Kathleen Draper, a climate change activist has constructed a 1,500-square-foot, three-bedroom straw bale home that she said will help reduce global warming and keep her comfortable in the harshest New York winter. “I call it my ‘dwelling on drawdown’ project,” she said, referring to the future point at which the atmosphere’s greenhouse gas levels stop … Read more
The City of Cape Town, South Africa is using recycled materials to construct a new multipurpose center at the Helderberg Nature Reserve. The center, due to be completed by June 2021, has a horse-shoe shape and faces the Helderberg mountain. The Helderberg Nature Reserve will provide benefits include education, recreation, tourism, job creation and skills … Read more
The Mishings, a tribal community of Assam, India, are a rare group that has escaped the stifling economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We didn’t feel the economic pressures,” says Pabitra Mili. What came to the community’s rescue is the revival of an ancient food-forest practice generally known as agroforestry, where trees, shrubs, herbs and … Read more
When Tas Careaga first saw this 16th-century church it was advertised for sale as a “land plot with built-in ruins”. Abandoned for decades, it was being sold by the local bishopric for very little, but the new owner was required to rebuild it. Careaga and friends spent 3 months just clearing the structure of debris … Read more
Greensburg, a farming community in southwestern Kansas with a population of 900 rebuilt “green” after a tornado barreled through at more than 200 miles per hour and nearly wiped it off the map in 2007. Now Greensburg gets all of its electricity from a wind farm, has an energy-efficient school, medical center, city hall, library, … Read more
An eco-village of earthbag domes is growing along the coral coastline of Indonesia’s Lombok Island. The builders seeks to introduce shared housing which is built and occupied with respect for the environment. Currently there are nine domes surrounding a restaurant, pool, and co-working space. The second phase of nine more domes is underway and should … Read more