I usually avoid posting anything commercial on this blog, but this seems like such an incredible deal am going to tell you about it anyway. At permies.com from January 1 – 3 you can get the 2024 Homesteading and Permaculture Bundle for just $35. It includes over 35 books, videos and webinars, so they are … Read more
Young communards in the backwoods of Vermont and high plains of Taos knew that surviving in frigid climes meant something better than teepees and log huts. With well-worn Whole Earth catalogues as guides, they began figuring it out. Back then “Save the Trees” was a mantra uniting the movement. Northern New Mexico’s earthen homes were … Read more
I usually avoid posting about projects that involve the use of lots of cement, but this underground homestead has many other features that are worth exploring. When Al Schwarz moved from upstate NY near Dallas, TX, he wanted a home with low energy bills and protection from extreme weather, so he dug into a hillside, … Read more
Wendy Green spent most of her life in suburban New Jersey spending long days as a yoga teacher, so when she turned 50, she sold her house and used the proceeds to buy remote land in the Andes. In her new homestead, she built an all-wood, tall and narrow, home, installed solar, a gravity-fed water … Read more
The Luum Temple in Tulum, Mexico is a pioneering example of what happens when traditional wisdom meets modern engineering. It is designed to stand against hurricane winds and significant seismic forces. The structural system has five intersecting hyperbolic paraboloids made of bamboo arches and split bamboo beams. Due to bamboo’s lightweight nature, particular attention must … Read more
Lola Ben-Alon sloshes water into a tray of dirt and plunges her fingers into the muck. She smears it between her hands to see if it cakes on her skin, then mashes it into a sticky lump. “You need to know how much clay is in the soil,” she says. “That’s the first criterion for … Read more