The walls in Gregory Ferembach’s public housing building are lined with one of nature’s best insulation materials: hemp. “We’re never cold in winter,” Ferembach said in French. “The kids walk around barefoot all the time, or even in their underwear.” It helps that their apartment is on a middle floor, and their building is sandwiched … Read more
Building with adobe — a material created by mixing clay-rich soil with straw, sand, and other organic materials — has been in use since 8300 BC. It is popular in arid and semiarid places where wood is scarce. The word “Adobe” derives from the Arabic “al ṭūb” meaning “the bricks.” Adobe buildings are low energy, … Read more
Mother Earth News published a nice article written by Joe Silins about his journey as a natural builder and building his small straw bale guest house. The first paragraph reads: “Building my own straw bale guest house was the culmination of one journey and the beginning of another. After graduating from college in 2005 with … Read more
Spartan Giordano was 28 years old when he designed and started building a zero fossil fuel energy home In Greenfield, Massachusetts. Two years later he and his partner Hannah got the occupancy permit on the very day their son, Max, was born. Nine years later Hannah and Spartan have a 2½-year-old daughter and Spartan has … Read more
Ladakhi engineer, educator and innovator, Sonam Wangchuk has developed the prototype of a unique solar-heated tent for Indian Army soldiers stationed in the cold and high-altitude climes of Ladakh. Besides offering more space than the container cabins the Indian Army uses for its soldiers, this structure requires no kerosene for heating and thus emits zero … Read more
This 32 ft traditional canvas yurt is a beautiful one-of-a-kind 4-season yurt inspired by nature. It has been modified for the West Coast climate by adding a shingled roof, wooden siding, and extra insulation. From the outside, it looks like a round cabin but the interior still looks exactly like a yurt with canvas covers, … Read more