Donald E Lipfert was grew up in Meriden Connecticut. He worked as a designing engineer and, during World War II, worked in the Civilian Public Service camps. In 1955, he moved to Middleton, Connecticut, and then to Woolwich, Maine in 1963, where he later designed an off the grid home. He helped found the Jacquata School and also the Maine Organic Farmers' and Gardeners' Association in the 1970s.