Biolite Survival Camp Stove

This is the greatest Survival Camp Stove I have seen to date!
Firstly, Kudos goes to my brother Don who found this online and showed me about a month ago.
As soon as I saw the stove and watched the video, I was sold.  I ordered it immediately.

This amazing stove can boil a liter of water in less than 5 minutes - using dried twigs and sticks.
And to go even further, the energy created by this stove can power up your cell phone or tablet!  Genious!

This stove is going to go viral.  I bought mine online from Mountain Equipment Coop in Canada (www.mec.ca).
Free shipping to boot!  Now that's my kind of deal.

Since I live in the city, we are not allowed to have open fires.  Since purchasing my Biolite, I have had "campfires" almost every night!

This little stove is self contained.  I recommend placing it on a concrete patio block and keeping a bucket of water close by - just in case the fire department wants to come and check it out (they will likely want to buy one of these amazing units btw)

Think about something- if the power goes out, you cannot refill the propane tank on your bbq, you cannot use your stove or any other electrical appliance.  What are you going to do?  Well if you have a Biolite Campstove, you will take a walk and gather twigs and branches from dead trees; its all you need.  That will be your fuel.  Best part?  Its free fuel!   I am all about free stuff!
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This little stove is so efficient, I can't believe the height of the flames from burning just twigs!
There is also a grill attachment that you can buy - we will be buying ours within the month.  The grill can easily cook 4 hamburger patties and 2 hot dogs in a cinch. 

If you really want off the grid, this stove is a great beginning.  I would love to hear about others who have this same stove and how they have self sustained themselves and their families.  Recipes would be so welcome too!

I will be writing more blogs about my experiences with my Biolite Campstove along with a new type of homemade firestarters that I have found to be very effective.

My Brother and I

 My brother is 12 months older than I am...  To be exact, 12 months and 12 days, but who's counting?
I barely remember that my mother required a double stroller for the two of us and we were very active toddlers. 

He is a dedicated sportsman who loves to hike, trek, kayak, camp and snowboard - he is also the most amazing self taught computer technician I have ever seen. 
Myself, I am a nurse, scavenger, crafter, sewer and designer.   Together, he and I make a great team - best of friends.  It has always been that way and we can't imagine a life otherwise.  Whatever he can't do, I can do and vice versa.  A Dream Team!

As we have become adults and still the best of friends, we endure the cold Canadian Winters together.  Rather than become hold up in the house, we want to get outdoors and go for a picnic.  Crazy Canucks?  We wouldn't have it any other way - besides, we have a name to live up to!

During the cold months of January and February, our family will trek for miles in the snow, ice and cold.  We pull my 5 year old daughter Ava in a sled along with our food and survival tools, then hike into the forest to look for a sheltered place to cook our lunch over an open fire.. 
If our gloves or mittens get wet, we dry them on twigs over an open fire.  Need to wash our hands?  No problem, I fill a metal pot with snow and place it alongside our fire and within an hour, we have good hot water to wash our hands. Does this sound appealing to many of you?

Ladies and gentleman...this is our reprieve from society.  This is our way to run away from society norms, expectations and rules.  We find our own way which is most certainly governed by the laws of Mother Nature.  This is our little escape in order to find balance in our lives. 

As we near the beginning of a Canadian Winter (and I have heard that the forecast is calling for a lot of snow this year), my brother and I are already getting excited about planning our weekend excursions.

                                              Ava and Uncle Don