In 2007, Ole and Maitri Ersson bought the rundown Cabana apartment complex in Portland, Oregon and immediately began to de-pave parking spaces to make room for what today is a huge permaculture co-housing space and urban food forest. Today, the Kailash Ecovillage has 55 residents who all help farm. The community is well-prepared for systems … Read more
Kelley Lowe is a passionate environmentalist. Her interest in creating a sustainable future for material culture drew her to the work of Re:Purpose Savannah, where she is helping to build a regional market for reclaimed lumber. Learn more about why she is an ardent supporter of deconstruction and recycled building materials, and why this practice … Read more
Matts Myhrman, co-founder of The Last Straw Journal and a natural building legend, passed away peacefully on October 15th 2024. I first met Matts and his wife Judy Knox at the 2000 Natural Building Colloquium in New Mexico and was immediately captivated by the sparkle in their eyes. Matts is an elder statesman in the … Read more
For thousands of years survival in Norway’s countryside, where farms were miles from each other, meant complete self-sufficiency. Farmsteads were like small villages with several families living together and building their homes from logs and turf. At Oslo’s Norwegian Folk Museum, entire farmsteads have been transplanted log-by-log by master carpenters who use traditional joinery techniques … Read more
The United Nations Development Program is planning to utilize advanced 3D printing equipment from WASP (World’s Advanced Saving Project) in Colombia, to help address housing shortages. They will use the Crane WASP that can print directly using natural resources like agricultural waste and nearby dirt instead of requiring concrete. This equipment is versatile and mobile, … Read more
On the coast of British Columbia, Ryan Leech and Krysta Powers are building their two-story post-and-beam family home using light straw/clay for insulation. They are hoping to inspire change in the construction community, to build as ecologically ethically as they can. They have used as much recycled and reclaimed material as possible. The owners have … Read more