My family and I moved to the Big Island of Hawaii and set up a temporary off-grid home on four acres so that we could live on the land while building our permanent home. The structure was 512 square feet, very cute and cozy, and it had most of the amenities of a conventional home. It was very similar to a yurt but much easier to decorate because of the linear shape. Here is how we did it:
Look for land and purchase with owner financing. We looked in the local paper for land that met our size and location requirements. Then we called the owner and offered to pay ,000 down and set monthly payments for 15 years. It is difficult to get financing from banks on "unimproved property" (in other words, vacant land) without a large percentage of money down. And because it is unimproved, land doesn't always sell quickly so the owner took us up on our offer. One word of caution: Have a real estate attorney examine the paperwork so you don't end up with a deal that only favors the owner.
Battery Operated Lava Lamps
Buy a large rectangular military tent. Our tent was 17' x 32' and we had it shipped over from China. You can check with Army surplus stores or online vendors, too. One thing to look for is square steel tubing. We took plywood and used self-tapping screws, securing it to the tubing and the floor so that no one could get into our tent very easily - and so our baby couldn't escape out the sides!
Gather free pallets and build a floor. There is an art to this, so do your research before you undertake this part of the project. When you look for pallets, look for the ones with blue paint on them. They are much stronger. We secured all the pallets together, attached some plywood on top, and leveled the entire floor on top of lava rocks. We topped it off with some linoleum and throw rugs and it worked great.
Build a water catchment system. To set up a water catchment, you first need rain gutters to collect the rainwater that falls on your roof. Secure the gutters to the two long edges of the tent and make them extend beyond the tent and into the top of the water catchment at the back of the tent. When building the water catchment, we used sandbags filled with crushed cinder and secured them in a circular pattern with barbed wire between each layer. This is also known as "Earthbag construction." One tip: Make certain you don't build your catchment any higher than your roofline because it just won't work. If you need a larger catchment, build it as wide as possible. We ran the plumbing from the catchment into the tent and had it feed into the kitchen sink, shower, and even a flushing toilet.
Buy outdoor solar camping lamps. Leave them outside all day and bring them in at night. You may need some more illumination so when you do buy conventional lamps, be certain to use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Get appliances with the Energy Star rating. We had a gas stove (run by a propane tank placed outside), washer/dryer (outside in a shed), and refrigerator. We even had an indoor bathtub with a showerhead.
Purchase a quality diesel generator, inverter, and several marine batteries. Second only to the water catchment system, this is a very important piece of the system so don't skimp on price. Read up on how to strain waste vegetable oil you can obtain usually for free from restaurants and use it as fuel in your diesel generator. Our diesel generator was a lemon so we ended up buying a gas generator that worked great but was extremely expensive to operate when the gas prices soared. Stick with a good quality diesel one.
Buy movable plastic storage closets. We used these as room partitions as well as for storing our food, toiletries, and clothing.
My husband did the building part and I did the decorating. I hung colorful Hawaiian print fabrics from the ceiling and woven mats on the walls so that it didn't even look like a tent. We used mosquito netting over the beds for safety and for an exotic, romantic look. Two cozy couches and a kitchen table fit in there and we even made a little nursery nook for our baby. There was a lot of trial and error, but in the end it was one of the best experiences we've ever had.