SAVOR
Off-Grid
Pinedora Farms A Off-Grid Paradise BY ANNA DORL
T
Tucked between the pine trees of Northern Arizona’s White Mountains, a close-knit community and self-described “off-grid self-sustainable wellness facility” is doing their part to make the planet a better place. Welcome to Pinedora Farms: a forest wonderland for generations of conscious children and a microcosm for the Kaiser family’s vision of a self-sustainable world.
Lisa Kaiser is the President of Pinedora Farms. She had been involved with natural and holistic healing with her daughter Jennifer for years, but they both knew they were ready to take their passion to the next level. They envisioned a space of their very own in which they could facilitate a hand-on learning experience on holistic nutrition for children and adults. “We wanted to shift, get land, have a self sustainable place where we could teach kids and people about holistic nutrition,” Kaiser says about the physical location that she and her daughter once only dreamed of. “We wanted it to become self-sustainable. We willingly gave up living a normal life in a normal house with all of the normal conveniences that one would have.” In 2016, that dream became a reality. Kaiser and her family purchased land in the White Mountains and had to build absolutely everything from scratch. In alignment with her objective to be truly “off the grid,” Kaiser emphasized how necessary it was for the community to start off strong with their very own well. “We didn’t want to tap into anything else,” she says. “I bought a 29 foot RV with a couple of slide-outs. My son and his family got an old bus that he wanted to restore.” Over the
48
GREEN LIVING
|
greenlivingmag.com
years, as Kaiser’s family has grown, the RVs and buses have multiplied, creating a communal caravan environment on the property. “Within the month after we moved up here, I bought our first greenhouse, which took us 6 months to build... 30 by 72-feet. The day after Christmas in 2016, we added finishing touches to the greenhouse… It was the best Christmas present ever!” Currently, Pinedora Farms is “completely off-grid” with a half acre of outdoor growing space, two 72 foot greenhouses with plans to construct two more that will be complete by July 2022. Kaiser and her extended family, including her children and grandchildren, enjoy life at Pinedora alongside numerous chickens, ducks and dogs. “We did not want to connect with the electric company, even though their lines go right across our property,” Kaiser says of her mission to keep the farm off-grid. “Due to the fire in Xolo, our water was shut off… It was run by electric pumps.” She describes that moment as “the pivotal change… I don’t want someone telling me when I can have access to water or electricity.” This instance proved the importance of selfreliance and self-sufficiency for her, validating her goal for Pinedora to be a self-sustained facility.
