'I live outside 24/7 and eat roadkill - I don’t want animals to die in vain'
Manders Barnett left her life as a wildlife technician behind when she met a man living a nomadic lifestyle and felt a pull to join him.
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In a unique and unconventional lifestyle choice, Manders Barnett, 32, has been living outside 24/7 for the last four years, embracing a nomadic existence to connect with nature in the most profound way.
The Idaho native, now residing in a 10 by 12 foot canvas tent in Oregon, has not only left behind the trappings of modern society but has also adopted a diet that might raise eyebrows – she eats roadkill.
Barnett, an artist and content creator, expressed that her "heart and soul has always belonged to nature."
The journey began when she met a fellow nomad in July 2019, a man who had been living on horseback for six years.
The shared connection prompted her to leave her job as a wildlife technician and embark on a nomadic journey covering 500 miles from Idaho to Oregon.
Living off-grid with her two mustang horses, named Huittsuu (meaning small bird) and Paxtwaylá (meaning friendly), Barnett and her companion spent two-and-a-half years in the wilderness, foraging, hunting, and embracing a self-sustained lifestyle.
However, the pair parted ways in the summer of 2022, and Barnett now continues her unique lifestyle alone, with plans to travel once she's built up the necessary supplies.
For sustenance, Barnett has taken an unconventional approach – she scavenges for roadkill, seeing it as a way to ensure that the animals do not "die in vain."
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She emphasizes that she doesn't take pleasure in finding roadkill but would rather consume it than let the death be purposeless.
The 32-year-old said: "I’m really good at knowing when an animal is fresh. I do hunt. I do pick up roadkill. I’m absolutely at home outside in nature. It’s home for me - it’s where I belong."
Living in a 10 by 12 foot canvas tent, Barnett uses a wood stove for heating and cooking, relying on water from a well for bathing and washing clothes.
Her connection with nature extends to using all parts of the roadkill she consumes, from making tools out of bones to crafting clothes and bags from tanned hides.
Despite the challenges of living in the wild, encountering big cats and predators, Barnett expresses fearlessness towards death, stating, "What I’m afraid of is living an unfulfilled life."
Her lifestyle, she says, has profoundly changed her in a beautiful way, and she has no intentions of returning to a conventional, domestic existence. Barnett concludes, "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."
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