Feature: Canadian Castaway

ASMR is exploding in popularity. Even if you aren’t someone that explicitly experiences the sensation, more and more people are finding peaceful relaxation online in enhanced auditory stimulus. Toss in calming visuals and you have a great recipe for the type of content people are searching for – especially these days, with more need than ever to unwind with captivating but relaxing visuals and calming audio tracks.

The person behind the Canadian Castaway YouTube channel and Instagram account hasn’t necessarily told us this is the recipe for content he’s baking, but if you poke around his channel and watch a few videos, you’ll come away feeling a sense of relaxation and a calmer state of mind. Their videos even have titles like “Relaxing Mountain Gardening” and “Beautiful Spring Day Working in the Wilderness,” so if you were expecting to feel anxious after watching their videos, you’ll be disappointed. 

We especially like the video they made just for us. 

In addition to the relaxing vibes on Canadian Castaway’s YouTube channel, there’s the significant wow factor. Here is a true off grid, self-sufficient cabin, built from scratch on the edge of a cliff, no less. The level of DIY is top-notch and if you want to be really impressed, you can watch a 6 minute video on how they got all their material to the top of a cliff in their DIY elevator video.

Canadian Castaway prefers we don’t publicize their real name, which is cool with us because who wouldn’t want to be known as just “Canadian Castaway?” Regardless, their story is awesome and we’re happy to be able to take part in sharing it!

Where are you right now? If you could, tell us about the home your Ecofan is in and the surrounding area.

 Canadian Castaway is a 460sq/ft off grid home heated with only a woodstove, relying on solar panels and filtered rainwater. We are on top of a small mountain in a forest in Ontario close to the Quebec Province border. We’ve been using an Ecofan since we built the house 3 years ago.

Tell us about yourself. Why’d you choose your lifestyle? Why is it important to live a life that includes heating with wood? 

 I decided to life off grid when I was 18 years old. Back then, I didn’t have much money for such a project but one thing I knew was that I didn’t want a mortgage or too many monthly payments. As I grew up and progressed through my career, I finally ended up building the lifestyle I wanted and my own off grid house. Now the only thing I have to pay for is my property taxes, insurances and daily life expenses. Living off grid was a choice to save money, be more free and work less. When I decided to build my house, I knew that I would only heat with wood because I like this type of heat. Also, the wood in our area is less expensive and takes less energy than hydro so that was more good reason to heat with wood.

Tell us about your wood stove. How long have you had it and how often do you use it? 

 I found my Warnock Hersey wood stove in the street of Montreal years ago. It was free and was about to go to the garbage because it’s now illegal to use a woodstove in Montreal. The woodstove remained in my friend’s barn for a while until I finally ended up building my house. It was an adventure getting it up the cliff, but was worth it. Now the wood stove is mostly the heart of the house. It’s in the middle of the living area and we use it everyday (except during summer of course).

How did you learn about Ecofan? Which Ecofan model do you have? How’s it working out for you? 

 I learned about Ecofan years ago. I was young and my friend’s dad had a woodstove and I liked to sit and watch the fire with the fan turning on top of the woodstove. When I got my woodstove for my own house, I think one of the first things I did is to go at the hardware store and get my own Ecofan. I like to start a fire and wait for the fan turning. It’s a good indicator you’ve done a good job starting the fire!

It’s a weird time for the world. How have you been affected personally or how has your lifestyle changed recently?

Even if times are “special,” as a filmmaker, I still have lots of work and half of it is editing which I do from home anyway. I’m traveling less, before I was working around the world half of the year. Now I work mostly locally and I like it. I can come back home everyday and enjoy the warmth of my house. Times are weird but it makes me especially grateful for the little things, like spending time in the forest, or taking the time to build a fire.