One person’s needs are more than enough when it comes to living solely off Bitcoin, but how about a couple with two young children spending four whole weeks exclusively using it? This is currently the reality for John Bush and Catherine Bleish, who are travelling around the US attending Bitcoin events for the next month.
Bleish is “excited to test the practical reality of traveling with Bitcoin,” reports BitcoinMagazine which is hosting coverage of the marathon experiment.
The pair will be visiting Bitcoin in the Beltway in Washington, DC and the Porcupine Freedom Festival (Porcfest) in New Hampshire, as well as hosting several Bitcoin meet-ups along the way, where they will be screening ‘Sovereign Living,’ a film series documenting the project.
The family is on the road as an initiative of Center for Natural Living, a Texas based 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to “Demonstrate the value of voluntary cooperation and natural living in the areas of sustainability, family, and health by creating educational media and helping families to fulfill their basic needs,” Bitcoin Magazine explains. The Center is also behind production of the miniseries.
During the trip, the family will keep a daily blog (available here) documenting not only the events they attend but also the experience of transacting for their daily needs. Indeed, much preparation was necessary, they note, with refueling points and gas cards bought for Bitcoin all needing to be researched and manually processed in order to make the project a reality. And, of course, the Bitcoin life is known for the unexpected.
“Today I heard back from Rogers Campground, the location of Porcfest, that they will not be accepting payment in Bitcoin for vendor or camper spots. I’m surprised by this since so many of the thousand plus attendees use Bitcoin,” one blog post reads. The same entity also subsequently declined the family’s offer to help organize Bitpay functionality for the festival.
While there have been mishaps, demonstrating Bitcoin is still far from a walk in the park for day-to-day living, the notable functionality of Gyft giftcards, which allowed the family to use Bitcoin indirectly to purchase products in mainstream stores, has already proven a saving grace.
Now, having got into the swing of life on the road, Bush, Bleish and co. will be concentrating on spreading the word. Full details of the initiative, itinerary and donation details can be found here.