NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Tags: social sciences, housing, ethnography, land use

Objective(s): To conduct a series of ethnographic case studies focusing on individuals and groups who dwell in households and/or communities removed from such assemblages of mobilities as the automobility grid, municipal electricity, sewage, garbage, and water grid, the electric information grid (e.g. telephone, internet, and television), as well as on individuals who otherwise develop energy-autonomous homes.

Project Description: This research project will unfold as a series of ethnographic case studies focusing on individuals and groups who dwell in households and/or communities removed from one or more grids and different combinations of them. A broad geographic sample also ought to allow for a diverse understanding of off-grid dwelling in rural, insular, coastal, suburban, and urban communities, as well as for taking into account how different regional climatic features and how different economies, land-use planning regulations, energy production/distribution/consumption systems, and regional cultures shape off-grid dwelling. Data collection will unfold over a period of two years (year three of the funded period will be dedicated to data analysis and completion of the research communication plan). Fieldwork will involve stays in off-grid communities as well as stays in private residences and public accommodations where off-the-grid dwelling can be observed and practiced. Field note-taking and visual-aural documentation will yield a record of these experiential data. These occasions will also provide the opportunity to conduct field interviews. It is the researcher’s aim to recruit approximately three dozen individuals in Western Canada, and about a dozen individuals in each of Central Canada, Atlantic Canada, and Northern Canada. This sample size is justified by the need to include different practices of off-the-grid dwelling in different areas. The over-representation of Western Canada is simply justified by the need to reduce both costs and field travel’s ecological footprint. Interviews will take place with individuals and groups who self-define as off-the-grid dwellers. Because the expression “off-the-grid” has multiple meanings, it is best to adopt an open-ended definition of the topic rather than adopt pre-conceived categories. Interviewees will be recruited through local media and the web, through membership in related interest groups and organizations, and snowballing. Interviews may be conducted on an individual or small group basis, but will be face to face whenever possible. The researcher will aim to conduct interviews—by politely seeking invitation and access—in the very places where off-the-grid dwelling is practiced. Interviews will be open-ended and semi-structured, unfolding as both a form of dialogue and “walk-through.” A “walk-through” is intended as a “show and tell” of off-grid technologies practiced by an individual, group, or community. Whenever interviewees will allow, interviews and “walk-throughs” will be subject to visual and sound recording by the researchers. Participants who wish to contribute more insight and information will also be able to do so via communication media such as blogs, art, and video, and other means of their choice. Participant observation in the off-grid culture will also involve the researcher in directly taking part in off-the-grid dwelling practices including: 1) dwelling in buildings and/or communities where some degrees of off-the-grid dwelling can be practiced; 2) enrolling in off-the-grid building courses to learn first-hand about the necessary skills; and 3) building a site-specific techne installation dedicated to living off-the-grid (see dissemination for more information). Data analysis will broadly follow the procedures of post-phenomenological research (Moustakas 1994:118–19). Organization and analysis of data thus entails a process of (1) horizonalizing the data—that is, “regarding every horizon or statement relevant to the topic and question as having equal value” (118); (2) clustering units of meaning from the horizonalized data into common themes, thus removing overlaps and repetitions; (3) developing descriptions of experiences and practices, based on clusters of meaning units; and (4) integrating descriptions into the meanings—experiential and theoretical—of the phenomena under investigation. Public ethnography’s success depends on effective awareness-raising. The proposed plan intends to be exhaustive, innovative, and broad. The output for non-academic audiences includes: 1. A 60 minute film to be distributed to libraries and through the web; 2. A series of press releases to solicit the interest of local, regional, and national media in the topic; 3. Newspaper op-eds, magazine reports, and very short audio documentaries available for radio; 4. Possible presentations to any relevant learning communities; and 5. An interactive website containing most of the above mentioned material and blog. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from December 21, 2011 to December 31, 2011.