Join us as we visit the Earthship home of one of our eldest neighbors, Jez, who lives in the farthest “out there” Mesa community called The Starr Community, which was once owned my Earthship Biotecture creator, Mike Reynolds.

Jez is a true pioneer and the perfect person to start this series on Neighbors of the Mesa. Learn about her life as a child of one of the oldest colonial families in America, her surprising mid-life awakening, leaving everything behind to become a travelling archeologist (or as she calls it, a dirt bum) and after getting her PhD in Alaska at 70, moving out to the Mesa community alone and building her house. As an artist and intellectual with multiple degrees, Jez, has never followed the path well-trodden. Her love of living on the land, working with her hands and adventure, has kept her young and vibrant despite health and family setbacks.

Jez’s life is truly an inspiration, and she had a lot of stories to share, many of which I had to cut out for the sake of time and continuity. I was surprised at how much she remembered—names, dates, and ages—even when she fumbled with them a bit. Her beautiful home is a testament to a life well lived—filled with artifacts, art, plants, animals and memories.

If you want inspiration to go off grid or wonder how one ages well off the grid, start with Jez.

I had been wanting to start this series for a long while now, interviewing the very cool people that live in my off-grid community. It turned out that it’s more work than I expected with interviewing and video editing. If you like this and want to see more of it, please show support and let me know by becoming a paid subscriber. I did not paywall this one and want to continue to offer them for free, your financial support will help me to do so.

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Episode one of Neighbors of the Mesa