A former circus performer recently traded in his chaotic life in Las Vegas for an off-grid house in Lumby.

Alvin Tam and his wife, Jada Tam, have spent two years building Barefoot Sanctuary. Their ultimate goal is to mix their love of circus and yoga with environmental awareness through the teachings of an off-grid lifestyle.

Jada said the transition was gradual. They ran a successful yoga studio on the Las Vegas strip and organized yoga retreats around the world. It was visiting developing countries in Africa, South America and Asia that they fell in love with a simpler lifestyle.

鈥淚n Africa, you just walk through the village and see a completely different way of life, of learning and of living and it鈥檚 just, it鈥檚 so rich and so beautiful,鈥� said Jada. 鈥淪o even though there were great opportunities in Vegas, life was really busy and chaotic and we decided we wanted to cultivate some skill sets that weren鈥檛 possible in a big city like Vegas.鈥�

鈥淚t also didn鈥檛 feel like it was authentic and didn鈥檛 really feel like we could really be an example there. We want to teach it by showing people it鈥檚 possible,鈥� said Alvin.

Because his parents live in 琉璃神社, the Tams decided the Okanagan would be a great place to commit to living 鈥渙ff-grid鈥� and becoming completely self-sufficient.

鈥淲e want to be part of a movement to protect the earth, or reverse or at least slow down climate change and for us, the best way was to come out here and live what we鈥檙e teaching,鈥� said Alvin.

In March, they launched a in the hopes that they can complete construction and begin using the space as a circus arts and yoga centre, offering classes and workshops.

鈥楾he support we receive will benefit our local and global community by providing on-going events and services that unite education and environmental action,鈥� reads the fundraising page.

They hope to raise enough money to complete building in time for their Wilderness Workshop Weekend, which is set to take place Oct. 5-6.

To donate or to learn more about Barefoot Sanctuary, visit .

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