Howdy there. I've got a question that I hope some here can help answer.

I just found out a friend of mine recently (5 weeks ago) was given 2 hectares on a somewhat remote hillside in Mexico (near Ciudad Valles). He runs his own business here in the States and said he plans building a cabin on it and using it every 6 weeks or whatever between projects. For about as long as I've known him (10yrs now) he's wanted to have a cabin where he can self-sustain, hunt, etc. Now he can. Lucky dog!

I'm going to be seeing him when I head home to Texas and would like to get him something that can help. So I thought perhaps some here would have ideas for a gift. Maybe a book for building an off-grid/solar cabin, water/rain collection, something along the off the grid living.

Any ideas or recommendations would be welcome. Thanks!

-H

Given the reputation of Mexican water, a good water purifier might come in handy...

Welcome humbytheory! It sounds like your friend might like the Foxfire series of books, assuming he doesn't already have them.

Where in Texas is home for you? There's a bunch of fellow Texans on this forum.

-Blast

What kind of terrain is in the area? (arid? wooded? etc.)

Check out Lee Valley's book selection.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1&p=46096&ap=1
Particularly the reprints of older books. A lot of 1860s to 1920s stuff, particularly things like windmills for pumps, over and undershot water wheels, etc. If he's handy, he can adapt those basic designs to other things.

Check out Backwoods Home Magazine LOTS of very useful information that your buddy will thrive on. They sell anthologies of their back issues which are an ideal gift. From the website they offer collections of writings from some of their regular contributers. Check out Jeff Yago for off-grid info.

Yea, I was thinking the same thing about the foxfire series. The complete set would be a wonderful gift.

What a cool gift! If anyone is giving away land in the hills of Central PA I will gladly place myself on the gift registry!!!!

Mora and Swiss Army knives, homemade survival kits, sleeping bags, flashlights all make fairly good gifts.

Maybe suggest a good referral to someone to keep an eye on the property (and its contents) while he is away. Remember there are unscrupulous folks looking for a place to hideout (avoid detection) or just plain rip stuff off.

Maybe, I'm paranoid....

Very nice! Those Foxfire books look like what I'm looking for. The Backwoods Home magazine looks pretty good too. I don't know if I can find the magazine at the book stores here. After calling around the Foxfire books seem readily available. Maybe giving a gift of a survival kit or what not would fit the bill (both he and I are kit junkies.) I think though, these books are going fit the bill this year. As to your questions/comments..

South Texas, Brownsville, is home for me. The water situation in Mexico really isn't that bad (in my experience). Out in the country it's just as safe as taking a sip from a spring on Springer mountain. It's just in urban areas where you can run into trouble, especially from the street vendors. In all the years I've travelled there only once have I gotten sick from drinking water.

What the terrain is like? He mentioned it is partly wooded near some hills on the corner of his uncle's ranch. Whom he said, would also be keeping an eye on the place. Lucky dog! Lucky dog!