Offbeat, and off-grid, too: Meet a woman who unplugged to find a self-reliant life
Nancy Churchill has found a self-sufficient lifestyle on a small farm in Port Rexton
You won't find much in the way of modern conveniences in Nancy Churchill's farm in Port Rexton, an outport in Newfoundland's Trinity Bay.
There is no toast, no coffee maker, no fridge, no microwave. For something as simple as toasting bread, Churchill — who decided a couple of years ago to live off the grid, with no electrical hookup — depends on a propane stove and a cast iron pan.
"I like a challenge," Churchill tells host Jane Adey in a new episode of CBC's Land and Sea.
"I've always said I was going to live in the woods. I said that at a young age that I wanted to live in the woods, away from everybody, and have a lot of animals."
Churchill does indeed have a lot of animals. She grows her own vegetables and raises animals for food. She has 30 goats, about 70 laying hens, 12 breeding rabbits, two lambs, two ducks … and a turkey named Tom.
Churchill used to live in Portugal Cove, north of St. John's, and held a variety of jobs before she decided — with her sons grown and on their own — to make a major change in her life.
Learn why Churchill decided to start her own farm and what motivates her to maintain a self-reliant lifestyle, in this episode of Land and Sea. Click the player above to see the episode.
Land and Sea airs Sundays on CBC Television in Newfoundland and Labrador at 11:30 a.m., 11 a.m. in most of Labrador. You can watch current episodes — as well as episodes from the past 13 seasons — on Gem, CBC's free streaming service.
