Couple who have been living off-grid on a remote tropical island for THREE YEARS candidly reveal their biggest challenges
Living off coconuts, collecting rainwater and no telephone signal: welcome to island life.
Surfers Marjolein and her partner A star in a documentary in which they discuss how they left modern conveniences behind and started living off-grid on a tropical rock on the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia.
In the short film of Explore alternativesthey reveal what their daily routine is really like and how they survive living off the land.
Marjolein, from Belgium, explains in the introduction: ‘We live on a small island in Indonesia. The island we are on has a diameter of about 5 km and there are no villages or roads… so all transport is by boat using locally handmade wooden boats.
‘We are completely off-grid. What I like most about living here is the feeling of independence. We can provide our own electricity, our own water, our own food and that’s pretty cool.”
Surfers Marjolein and her partner A star in a documentary in which they talk about how they left modern conveniences behind to live off-grid on a tropical rock in Indonesia
Marjolein, from Belgium, explains in the introduction: ‘We live on a small island in Indonesia. The island we are on has a diameter of about 5 km and there are no villages or roads.’
The couple say one of the things they love most about island life is a “sense of independence.”
The couple met while working at a surf resort on another island.
But wanting to try something different, they quit their jobs at the end of 2020 and bought the plot of land where they now live.
Fortunately, An is an experienced woodworker and builder and he set out to build a small wooden house for them to live in.
In the film, Marjolein explains that the biggest challenge of building on the island is logistics, because everything has to be transported there by boat, ‘even materials that are purchased locally’.
She adds, “Then all the others [building materials] those needing to come from the mainland must travel on a ferry that comes once a week.
‘Then we have to pick it up from the ferry, but the problem is that we have no internet, 4G or telephone reception here.
‘To actually order stuff from the mainland, we have to sail out with our boat, try to find a better signal and send a message to the store on the mainland.
‘[Then we] I hope they are online, waiting for a response and yes…that could take days to order just one little thing. That’s why things aren’t moving so quickly here.’
The couple met while working at a surfing resort on another island
The couple built a small well on their property which they use for showering and washing dishes
To power their building tools, the couple has a small generator and also a small solar panel with a battery to charge their devices and for lighting at night.
But Marjolein notes that they will have a “bigger setup” on the island ‘soon’, with more solar panels on an outbuilding.
When it comes to food supplies, the duo picks up some groceries from a store on a nearby island and also forages for fruits and vegetables, with seasonal produce including bananas, mangoes and durian.
For proteins, Marjolein says that they are ‘heavily dependent on the ocean.’
She adds: ‘We go fishing about twice a week. We usually spear fish. We also have a casting net and a hand line.
‘As we don’t have a fridge, we usually smoke the fish in our traditional Mentawai kitchen, which is an important part of our setup and lasts much longer that way.
“We also have chickens for their eggs.”
They are ‘heavily dependent on the ocean’ for protein and go fishing twice a week
For drinking water, the couple collects rainwater that they run through a filter, while they have dug a well on their property for showering and washing dishes.
When it comes to food supplies, the duo pick up some groceries from a store on a nearby island and also look for fruits and vegetables.
For drinking water, the couple collects rainwater that they run through a filter, while they dig a well on their property for showering and washing dishes.
To make life on the island more comfortable, the couple is currently building a larger house, complete with a terrace, kitchen, two bedrooms and bathroom.
Marjolein touches on the housing project and offers viewers a tour: ‘WWell, right now we’re putting all our time and savings into this house.
‘WWe’re almost about to move in here now, us We just need to finish one or two walls, and then we need to buy all our furniture, which is quite difficult to get here.
“There are no furniture stores or anything, so we either make furniture ourselves or have it made by local craftsmen.”
Although she loves island life, Marjoein says some of the hardest things are the unpredictable weather, the threat of deadly snakes and the lack of people.
In an effort to connect with other people, Marjolein recently started documenting her and An’s journey and adventures via YouTube
Although she loves island life, Marjolein says some of the hardest things about it are the unpredictable weather, the threat of deadly snakes and the lack of people.
She muses: ‘Because we live so remote, it can be a bit lonely sometimes and that’s not always easy.
“I would say this is definitely one of the biggest challenges of living here for me.”
To connect with other people, Marjolein recently started documenting her and An’s journey and adventures via YouTube, on their channel called @OurIslandLife.
She concludes, “It was really amazing to be able to share this lifestyle with people all over the world and connect with people.”