Hand tools off-grid
"Electric" symbolizes progress. No idea why, but everything has to be electric. From clocks to scales, from bicycles to food processors, everything is or is increasingly being carried out electrically. Often it also has no added value. My permaculture systems thinking then tells me: that may not be so handy, because you have an extra condition for using it. And it can break sooner. Maybe that's why I have a weakness for hand tools. Here is a selection of what I have come across in the course of time.
Here you see the hand drill in operation, here I am drilling holes in the urine trap for the compost toilet.
A beautiful, well, onion slicer or something. You push the top and then it suddenly pops down. Seen in Sweden in an eco-village, and immediately mustered up and bought on the marketplace .
An old friend, right? Who doesn't know the (wal)nut cracker.
Bought new in the supermarket in Germany, came with a kilo of apples I think.
A real food processor. When you turn the top handle, the blade (or whatever you hang on it) turns twice. Works pretty well, only real power can you can't put it down, unfortunately! Used once, and oh well, I cut everything with a potato peeler, ever since I started cooking for myself.
A meat cutter. I only eat meat when I'm not cooking, so I don't have these anymore.
The front.
Oh so bizarre that you have to go to great lengths to find an analog non-electric scale.
On the other side is a hole, and you can put carrots and celery and other oblong things in there and hop chop chop chop.
The ultimate kitchen tool: the mixer. Works great, is one of the few I've used before.
A beautiful apple peeler. My goal is to dry apples, and then the peel will serve as a dried treat.
An orange press. It works fine without using electricity. And it won't break!
This is an oil press. Well, in miniature. All kinds of nuts and such can be distilled with the help of some heat. A lot of work in my opinion, but the works.
A handheld shaver. I haven't switched to it yet, it pulls a little too much on my skin for my taste. A shaver hardly draws any power, but yes if I can't do it electrically, I'd rather do that, but it's a shame that this one isn't enough, because a razor is one of my few electrical appliances.
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