Man needs a home, and a comfortable home at that. Can it really be done one handful at a time? To find out, and to learn how to build a cozy (and super-super beautiful!) house customised to our needs, my partner and I are at Spirit Pine Sanctuary (Los Olivos, California) doing a natural building apprenticeship with Cob Cottage Company.
To start with, we present photos of the surrounding environment and some of their existing buildings. Hope you’ll enjoy.
“The Farm” is the oldest (formal) intentional community in the United States. Founded in 1971, it covers 6 square miles of beautiful rolling hills near Summertown, Tennessee. Thus it’s been 43 years in the making — forming, storming, norming and performing. As one of the men we spoke with put it, “Any issue that can arise in a community — they’ve experienced it.”
My partner and I have visited The Farm to participate in “The Farm Experience” weekend; below is a glimpse of what lies beyond “The Farm” gates…
Guest post by Ally
The kitchen is one of the most frequently used rooms in your home, whether you are whipping up a snack or cooking a three course dinner for two. So it stands to reason that this is also the place where the most energy is wasted. Making some simple changes in the way you prepare your food and use kitchen your appliances can help you to save a lot of money on utility bills each year.
The Kitchen by eightfivezero
The following tips and advice will help you to conserve as much energy as possible in the kitchen, and subsequently lower your monthly bills.
Guest post by Alisa Bryce
Water repellence is when water can’t filter into a soil. Instead it pools on top and often runs off, sometimes causing erosion.
Water repellent soil (or hydrophobic soil) develops for two main reasons.
Fresh compost and mulches are a frequent source of waxy coatings. This is why it’s important to use aged compost and mulch.
In Australia, overhanging eucalyptus trees are another common culprit of water repellence. As the leaves decompose, the eucalyptus oil inside is released and coats soil particles.
“Running Water” by Jessica Melling
There are two very important reasons why we should all be doing our bit to help conserve water. There is the obvious money-saving benefit that comes with using less water but in my view the second reason is something most of us do not about nearly enough – the environment.
In the developed world, having easily accessible water is not considered a luxury, but although we take running water for granted, the fact is that less than 1% of all fresh water in the world is easily accessible to humans.
In under-developed countries, more than 884 million people lack easy access to safe, clean water, and this number is still growing. This means that only about one in every eight people has water when and where they need it. This alone should motivate you to use water sparingly, but in addition to this; using water, particularly hot water, contributes to global warming by increasing the emissions of greenhouse gases. The average family in the developed world uses about 500 litres of water per day, which produces around 1.5 tons of greenhouse gasses every year.