Homoseapien · noun · a person of the sea
Notes from a life lived closer to the sea.
This is the personal corner. No business stuff here. Just what I get up to when I'm not running the school. A bit of off grid building, growing food by the coast, and trying to leave the beach better than I found it.
Who's writing this
Hi, I'm Siddharth.
I came to the coast to surf and never really left. A few boards and a lot of optimism slowly turned into a surf school, a small crew I'd trust with my life out there, and a daily relationship with one stretch of the Indian coast.
Living this close to the sea changes how you see it. You start noticing the plastic that turns up after a big swell. The wells going brackish. The dune that's smaller than it was five years ago. Summer heat showing up earlier each year. You can't make your living off the health of a place and then pretend you owe it nothing. So this is my attempt to give a bit back. Quietly, practically, without turning it into some brand exercise.
None of it is for show. I'm no guru, and I'm definitely not living off grid in some perfect Instagram way. I still burn diesel on some days and get plenty of it wrong. I'd just rather try, badly and out in the open, than not try at all.
Qualifications
On paper, at least.
These took years to earn, mostly so that when something goes wrong in the water, I already know what to do.
/ Instruction & coaching
/ Safety & rescue
/ Wilderness medical
/ On the water
What I'm building
/ Shelter
The off grid shack
Slowly putting together a place to live and host that can run on its own. Solar for the power, rainwater stored up for the dry months, and as much local stone, lime and reclaimed timber as I can get hold of instead of trucked in concrete. It's half finished and one long learning project.
/ The coast
Beach cleanups, every full moon
Once a month a few of us walk the high tide line with sacks and sort whatever we find. It's small, it's endless, and it won't fix the ocean. We do it anyway. Partly because the beach needs it, mostly because it keeps the crew honest about what we actually live off.
/ Soil
A kitchen garden and compost loop
Food scraps from the school go into the compost, the compost feeds a scrappy little coastal garden, and the garden feeds the crew on long days. Closing one small loop has been more satisfying than I expected. The chillies are getting properly good.
/ Water
Catching the monsoon
Four months of rain, then eight of watching the wells drop. We're putting in rainwater catchment and some simple greywater reuse so the busy season doesn't drain the place dry. Unglamorous plumbing, but it makes a real difference.
/ The voyage
Where this has taken me.
Ports where I've surfed, taught, met operators, or just sat and listened. The boat marks where I am right now. Scroll along the line.
If any of this speaks to you, the door's open. Come walk a cleanup, or just say hello.
siddharth@homoseapien.com · Instagram
Run an ocean business? The Operator Toolkit is live — templates, trackers and the Lead Tracker, free.