From Temperate Climate Permaculture: “If you read my article on building an intentional community, you’ll see that I am strongly recommending bypassing the traditional mortgage path and promoting build-it-yourself, alternative housing. I have shared a few posts on some of the alternative housing options, but I thought it would be fun to give a brief overview of the more common (of the overall uncommon) alternative housing options that are available today.
General
The Cabin Stove – A Small Masonry Heater at Aprovecho Research Center
“The challenge of the design of the Cabin Stove was to come up with something that was very compact but also still resembled and functioned like a masonry heater. The design criteria included heating the small space, an efficient and clean fire, utility for cooking, heating water, combining some quick/immediate-release heat with slower retained radiated heat, relative ease of construction, not too expensive, aesthetically pleasing, and being as compact in size as possible. A very interesting process to try to combine all of these together.”
Cave-digging artist finds inspiration underground
“For the past 25 years, Ra Paulette has been carving out man-made caves from the sandstone hills of New Mexico, and then sculpting these spaces into works of art he calls wilderness shrines. Lee Cowan has the story of an artist who does his best work underground.”
Martin Fisher Social Entrepreneurship
“Throughout Africa, KickStart is lifting thousands of families out of poverty by helping them address their greatest need: finding a way to make more money.
Researcher Improves Ancient Water Treatment Technology
Water Treatment with Biochar from Josh Kearns on Vimeo.
“New research into an ancient water filtration technology may provide those living in isolated, rural communities with low-cost, sustainable water treatment.
Recycled Wood Housing Business
This small construction company is just down the street from us. I’ve driven past it countless times and it suddenly dawned on me to do a blog post about this business. This appears to be the owner’s home. They build small houses similar to this one using a combination of recycled wood, slab wood and wavy edge siding, along with wood poles and curved branches from the forest. These materials create an interesting, natural rustic look that many find appealing.