High Context Living
High Context Living refers to the sort of custom, DIY systems favored by offgrid homesteaders and people without other options, which trade user-facing complexity and unique quirks/challenges for significant efficiency and lower cost in parts and materials.
I think the best way to introduce this concept is by using the zine that named it (included below with permission of the creator (who wished to remain anonymous)).
| Transcript of the Zine: High Context Living | |
| When people come to visit, I need to explain the use of various custom systems. The sink water comes from buckets, so consider the water level, how much it has rained and how much it is going to rain… also it's not potable. For that you can use the filter which is DIY made from .5 micron cloth and hooked up with siphon pumps and there's another… when you use electrical devices keep an eye on the voltage meter and try to keep your laptop plugged in so it won't try to change at night. Try to run direct from DC so e don't need to run an inverter and try to do high-power tasks on a sunny day… There are many more examples of the complex ways I live with DIY systems made from cheap and scavenged materials. I call it “High Context Living” because there is a rich level of detail, complexity, skill, and situated specificity. Another common pattern is what I call “Low-Context Living,” where many of your ways of living are decided for you, with standard parts, building codes, and licensed professionals. If you leave the water tap or lights running, they will keep going. A professional somewhere worries about the limits, which are hidden from you. I would rather live for cheap in a complex way where I have more direct and unmediated relationship with the systems I depend on. If something breaks, then I need to fix it, but I can build to exactly the scale I need. And I can probably scavenge many of the parts and get creative |