“The sod house or “soddy” was a successor to the log cabin during frontier settlement of Canada and the United States. The prairie lacked standard building materials such as wood or stone; however, sod from thickly-rooted prairie grass was abundant. Prairie grass had a much thicker, tougher root structure than modern landscaping grass.
ecofriendly
Natural Building and Permaculture in Cuba
The recent normalization of relations between the US and Cuba has opened up travel opportunities in Cuba.
Off the Grid – Inside the Movement
“I traveled around America meeting these extraordinary people and writing about their lives. Above all I wanted to find out WHY they live off the grid. This film includes interviews with some of the characters (including author Carolyn Chute) from my book – OFF THE GRID – INSIDE THE MOVEMENT FOR MORE SPACE, LESS GOVERNMENT, AND TRUE INDEPENDENCE IN MODERN AMERICA (Penguin, August 2010).”
Burnt Adobe Homes
“Tucson, in Pima County Arizona, has about 15% of all the burnt adobe homes built in the US from the 1960s through the 80s.
Natural Building in Nicaragua
“This is an overview of the natural building work I am doing in rural Nicaragua, primarily with women and young people. This article shares the conditions, existing infrastructures and materials available, and some of the successes. Nothing has proven to be a failure, though the path has taken some turns! I will follow up with a series of articles deepening the exploration of each of these points.
Nepal Earthbag School Update
“Hi there,
I am thrilled to say that we have raised an incredible $44,339 for our earth bag build project in Nepal. This means that we can start the project in Feb in Nepal. We are confident that we can raise $60,000 for the project in total. It is wonderful to think that 18 months ago, this was just an idea and now it is really happening.