How we Made Money living our Nomadic Life
Choosing to live this way, living in a small space means not really having many material possessions.
My partner and me never wanted our children to be registered beyond their birth, so being able to receive payouts from the government was never an option for us.
We also do not want any hassle with regards to how we choose to raise our children.
We really only buy things that we need, which with a family of 2 girls (at the time of living in our bus) was food and fuel to allow us to move.
This post is about our time travelling around France in our bus, although we did continue to fund our lives in this way in other countries as well.
It was not always easy, but we were free to roam and be together with our children.
We purchased our food from farmers markets because they have the best selection and also because it allowed my partner to busk. Alot of the time, we would travel from town to town finding out when the farmers markets were, my partner would busk early in the morning and then make enough money in order for us to buy our food for the day and fuel.
We are really lucky that my partner has a great talent for music ( well I think that, he doesn't always agree, but then again he can be very hard on himself)and he loves to interact with the crowd, especially with children, which meant that he was usually very successful with his busking. In the photo's above we were in Mirepoix in Ariege. It is a beautiful medieval town with a great market.
I hate to throw things away, and having a baby and hand washing their clothes, means that alot of the baby clothes get stained and cannot be passed on. So I decided to make little toys out of them. Snails and owls, they were all hand sewn and I used untreated sheep’s wool insulation to stuff them. I really did enjoy the process, it took me a long time to make them but I have always found sewing to be therapeutic and I loved the opportunity to get creative.
We sold them while my partner was busking or sometimes at festivals. We were at a festival in this photo above, you can see the sheeps insulation in the photo, I was really trying to create a spiral with it, but it had it's own ideas and always uncurled.
At other times we would set up a little cafe outside our bus and sell food, usually only one dish, as it is alot of hard work. We would do this at festivals, especially at free festivals or cheap ones. They always had to be family friendly, that was really important to us, because some behaviours we just don't want our children around.
This was at the Festival of Colours again in Areige, we sold nachos and beer and organic blueberry cordial. Having a fridge was a great help as it means that our drinks were cold. We set up a little creative space for kids , where we put out paper, paints and crayons. It was great as we attracted lots of kids and our children were very happy.
Another time my partner worked doing the Vendange, i.e. harvesting grapes for wine. I don't really have any pictures of him working as he would be gone early morning and I would spend the day foraging with my kids. Above is where we parked up and not far from here we found some really delicious Chanterelle mushrooms, they were amazing fried in coconut oil with garlic. Thinking of them makes my mouth water.
We were also lucky to get some work helping to make yurts, we had to sand and oil the poles which is quiet nice work to do and we could do it at our own pace and most importantly have our children around us.
That is really why we chose to live this way, we get to work with our children right next to us.
They get to see us being creative and learn about how important that is in life.
I wrote this post as I have had a few people ask how we made money whilst living a nomadic lifestyle. I hope you ave enjoyed reading it and I will continue to write some more about our life on the road soon.
All photos are my own except the first which came from http://www.romansleighcollection.co.uk
Here are a few links to my other posts about nomadic family life:
https://steemit.com/ecotrain/@trucklife-family/anarchy-gardening-in-a-french-squat-nomadic-family
https://steemit.com/travel/@trucklife-family/being-a-nomadic-family-roaming-around-france
https://steemit.com/ecotrain/@trucklife-family/converting-our-bus-into-our-home-nomadic-family
https://steemit.com/travel/@trucklife-family/the-call-to-be-a-nomadic-family
I am part of the ecotrain, if you wish to read great content and be inspired please check it out. It is one train that is full of very diverse and creative passengers. And we all know that diversity is the spice of life.
yes big up to all the peeps that give money to buskers out there your money really makes the difference and has a real impact on peeps like us thank you thank you support your buskers !
We need to get those wheels rolling and get the steem machine coming with us next time !
yes , just met another freak! what country are you in sheep?
I just sent some Solidarity for you @trucklife-family, I had to, (for the first time), Promote this post!
atm in spain planning portugal but who knows with steemit we could be going eastern europe in no time ^^
my upvote just brought a live chicken or something haha
cheers @movingman
de nada!
yeh man , it would be easy to go bulgaria or somewhere like that,parkup and squat a farm and live great of steemit!
the dream indeed get those wheels rolling again x
I find this fascinating - I find your whole life fascinating. I wish I could be more off the grid with my family, but at the same time there are certain comforts and safety nets I wouldn't want to give up. I also have had a lot of health issues requiring surgery which I couldn't have had if I led a nomadic lifestyle. I think it's great that you can create a life like that for your family though.
Thank you @isabellelauren, as long as you are happy that is what counts. I hop your surgery goes well.
I raised my sons very much in this way, we would do festivals and dumpster dive and live on the road when I could get time away. It rounds out a person to live free and I love reading your story so so much!!!! Is there any way I could buy one of your stuffed animals? Anyway at all? My partner collects plush toys and yours would have such a meaningful backstory. I can pay in steemit if that works or any crypto
Love your work! Please keep writing I can't wait to see more. I hope your day is amazing!!!
hi!! nice human :) thats exactly what i mean, id never see so many others who have anti system lifestyles and anarchistic tendancies on facebook.. actually ive never used facebook like that lol.. Gotta love steemit!
thank you so much @steampunk-penny, I don't have any of them left but I have my 3rd child now who is 10 months and hope to get back into creating more, will let you know when I do if you are still interested. I would love to hear some of your adventures from back in the day.
I want to be your very first customer the moment you begin again. Just let me know, I will never not want them. I will put a post together and let you know for sure! I plan on heading back out onto the road after my surgeries are complete this seditary life is not for me and mine🦄🙃🦄
will indeed, yeah to getting back on the road, a way to celebrate once all your surgeries are complete xx
Thanks for your contribution to sharing wisdom around how to make a living while being a nomad! I feel fear of this factor stops many from going for this dream and therefore your lived experience many be helpful to guide others on their paths. Thanks so much!
Whoever you are, you are awesome! I love your image and comments. Woop 🙌🏽
thank you @the-hearth for your support, keep up the great work x
Nice to expose the way we CHOOSE to live :) things like that get a resteem !!
and im checking out ecotrain! hope all is well down there , big love
thank you @movingman, yeah it feels nice to share how we live. Hope it's not too cold up your way x
One of the reasons I like steemit is because of the alternative people who are joining, and it kind of filters out people who just want to post because they have nothing else to do! I started to blog my travels also.. I dont have much else to blog about, im just here to show people another choice of life, leading to a better quality of life is possible and in turn helping the shift happen ;) something my nephews can read in a few years and if its not too late for them, they could also adopt this lifestyle.
Ill do part 3 of my travel blog tomorrow i guess :)
yeah thats whats it all about, will check out your posts now x
You have an awesome lifestyle that allows you to travel and be with your children 24/7. There is nothing better!
Thank you @cecicastor, really grateful for all the support you give me. I hope you are well x
It’s great to gain some insight in this part of your life! Do your children not have a passport then or do I not understand the ‘not register’ part correctly? :-)
thank you @soyrosa, they do have passports, we had to register them at birth in order to get them, but we got them taken off the register in Ireland when we left, we were told they need to be re registered in the country we move too but we just ignored that bit. and my youngest was born in spain, so her birth is registered here but we told them we are not living here so she is not on their books here either,it's really so we get no hassle re education and vaccinations from any one.
Wow! All I can say is Wow! This is simply amazing, I love your all of your creativity and hard work. I am blown away, I barely have words to express how much I admire you and love your work. Especially because you are doing his for your children and there is no better way to live anyway! Yay you. Big hugs and so much love to you and your family. Eagle. xx
PS. Are you really a Doula? I just got a scholarship to become a Doula at my local hospital. Yay
Thank you @eaglespirit, it is hard work at times, but it is so worth it. We've been having a pause in Spain, our new home, our truck needs some work, but we are eager to get back out there.
Yes I am a Doula, it is a huge passion of mine. I really would like Birth to be seen as it is meant to be seen, very sacred. So many women do not get to experience how empowering it is. Our bodies our amazing and know exactly how to birth. Sorry I can get carried away. I have written a few posts already on here about birth.
So great you are becoming a Doula, if I can help in any way let me know xx
you are so talented and amazing! ahh you all love the road like gypsies .. nice! xx
so amazing yay you are a doula ... woo hooo ... what do you feel about the work ... do you get to use your skill much? is there money in the field??
i will check out your posts on your feelings ... hugs
well I became a doula nearly 3 years ago, I have attended 1 birth because after that I got pregnant and now my girl is 10 months so will wait a little before helping again. I love being a doula, it is so much more than helping around birth , I feel a strong calling to help girls become more confident with their bodies and be more intune with their bodies. I also wish to promote birth and motherhood, I could write for ages on this topic really. I currently park up in an area where alot of women come to give birth away from hospital , I have been involved in some workshops given and hope to do one on placenta encapsulation also.
You guys are amazing! So courageous, so inspiring, and so COOl! I l know it must be hard to not know where the next money comes from, but after a while im sure u just get into the flow and realise u are managing!
And now u have steemit too!!! ;))
thank you Alex, for your very lovely and encouraging feedback, I'm so glad to have connected with you on here and to be part of the amazing ecotrain, it's really changed life. much love xx
I think you have the way of living we all dream of, but we don't have enough courage to just do it! Thank you for sharing!
What are you waiting for?!
thanks @zpedro, but anyone can, you just got to do it, have faith and take a leap into the unknown it is liberating x
That's something I'll definitively consider :)