green building

Remote Rural Land

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Out of the way, abandoned homesteads in remote areas may be available at very low cost.
Out of the way, abandoned homesteads in remote areas may be available at very low cost.

Many of our readers long for building a home on their own land, but the high cost of land often makes the dream impossible. One option is to seek out remote rural land. This is not workable for everybody, that’s for sure. The conditions can be harsh, and I’m not going to give anyone the impression that this route will be easy. I’m just saying its one option to look into if you’re serious about going off-grid. There are remote places in NM, for instance, (and other western states) where land is very inexpensive. You might be able to buy a small lot for $2,000-$5,000.

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Extracting Water from Air

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The AirDrop irrigation system extracts moisture from the air.
The AirDrop irrigation system extracts moisture from the air.

Developing efficient methods for extracting moisture from the air (condensing atmospheric humidity) has long been a goal of scientists and engineers. The AirDrop irrigation system by Edward Linnacre is one of the more recent inventions for extracting water from the surrounding air.

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Bamboo/Earthbag School in Mozambique

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Bamboo and earthbag school by Bergen School of Architecture
Bamboo and earthbag school by Bergen School of Architecture

“19 architect students, 5 weeks in Southern Africa, a school building in 12 days

Students from the Bergen School of Architecture in Norway have built a school building in a Mozambique village using sand bags, bottles and grass. The building consists of an enclosed room for computers and a more flexible space with grass doors for English lessons, divided by a large sliding door. A reinforced-concrete frame was filled in with sand bags and glass bottles were embedded in one wall.”

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Create a Mini Oasis in Your Backyard

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Outdoor living space is a key part of any backyard oasis
Outdoor living space is a key part of any backyard oasis

While we’re imagining Constructed Wetlands (yesterday’s blog post), let’s consider how to build a mini-oasis around our homes. What features would you include?

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