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In an effort to push for “degrowth,” one family in the Melbourne suburbs has created a “sustainable city” on just 1/10th of an acre of land.

In an effort to push for “degrowth” and reduce their dependency on the Australian power grid, one family in the Melbourne suburbs has created a “sustainable city” on just 1/10th of an acre of land.

The family lives simply, utilizing alternative technologies to reduce their electricity consumption from the national power grid by 75-80%.

They also have multiple solar panels on their home’s roof, exporting 5 times their electricity usage back into the Australian power grid.

As shown in a video from Happen Films, there are many different technologies that the family use to help reduce their consumption, including outdoor cooking equipment that uses reflective mirrors and the hot Aussie sun to produce temperatures hot enough to fry eggs, bake bread, and more.

Inside the home, their gas is supplied by a Biogas Digester named “Bettie” that the family fills up with local food waste. This is enough to provide their home with gas, heating, and hot water.

Clearly this innovative family is making things happen and thinking outside of the box, something that more of us (and larger corporations) should be trying to do in our personal lives.

Watch the video from Happen Films below:


Joe is passionate about environmentalism and the effect it has on our planet. He’s been a vegetarian for 10 years and is very strict about recycling in his apartment. As well as writing, he likes to spend time singing, playing the guitar, and defending pineapple on pizza.

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