“Monoculture pine forests that have infested the middle level elevations of Himalayan region are depriving the local population of availability of water, fodder and fuel wood.
alternative
Beautiful, affordable architecture from pallet racks
“Freeman Murray cofounded Jaaga, a Bangalore-based company aimed at helping developing countries build core infrastructure from pallet racks — easily-assembled, heavy-duty warehouse shelving components.”
Natural Building in Argentina
Amazing home tour of a permaculture institute in Argentina — one of the biggest hot spots of natural building in the world with over 250 houses. They show an endless stream of innovative ideas such as cob bricks with corn cob insulation. This is a must see for all natural builders.
Crystal Waters Ecovillage
“An introduction to Crystal Waters covering permaculture design, innovative housing design, intentional community living and land restoration. Crystal Waters is situated in rural south east Queensland Australia. Filmed in 2001-2002. This video is the first of several related videos covering Crystal Waters.”
LiveRoof Living Roofs
“LiveRoof® combines the best features of all green roof systems:
• Natural Function/ Natural Beauty of built-in-place systems
• Speed of installation of modules
• Prevegetation of carpet systems
• Plant diversity of 65mm – 150mm of soil.
DIY Superinsulated Vaults
As we reported the other day, Brian Waite’s straw bale vault kit in England is an excellent option. However, many owner-builders might prefer to build their own vaulted home from scratch using locally sourced, low cost materials so as to make any size and shape they want.