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Self-sufficiency expert hopes to open his first Free Food Factory in Detroit.

Barbara Lewis I Contributing Writer

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and is considered one of the foremost experts
in self-sufficiency. Through his humanitar-
ian organization (agua-luna.com) he has
provided first- and second-responders aid in
Haiti after the earthquake and in many other
countries hit by natural disasters by teaching
people to make such necessities as compost
toilets.
Now he wants to bring a Free Food
Factory to every major city, and believes it
can happen.

Alternative Path
Martin's lifestyle may sound unrealistic to
some, yet he's made it work and now is shar-
ing what he learned with others.
His parents are divorced — his mother,
Barbara Seiden, still lives in Southfield. At
age 12, in 1979, he won the IN's Chanukah
art contest. When he was 13, he went to live
with his father in a rural area of northern
Utah, where he learned to hunt, trap and
work on cars.
He joined the military at 17 and served in
Operation Desert Storm, where he sustained
an injury that left him partially disabled. He
then studied environmental science, phys-
ics, engineering, pre-med, psychology and
other subjects at the University of Hawaii,
University of Texas and a half-dozen other
colleges. He saw no need for a degree as long
as he was learning what he needed to learn.
For five years, he worked as an engineer for
Boeing Aerospace, but spent his spare time
in Mexico, learning about farming, ranching,
sanitation and building with natural materi-
als. There he met his wife, Lucia, now, 37, an
engineer from Monterrey, Mexico.
When they were 25, Martin and Lucia
decided they were sick of corporate America,
consumerism and capitalism, and quit their
high-paying jobs.
"My wife and I both had very lucra-
tive careers and just got sick of corporate
America. Traffic, alarm clocks, Daylight
Savings Time, on hold on the phone, wait-
ing in lines, waiting on seating, waiting on
people ... waiting or working to live life but
never actually doing it:' he said.
"So we cashed in our investments, sold
two waterfront homes, the cars, jet skis, boat
and other toys, burned all the cell phones,
TVs, clocks, calendars and computers, and
left society completely"
For the next six years, the couple went
"off the grid" on a 15-acre site in west Texas
with no electricity, digital gadgets, clocks or
calendars. They built their own home, raised

8

Above: Martin, holding a baby lamb, and
his wife lived "off the grid" for six years
in west Texas, not far from Big Bend
National Park. They grow their own
vegetables and raise animals for food.

Top left: Dan Martin installs solar pan-
els on the roof of his hydroponic green-
house in west Texas.

Bottom left: Martin finishes the wiring
of his solar array battery bank.

Anyone can be part of the Free Food Factory by contributing to Martin's
$67,000 3F Project campaign. Go to www.freefoodfactory.com to donate.
Contributors will receive digital downloads of all 40 of Martin's do-it-yourself
books, including The DIY Solar Panel, Convert Your Car to Electric and How to
Build a Free Home. He can be reached by email at martin@dyisufficient.com .

goats, chickens, turkeys, rabbits and catfish
for food and grew hydroponic fruits and
vegetables. For power, they used solar panels,
wind turbines and methane gas made from
food scraps.
"We left the world, family, friends and the
rest of humanity behind:' Martin said.
Martin says their current farm, with an
indoor, year-round growing cycle, is seeing
twice the average production rate, twice the
size of produce, twice the nutrients and sugar
content, four times the quantity — and 99
percent less effort, cost, water use and loss
compared to yield reports of industrial food
production in the same zone.
"And we don't have the heartache of bugs,

pests, cold spells, heat spells, droughts, fertil-
izing, pesticides or watering; he said.
The couple also is developing an animal
preserve on their land in east Texas that will
allow exotic pets that owners can't handle
and elderly zoo and circus animals to live out
their lives peacefully and die naturally.

Helping Others

Martin and his wife decided to return to the
world because they thought they could help
others learn to live simpler, healthier, better
lives. Martin wrote his first few books, got
them published, and started doing lectures,
seminars and workshops as well as disaster
relief work

Any money he receives for his books or
his disability goes directly into research
and projects for his humanitarian work.
The Free Food Factory is his latest project.
Each 60,000-square-foot facility will run on
solar and wind power.
The factories will offer locally grown,
organic, non-GMO-quality produce, honey,
fish and shellfish, and will be run by trained
volunteers. No need for cashiers because
everything will be available for the taking.
If his online 3F Project campaign suc-
ceeds, the funds raised will cover the startup
costs, including land, materials and equip-
ment, labor, and permits and licenses.
Martin says there will be no ongoing daily
costs of doing business because of the self-
sufficient nature of the enterprise.
After honing his prototype at his home in
east Texas, Martin plans to realize his first
Free Food Factory in Detroit. Then he hopes
to branch out to other cities.
"We've been contacted by several individu-
als about repurposing one of the many aban-
doned factories or warehouses" in Detroit,
he said. He feels the city, as it is experiencing
resurgence, is ripe for the idea.
"This is not a dream or idea; we are doing
it," he said. "Now we need help from those
who want this in their communities:'

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December 18 • 2014

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