In the final weeks of semester my group was focused on acing our Room With A View show, so unfortunately we neglected our radio feature until late. We ended up just having two weeks (amidst our clashing schedules!) to work on our “Off the Grid” feature. This idea was conceptualised by a joint interest in hearing more about people who live off the energy grid, and use resources like the sun to power their energy consumption.
Our inspiration:
Zero-waste living the new normal for Tasmanian family
How To Fit Two Years Of Trash In A Mason Jar
Who we contacted:
Nick, a tour guide from Ceres Community Environment Park Eco House.
Jeff Wehl – a Queensland electrition from One Step Off The Grid who helps build houses that will be fully functioning independent of the main electricity supply.
Gumtree advertisers; people who had published advertisements looking to sell sustainable property, looking to move into a sustainable home or looking for land to do so. We reached out to a man named Mark, but unfortunately this interview did not end up happening due to time restraints.
Nick, a tour guide from Ceres Community Environment Park Eco House.
Ross Harding from Finding Infinity and OFF. the. GRID Music Festival – who aims to make off the grid living exciting and accessible.
We intended to capture a collection of vox-pops, but unfortunately this was another aspect that fell through due to time restraints.
The result:
I’m really happy with how the feature turned out! It’s immersive, textural and shows layers in both intellectual and aural content. It covers multiple sides to the argument for living off the grid, and would definitely appeal to the RWAV/3RRR audience. It’s by no means perfect, but for the time we had to complete it, I’m really proud of what my group achieved. Had we had more time, the interviews would have all been in person, and additional ambiance sounds would have been included in the piece.
You can listen to it here.
