It is my honor to introduce Dr. Jerry Epps, my friend’s poverty reduction plan. He helped inspire me as I developed the Take it to Zero and Rosetta Interactive Library projects (both still in early start-up stages) as I helped inspire his Recipe for Hope project.
“The goal of Recipe for Hope is to End Poverty (at least 80% or more of it) by creating the economic conditions that enable families to have more money to spend and thereby move out of poverty into the working class.
This weekend I had a chance to attend a presentation entitled “Conversations in Clay” by Bill and Athena Steen of the Canelo Project. This happened in Silver City, New Mexico, and was part of a larger Clay Arts Festival.
I have followed the work of the Steens for nearly two decades, as they have promoted natural, sustainable building practices in many ways. The Canelo Project is a non-profit organization that they founded in 1989 with the theme of “connecting people, culture and nature.” The focal point of their work is handcrafting simple, small-scale and comfortable shelter that is built primarily with local and natural materials. They have evolved a unique straw bale and clay wall system that is finished with beautiful clay and lime plasters, sculptural wall carvings, earthen floors and clay ovens.
“In this video I take you to a place where I used to live. Its name is Middle Wood; located East of Lancaster, near the small village of Wray. From the car park we walk to the communal area and then down the long path towards the river. During this time I’ll talk about my days of living there and what I faced.”
“Like many of us, Joy is not content with the high consumption modern lifestyle we live in the United States. So she journeys to three different intentional communities – places where people have chosen to share land and resources in all kinds of creative ways – and documents her experiences. The result is a fun and engaging crash course in sustainable living, thinking outside of the box, and finding positive solutions in an increasingly challenging world.”
CalEarth, the Superadobe folks who helped build the earthbag domes that comprise the Pegasus Children’s Project near Kathmandu, Nepal have sent out this press release:
Superadobe/Earthbag Orphanage Withstands Nepal Earthquake
Cal-Earth Low-cost Sustainable Earthen Housing Solutions Proved Effective and Safe in Earthquakes
I discovered an interesting website, www.wikimedia.org that posts lots of fun images and information on a multitude of topics and makes it available for use for free. I did a search there on various natural building techniques and the one on cob building netted the image shown below.