"I live outside 24/7 and eat roadkill - I don’t want animals to die in vain"
Meet the woman who lives outside 24/7 and eats ROADKILL so animals don't "die in vain".
Manders Barnett, 32, has been living in a tent for the last four years and has always felt her "heart and soul belongs to nature".
She left her job as a wildlife technician behind when she met a man living a nomadic lifestyle and felt a pull to join him.
They travelled 500 miles from Idaho to Oregon, in the US, living off-grid together – but she has since separated from her friend and is living alone.
Manders is now staying in Grants Pass, Oregon, in a 10 by 12 foot canvas tent with her two horses outside and uses water from a well to shower and wash her clothes.
She hunts, forages and eats safe roadkill such as deer and coyote – as well as gathering groceries from her local farm shop.
She sees the modern world as a "matrix" and says she couldn't go back to living "domestically".
Manders, an artist and content creator, originally from Idaho said: “My heart and soul has always belonged to nature.
“We’re biological creatures.
“I eat roadkill.
“I don’t delight in finding roadkill.
“I’d rather eat it than let the death be in vain.”
Manders met a nomadic man who had been living on horseback for six years in July 2019.
She said: “We shared a lot in common.
“For me the modern world - it’s straight out of a matrix.”
Manders decided to leave her job and travel nomadically with her friend – and got herself two horses - both mustangs called Huittsuu, meaning small bird and Paxtwaylá, meaning friendly.
They rode out in early 2020 and spent two-and-a-half years living outside.
Manders said: “We were living off-grid.
“I was surrendering everything that I thought I knew.”
The pair went their separate ways in summer 2022 and Manders now lives alone with her horses but plans to travel when she has built up supplies.
Manders said: “I’m used to living in a small space.
“I spend all day every day outside.”
She uses a wood stove for heating and cooking and washes her clothes and bathes in water from a well.
She has a solar panel battery pack to charge her phone and doesn’t watch any TV.
Manders does get some of her food from a local farm shop but will also forage for wild mushrooms and flowers.
She said: “I do hunt. I do pick up roadkill.
“I’m really good at knowing when an animal is fresh.
“I do forage. I love to gather mushrooms and wild flowers for salads.”
Manders will use all parts of the roadkill if it’s safe to use.
She said: “I use all parts of the deer.
“I take the bones to make tools, and tan hides to make clothes and bags."
Manders cares for the land and plants seeds where she can to give back.
She said: “The landscape wants to provide for us.
“It’s my comfort zone out here.”
Living outside, Manders does have encounters with big cats and predators – but hasn’t had any close calls.
She said: “I’m not afraid to die.
“What I’m afraid of is living an unfulfilled life.
“I’m absolutely at home outside in nature.
“It’s home for me - it’s where I belong.”
Manders said the transition to her lifestyle has “profoundly changed” her in the most “beautiful way”.
She said: “Humans, by becoming so satisfied with domestic lifestyle have lost the ability to know the language of nature.
“I pay my respects by being present.
“I’m not going back to anything domestic.”
Manders Barnett, 32, has been living in a tent for the last four years and has always felt her "heart and soul belongs to nature".
She left her job as a wildlife technician behind when she met a man living a nomadic lifestyle and felt a pull to join him.
They travelled 500 miles from Idaho to Oregon, in the US, living off-grid together – but she has since separated from her friend and is living alone.
Manders is now staying in Grants Pass, Oregon, in a 10 by 12 foot canvas tent with her two horses outside and uses water from a well to shower and wash her clothes.
She hunts, forages and eats safe roadkill such as deer and coyote – as well as gathering groceries from her local farm shop.
She sees the modern world as a "matrix" and says she couldn't go back to living "domestically".
Manders, an artist and content creator, originally from Idaho said: “My heart and soul has always belonged to nature.
“We’re biological creatures.
“I eat roadkill.
“I don’t delight in finding roadkill.
“I’d rather eat it than let the death be in vain.”
Manders met a nomadic man who had been living on horseback for six years in July 2019.
She said: “We shared a lot in common.
“For me the modern world - it’s straight out of a matrix.”
Manders decided to leave her job and travel nomadically with her friend – and got herself two horses - both mustangs called Huittsuu, meaning small bird and Paxtwaylá, meaning friendly.
They rode out in early 2020 and spent two-and-a-half years living outside.
Manders said: “We were living off-grid.
“I was surrendering everything that I thought I knew.”
The pair went their separate ways in summer 2022 and Manders now lives alone with her horses but plans to travel when she has built up supplies.
Manders said: “I’m used to living in a small space.
“I spend all day every day outside.”
She uses a wood stove for heating and cooking and washes her clothes and bathes in water from a well.
She has a solar panel battery pack to charge her phone and doesn’t watch any TV.
Manders does get some of her food from a local farm shop but will also forage for wild mushrooms and flowers.
She said: “I do hunt. I do pick up roadkill.
“I’m really good at knowing when an animal is fresh.
“I do forage. I love to gather mushrooms and wild flowers for salads.”
Manders will use all parts of the roadkill if it’s safe to use.
She said: “I use all parts of the deer.
“I take the bones to make tools, and tan hides to make clothes and bags."
Manders cares for the land and plants seeds where she can to give back.
She said: “The landscape wants to provide for us.
“It’s my comfort zone out here.”
Living outside, Manders does have encounters with big cats and predators – but hasn’t had any close calls.
She said: “I’m not afraid to die.
“What I’m afraid of is living an unfulfilled life.
“I’m absolutely at home outside in nature.
“It’s home for me - it’s where I belong.”
Manders said the transition to her lifestyle has “profoundly changed” her in the most “beautiful way”.
She said: “Humans, by becoming so satisfied with domestic lifestyle have lost the ability to know the language of nature.
“I pay my respects by being present.
“I’m not going back to anything domestic.”
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FunTranscript
00:00 I'm Manders and I live outside 24/7/365.
00:04 At least I consider living in a wall tent to be more outside than inside.
00:08 I've been living outside for four years now after deciding that I wanted my energy to
00:13 belong to the earth instead of a corporation.
00:16 The only devices that require power are my phone and headlamp, which I charge by solar
00:20 power.
00:21 My indoor lighting source is also powered by the sun.
00:24 Ugh.
00:25 Dammit.
00:26 I hand wash all of my clothes and I bathe in an outdoor shower.
00:33 I heat my tent with a wood stove and despite common assumptions, it's actually toasty warm
00:37 even on cold nights.
00:39 I just got this stove and so far it's brought me more joy than you could shake a stick at.
00:44 And yes, you can ask.
00:46 The bathroom is an outside compost toilet, which is an effective way to get rid of waste.
00:50 If you're not Sweenish.
00:52 I don't watch TV, so a lot of my spare time is spent crafting.
00:58 I keep busy with tanning and making buckskin, beadwork, knitting, basketry, clothes making,
01:10 carpentry, and painting.
01:13 And I'm always learning to do something new.
01:17 And no, I don't own the land where I live.
01:19 Anywhere I go is always with permission from private landowners.
01:24 Foraging is another passion of mine, as being present with the native plants is crucial
01:28 to understanding and developing a respectful relationship with the landscape that you make
01:33 impact on.
01:34 With that being said, I still buy groceries, most of them being locally farmed foods.
01:39 If that's not overwhelming enough for new folks here, let's throw some horses into
01:43 the mix.
01:44 I have two Mustangs that I love with all of my eternal soul.
01:47 We traveled over 500 miles from North Idaho to Southern Oregon, which is where I live
01:52 now.
01:53 Currently, the goal is to get back into packing, but I have some work to do first.
01:57 This alternative way of living isn't for the weak of mind, and for some viewers, it's
02:01 downright confusing.
02:03 But for me, this is the only way to live free and practice what it is to be an autonomous
02:09 human with enormous potential to make positive impact on the earth and in people's minds.
02:15 I often talk of the philosophy within living so close to nature and the importance of having
02:19 a relationship to wild spaces.
02:22 Wildlife do visit camps, but I always treat them with respect, while also being prepared
02:27 for unpredictable circumstances.
02:29 But I've never had any bad encounters.
02:32 So if you're new here, welcome to this wild world I live in.
02:36 It's a simple life that requires hard work, but I wouldn't trade it for modern living
02:41 standards for anything.
02:44 So number one, my parents are not wealthy.
02:47 We have never been wealthy, and I am not a trust fund baby, as much as some of you would
02:51 really love to believe that.
02:53 When I decided to move outside and live this very different style of living compared to
03:00 most of the modern world, I did have two jobs that I was working that I was saving up actively,
03:06 knowing that I was going to need gear in order to be comfortable, and I wanted to get all
03:11 of the gear in advance.
03:13 So I had to save up almost four grand in order to purchase all of the gear that I needed.
03:20 That is going to last me for years, by the way.
03:22 I'm not going to have to keep buying this gear every year, every two years.
03:25 I mean, if I'm lucky, a lot of my gear will last me 10 years or more.
03:29 Also, my financial budget is very small, and my bills are very small.
03:34 I really don't have to pay for much every month.
03:37 Hay is obviously my biggest expense, I think, and it's probably one of the most important,
03:42 because if my horses aren't taken care of, then I'm not taken care of.
03:47 My phone bill is also really cheap.
03:48 I pay $15 a month for my phone, and I get an unlimited data plan.
03:53 So I don't have internet, I don't have Wi-Fi, I don't have any of that set up.
03:57 I just have data.
03:58 Now, right now, my primary income is actually TikTok, because when my videos do well, I
04:05 receive enough every month that it covers pretty much all of my expenses.
04:10 And on the side I sell my beadwork and my artwork.