In this day and age, living without money sounds almost impossible, but that’s exactly what this Australian couple has been doing for almost a year. It’s been anything but easy, but they’ve somehow made it work。

Rachel Newby, 24, and Liam Culbertson, 26, have come up with innovative ways of making it through the year without any cash. They built themselves a new home on a friend’s plot in West Gippsland, a rural region in Victoria. The house is made entirely out of scrap timber and recycled materials. They grow their own food, and at times, don’t hesitate to dive into dumpsters for leftovers. They also help out local farmers in exchange for fresh produce and yarn。

But in spite of all their experience, they claim that this last year has been quite difficult. The soil on their patch of land is rather infertile, so they’ve been struggling to grow crops. The climate is pretty harsh as well, so their makeshift residence isn’t holding out too well. The thrifty home – a 2.5 square meter structure – is really only good for privacy. They shower under cold rainwater collected on the roof, and share toilets with the rest of the community. And because they have no appliances, they wash their clothes in the sink。

Even though they don’t have jobs, Rachel and Liam don’t have a lot of leisure time to waste. They spend most of the day working for local farmers – planting vegetables and picking berries, just so they can earn their next meal. They have five ducks that provide them with fresh eggs, but when supplies go low, they have to go sift through dumpsters for discarded vegetables, fruit, and bread。