Tired of modern life? Welcome to the off-grid revolt

Going green — In the UK, more and more people are making the jump to a self-sufficient existence. Photographer Robin Mellor visits communities across the country to find out why.

Photographer Robin Mellor first become interested in off-grid living while shooting in the States.

During a project that saw him documenting America’s various desert communities (including California skate mecca Slab City), he was struck by the philosophies that seemed to knit them all together: freedom, self-sufficiency, a desire to reject the conventional.   

When he returned home to London, he began to research the UK’s equivalents. With rising house prices and a slight relaxation in laws when it came to building homes on green belt land, Mellor found that more and more people were pivoting to an existence off-the-grid.

“Everyone has their own reasons for the choices they make,” he explains. “But I think if I was to try to sum up people’s decision to go off-grid, it would be a mixture of being able to live in a beautiful place that wouldn’t otherwise be financially an option for them, and – more than that – the shared values and community spirit that these places hold.”  

“They are like real communities used to be – everyone knows each other, everyone helps each other out, kids are in and out each other’s houses as if they were their own. It’s much more of a family, or tribal feeling.”

Over the course of the next two years, Mellor visited four of Britain’s off-grid communities, photographing people in and around their self-made homes as they went about pursuing a sustainable way of life. The series – titled A Very British Utopia – demonstrates a coexistence with the natural environment, particularly in the face of a global political climate increasingly at odds with it.

Equally prominent is the thinking behind the decision to live sustainably. Mellor pairs photos with excerpts from interviews – “It’s against the law to be poor in this country”, “The first house I made cost 50 pence to build” – he conducted with residents, exploring their relationship with both their immediate setting and the world around them. 

“These people are truly focused on the impact they have on both their immediate and wider environment. It makes your impact much easier to see when it has a direct effect on your surroundings – when you’re not able to throw away bags of rubbish without thought, and almost everything you eat has only travelled as far as you’ve walked to get it.”

“I think these communities are only in their infancy. Some may look crude, but I think their spirit will carry on far into the future and be adopted by many many people. I think the future may lie somewhere between where they are now and where the rest of society currently finds itself.”

See more of Robin Mellor’s work on his official website

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.


You might like

A collage depicting a giant flup for mankind, with an image of the Earth surrounded by planets and people in sci-fi costumes.
Culture

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind

Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.

Written by: Emma Garland

Three orange book covers with the title "Foreign Fruit" against a dark background.
Culture

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”

Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.

Written by: Angela Hui

A punk rock band performing on stage, with a female lead singer belting into a microphone. Behind them, a colourful mural with graffiti-style text.
Music

Meet the hair-raised radicals of Berlin’s noise punk scene

Powertool — In his new zine, George Nebieridze captures moments of loud rage and quiet intimacy of the German capital’s bands, while exploring the intersections between music, community and anti-establishment politics.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Energetic music performance on stage with colourful lighting, smoke and audience.
Culture

Southbank Centre reveals new series dedicated to East and Southeast Asian arts

ESEA Encounters — Taking place between 17-20 July, there will be a live concert from YMO’s Haruomi Hosono, as well as discussions around Asian literature, stage productions, and a pop-up Japanese Yokimono summer market.

Written by: Zahra Onsori

Two people in colourful costume against a vibrant pink background.
Culture

In 1971, Pink Narcissus redefined queer eroticism

Camp classic — A new restoration of James Bidgood’s cult film is showing in US theatres this spring. We revisit its boundary pushing aesthetics, as well as its enduring legacy.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Black-and-white image of two men in suits, with the text "EVERYTHING IS COMPUTER" in large bright yellow letters overlaying the image.
Culture

Donald Trump says that “everything is computer” – does he have a point?

Huck’s March dispatch — As AI creeps increasingly into our daily lives and our attention spans are lost to social media content, newsletter columnist Emma Garland unpicks the US President’s eyebrow-raising turn of phrase at a White House car show.

Written by: Emma Garland

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.