I'm doing this already. In the hills of Northern Kentucky. This is the structure I want to build: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMNzoWkXTtc

learn what degrees or training you need to build earthships and learn that.

Finish college, then do what you want.

>Is college (for either Associates or Bachelors degrees) really necessary to get my feet off the ground?

No, good eye, it seems like you realized that already for the most part, college education won't even help you get a job in todays economy because experience counts for more than abstract knowledge. Once you pick a trade that would help with your goal, you can learn about it there as well as make connections and contacts in areas that have to do with real estate, building cob homes etc.

>Would it be worth my time instead to focus on an immediate trade (probably something like railroading, welding, carpentry or forestry)?

Yep.

>What are the stipends outside of the U.S. for buying land? I'd like to shoot for Wales if at all possible.

No Idea there, you might be able tofind someone who knows about this by asking a professor though.

>What are the regulations for cob home design?

Idklol

>Any further thoughts or ideas?

I'm planning to live off the grid and farm eventually myself, though I'm looking at doing it in the us for the time being. I haven't gotten enough saved to think about what type of home I'd build yet though. I wish you success in your endeavor mate.

>first you will need cobs. Have you're freinds and relatives start collecting them from their basements, corners of thier garages or anywhere else you may find them.

>once you've collected enough cobs you will need to stack them to form walls and support for the roof.

So where do you live? You sound American. You might find it cheaper and easier to buy land in the states or Canada. There is the whole issue of learning foreign laws, economics, and becoming a citizen or at least a permanent residence.

As for building the house, I've no clue, you'll have to look for guides on how others have done it.

As for school, check out this article. Education can be useful if you don't incur a lot of debt and take something that is practical for YOU. Many colleges are offering extensive credited courses online for free, you just need to buy text books. Might be able to use editions that are only slightly outdated for some courses. This all comes down to doing research.

http://www.bdpa-detroit.org/portal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57:moocs-top-10-sites-for-free-education-with-elite-universities&catid=29:education&Itemid=20

>>1550
And yes, Canada will have different laws, too. And laws will vary from state to state. I'm not sure moving to someplace like Whales is very practical when you're poor. The United Kingdom isn't exactly the wonderland you think. It's supposed to be pretty expensive since most land is owned by old money, and the taxes are supposed to be pretty high. Poor people don't own land unless it was handed down to them, poor people rent flats.

Canada is also known for very high taxes, though on the other hand socialized healthcare is a pretty sweet deal if you're poor.

America has cheap land and taxes on land vary from place to place. Just know the state laws and environmental and economic factors. There are a lot of hilly forested rural places in a wide variety of climates.

>>1065
I honestly would not recommend Wales to build a cob house.
Flooding there is ridiculous, and if you want to live in the countryside, you WILL be miles away from anywhere, most likely with sheep grazing on your roof.
And that's if you can afford the land...

You'd have better luck dropping a ton of dirt over your existing house then growing grass on it. Trust me...

But if you want to live in a hill in Wales, you're going to have to take courses in business, and get big in some company or other. Or some other big, fancy, well-paying job.
You will need LOTS of money if you want a hope of ANY land in Wales, trust me.
And you'll probably have to take it from some middle-aged guy with a wife and 3 kids and a bunch of pets, too..

If you want the UK, you'd probably have better luck with Ireland, or Scotland, even with the sometimes fairly strong accents.. Wales is a difficult one.

>>1065
UK architect here, to build anything in the uk stupidly expensive and you must get permission from planning authority (zoning to Americans) and building regulations approval which means your cob house must be properly insulated, detailed ect,

or you could get a small cheap apartement, or become a hobo

Canada is expensive. Any cheap land will be complete shit, up North somewhere cold as hell with tons of bugs and no civilization in walking distance.

I'd try looking into South American countries.

>>2112
This is true. The extreme weather in both seasons makes it very hard to have a shelter as it'll be freezing cold in winter yet in summer it'll be extremely hot. Land is very expensive

>>1065
Brazil.
Free fruit if you live up north.
Urban cities like middle class America. Everything in between. Relatively easy to immigrate. (even criminals can slip in.)

>>1065
>off-grid
>owning property

Choose one.

Man, I know how exhausting two jobs may be, so be careful because you can easily lose concentration and risk your safety at work.

Well, I think he knows how to manage his time, and I hope he works at a quite safe place, so there's no need to worry about that