Army Ranger Perfects Off-Grid Living With the Ultimate Survival Homestead

If off-grid living is paradise on Earth, then one Army Ranger has nailed how it’s possible to live the good life sustainably.

Homesteader Joshua Morris gave a tour to YouTuber Stefano Creatini, where he showed off his bunker paradise, called Cold Spring Farm, in Missouri.

Morris—who described himself as “the homestead ranger”—and his family have been “perfecting their homesteading skills” to build “the ultimate survival homestead” for more than 20 years.

The “extensive operation” spread across 360 acres includes livestock, gardens, orchards, and the family’s “shelter.” They also have cows and goats roaming the grounds.

Earth-sheltered abode

Morris built an earth-sheltered home for his family. It’s essentially an underground home with two shells instead of one.

But, Creatini explained in the tour, if others want to build one, they might need to go back to school. Morris was trained as a geological engineer, giving him the skill set to build the house.

Morris constructed the home 15 years ago, starting with a waterproofed wall and then a second wall. The 12-inch-thick wall is similar in structure to the Earthship houses of New Mexico.

He added “double waterproofing” so that “you never have to worry about water leaks,” he said.

Morris also doesn’t have to worry about intruders. The front door is steel and the windows have bars, he said, “an extra security feature for any contingency.”

The rebar-reinforced concrete structure is not just prepping for “doom and gloom,” though.

A tornado hit right after they built the home, Morris said. “We slept right through it. A tornado can go right over the top of the house, and we’ll be perfectly fine.”

Morris also touted the “passive solar design.” The southern-facing windows are situated to catch the sun’s rays to keep the house warm, and the home is equipped with solar panels.

Creature comforts

The key to building a sustainable homestead is to make things “as pleasant and comfortable as possible,” Morris said.

One glitch the family realized was that they can’t “get away” on vacation due to their responsibilities for their livestock, gardens, and orchard. So they decided to create a vacation spot on site, including a cool outdoor pool.

Inside the chalet portion of the house, Morris showed off the white oak beams found on their land and milled on site. A wood stove serves as the heart of the homestead, and a clever pipe system also heats the water at the same time.

Solar power setup

The solar power setup is seriously impressive, and Morris “learned a lot” by setting up his own system as well as installing them for others.

“You start with your battery bank, and the battery bank powers everything else,” he said.” You can charge your battery bank with wind, solar, hydro, or even a generator.”

At the request of his wife, Chiara, Morris added a grid tie-in so that they could power electric vehicles and “regular electric appliances.”

Raised-bed garden

Chiara also showed off their pesticide-free garden with fruits and vegetables growing in raised beds. The beds are built with cedar, which is rot-proof and lined with plastic. They use neem oil to keep bugs out.

The video then cuts to six weeks later, with the organic garden bursting with cucumber plants and corn stalks, as well as carrots, chard, peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini.

Livestock paddocks

Morris also showed off his livestock, located down a dirt road. The goats help maintain the grass by eating everything in sight.

Although there are predators in the area, coyotes and mountain lions, Morris said they mostly stay away from his goats, who have their horns intact.

The goats, Morris noted, “belong to our daughters,” who show them and sell them.

“They bought their cars mostly from selling” the goats, he said.

Morris also raises cattle on his homestead and built a pond for them. The pond, which attracts an abundance of fowl, is stocked with fish.

Morris said he has always been a fan of the outdoors, and “once my wife and I started having children, we wanted our kids to appreciate that same type of lifestyle.”

Their homestead “has the biodiversity, it has the ecosystem,” he said. “Basically, all you have to do is take care of that, be a good steward, and not abuse it.”

He added that, while deployed as an Army Ranger, he witnessed societies that had stopped functioning. Back home, pandemics and other catastrophes can bring supply chains down. This seems to have cemented his views on living a self-sustaining lifestyle.

Morris doesn’t just practice what he preaches, he also wrote a book on the topic: “Thrive in the Coming Dark Age: How to Build the Ultimate Survival Homestead.”