Quail Springs is an experiment in sustainable living that is part educational and part social exercise. Living on this 450 acres in California’s high desert is complex, with a farm, a greenhouse, composting toilets, yurts, naturally crafted buildings, 11 staff members, a handful of interns who come and go, and lots of outdoor space. Permaculture … Read more
Watch on www.youtube.com Russ built his radical gypsy wagon as an overflow bedroom for his log cabin near Mt. Rainier. Once inside, you’ll see his supreme craftsmanship, including a gorgeous wood sink and custom windows. On the front end of the gypsy wagon, Russ decided to get a little creative, hand carving serpents for roof … Read more
This three-bedroom house for a family of five is being constructed using earthbags and is the first of its kind for a residential home in the Kenya. “The bags used are the onion-net type while the dome shape of the house means that the house does not require a roof, greatly saving on cost,” says … Read more
Mother Earth News has a nice little article about how to go about doing wattle and daub walls. The first step when building a wattle and daub wall is to construct the wooden frame that the wattle will be attached to. This needs to be securely attached to the rest of the building. The next … Read more
Here is an excellent article about the origins and modern development of food forest concepts that I highly recommend reading. It is lavishly illustrated and very informative.
Recently, Joe Trumpey and a group of students put the finishing touches on the first straw bale building on the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus. Besides the straw, many recycled materials were used for the structure. The wood used in the building was sourced from campus trees that were dead or dying. “It’s very … Read more