Women ditch city life to move off-grid and grow cannabis on their own animal-filled farm

Three women have ditched the hustle and bustle of modern reality to live the high life off-grid.

Lexie, 28, Amy, 31, and Doris, 39, now spent their days working on their own cannabis farm, sharing their moments chopping down trees and feeding chickens on Instagram account @girlsgoneoffgrid.

Doris, the founder of the enterprise, said: ‘I created Girls Gone Off-Grid as sort of a spoof on Girls Gone Wild.

‘I figured we can lure in followers with our sexuality – but then show them that we are actually doing some real farm shit.’

Until late last year the girls were growing industrial quantities of cannabis, but the county where they live no longer allows commercial cultivation.

Doris admits she used to be a ‘complete stoner’, but realised that she ‘couldn’t be high and productive at the same time’. The farm has a strict no-smoking rule until after the day is done.

They now grow walnuts and take care of dozens of animals, currently looking after 65 sheep, 60 goats, 40 chickens, 15 ducks, eight guinea hens, three alpacas, two turkeys, two horses, two dogs, two cats, and one pig. Whew.

The farm where the women live and work is an hour’s drive from the nearest town, meaning they’ve had to learn a load of practical skills to survive.

Doris has learned how to lay PVC pipes, fix breaks, do oil changes, and set up her own solar power.

‘My chainsaw skills are probably what I’m most proud of,’ says Doris.

‘Not many guys I know are comfortable picking up and running a saw, it’s definitely one of the more dangerous jobs around here.’

This lifestyle is a big change for Doris, who was brought up in an affluent household in San Francisco and used to always wear heels and designer clothes.

When her father sold his beer distribution company, Doris started an organic fertiliser business and continued to take an interest in food production.

Seeing the reality of agriculture sparked a desire to get involved and change things.

‘Working in the agriculture industry, meeting farmers and seeing all the crap they spray on our food made me realize that I wanted to grow and raise everything I could myself,’ she says.

‘What was great about starting my farming life in industry was the knowledge I picked up. To sell fertilizer to farmers, I had to learn the science behind it all.

‘I took courses, read books and learned soil science, plant pathology, microbiology etc. Those type of skills are crucial for running a successful farm.’

Doris wants the women’s Instagram to showcase the reality of farm life alongside the fun bits.

She explains: ‘Most of our problems on the ranch have to do with the livestock. With so many here, anything can happen, at any time.

‘It might just be a sheep stuck with fencing around its neck, or a goat going into labor with a breached baby, or could be a coyote going after and killing my chickens.

‘The worst is when a bear eats half and animal, and leaves it alive for me to find in the morning. That’s happened twice.

‘A pig with its shoulder eaten off, still totally alive but obviously not going to make it.

‘I just have to get my gun and put down the pig. It’s probably the hardest job around – when an animal is sick or injured or born deformed and I have to shoot them.’

Doris and her coworkers are set to expand their operation in 2020.

They’re building tiny houses on the farm to rent on Airbnb and creating special retreats offering yoga, women’s health, and herbal tinctures.

The women say they’ll never go back to city life – but that doesn’t mean they love everything about being off the grid.

‘I plan to raise my children and homeschool them here,’ says Doris.