from the well.
“I wash my dishes and bowls and shower on the side of the porch.
“There’s also a garden where I grow different kinds of food, like tomatoes, peppers and ginger, it really feels like home.”
Joshua doesn’t pay bills, occasionally goes to the local village to buy food from the market, but mostly eats what he grows.
He has been able to generate income from posting on TikTok, where he has over 379,000 followers, and Instagram, where he has over 317,000 followers.
Joshua first set up his Instagram account in 2019 and explained why he started posting about his offline lifestyle, saying: “I think it was human nature to be willing to share something that’s so good, that it’s not can be kept to oneself.
“My real goal is to show people that people can have a similar lifestyle to me.”
He has also developed a business selling items he and the local people have grown, such as plantain flour, and has visitors staying in glamping tents, hosting workshops on his lifestyle.
Asked if he could ever imagine going back to the way he was living, Joshua said his lifestyle is now set.
“Maybe life will bring me to a different… geographical area, but the lifestyle will definitely be the same,” he said.