“This is a living house,” says owner Doug Rellstab of Pinedale, Wyoming. “When you go through, it just seems alive. If you look at all the curves that are built into the window wells and places, it’s got its own feeling to ’em, you know. It’s just not squared off and flat.” Rellstab and his … Read more
Emma and Edo were once a hotel stage show dance team, until they quit to live out their dream of rescuing animals (Emma) and farming (Edo) on the island of Tenerife. They bought cheap land and began to transform the rocky, dusty soil into a lush homestead. In the beginning, it was just the two … Read more
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
The following are excerpts from the book Tiny by Louise Southerden: What does it mean to come home? To have a place of your own that feels safe in all the important ways? That wraps its arms around you when you arrive at the doorstep drenched in the problems of the world? For decades, whenever … Read more
To encourage the use of more environmentally friendly building materials, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a nearly $6.2 million grant to the Nashville-based Hemp Building Institute. They work with entities that develop environmental product declarations and life cycle assessments for biogenic materials, such as those made from hemp, soy and straw bale, which … Read more