Down-Shifting in South Africa

Down-shifting was a new term before I traveled here. And I am pleased to say that we have done a lot of it. Our milk comes from a local farm, meat is slaughtered fairly locally, we are hand-washing our clothes whenever possible, and generally using less technology.

A turning point for me was seeing how happy people living in shacks can be. Don´t get me wrong, nobody is pretending that it is a good life. But to have so little and yet be smiling from the heart with happiness is what really convinced me that I can let go of some of the things that only serve to make life more complicated.

I plan to eventually tour villages and find out how people manage to make do with even less. What knowledge can they give me on low-tech alternatives, that kind of thing. And then maybe we can down-shift a little more.

Have you down-shifted, or are you thinking about it? I would love to hear your experiences.

I suppose this really hit me when I went to Trinidad & Tobago. Same kind of thing though - people with nothing more than tin shacks laughing and smiling with all their hearts. It's in stark contrast with people in the USA and other developed countries that have so much, but are so deeply unhappy.

My girlfriend and I are hoping to start homesteading in a few years, and that will be a serious "down-shift" for us. Definitely looking forward to it though.

Anyone else have this notion really hit them hard? It would be fun to hear other peoples stories.