Stories like this give me so much hope that they’re starting to change my life. The ‘Water Man of India’ reminds me of the Miracle Water Village that we posted about last year and some other related ideas about Restoring Degraded Land. In every case, the ideas are very simple and yet surprisingly effective. Rajendra Singh rediscovered the ancient practice of building check dams to restore the aquifer. This simple method is turning wastelands into productive farmland and enabling rivers that were dry for decades to flow once again. The Guardian named him among its list of “50 people who could save the planet”.
General
Earthen Yurt
“This earthen yurt was built as part of the ‘sustainable shelter series’ at Aprovecho. The yurt is made from site harvested bamboo lashed together using recycled bailing twine. It features a reciprocal roof, meaning that every beam is supported by all the beams in front, and in turn supports all behind it. (A fantastic analogy for community!)
How to Build a House with a Single Bag of Cement
“Sukalatti was built using the same amount of energy required to produce 50 bags of cement at the factory. Without the nylon shade net, producing a single bag of cement would consume more energy than the entire house.”
Tractor Cob
“Many of you might be wondering “Why would I want to mix cob with a tractor?” There are other good methods of mixing cob with your feet, using a tarp, or in a pit that don’t require the burning of fossil fuels. This is true, and any method of mixing cob without heavy machinery is going to be the purest form of cob mixing with the lowest amount of embodied energy.
Bioconstruction – Hay and mud rolls technique
This is very interesting. This natural building method is about 10-20 times faster than building with cob even though it is quite similar.
“Hay and mud rolls to build a wall. natural construction technique created by Elizandro in Samaipata.”
Simple, Natural Solutions to Malaria
Global Resource Alliance
From the Mara Soil – a Film About Simple and Natural Solutions to Poverty, Hunger and Disease