I think you’ll forgive me for double posting on this subject after you see GERES free online greenhouse building PDF. I’m reposting on the subject so no one misses this. The information in the PDF is top notch. It’s rare to find books with so much detail, even those for sale. Details include drawings for … Read more
GERES won an Ashden Award in 2009 for their work building solar greenhouses in Ladakh, India. They have now started construction of similar structures in Kyrgystan. The Himalayan winter isn’t kind to vegetables. Temperatures as low as -25 centigrade and low rainfall mean that crops grow for only 90 days a year. In winter the … Read more
This is my second plan that’s designed specifically for building roundhouses in stages. As I stated in a previous blog post, I think building roundhouses like this is the simplest, easiest way to build an earthbag home: build in stages, one roundhouse at a time so you can pay with cash and move in right … Read more
The pond is lined with black plastic but the pond is supposed to look like a natural jungle pond (ideally a peaceful zen-like pond) which you might stumble upon while hiking in the jungle so the black plastic needs to be hidden. We found out after we had all the rocks in place that one … Read more
“This blog is about sharing our story of building an eco(ish) friendly house for our mother. We have never done this before and thought it may be useful to document lessons learnt along the way – so that others can learn from our experience. We hope that this journey inspires and motivates others to participate … Read more
One of the easiest and least expensive ways to build lintels over doors and windows is with small diameter wood poles. Poles are typically gathered inexpensively from local forests, sometimes with a firewood permit. In comparison, milled timbers, dimension lumber, and concrete and steel timbers are more expensive than pole lintels. Pole lintels are fast … Read more