“A video survey of urban agriculture and community gardening in Atlanta. This story was featured on “This is Atlanta with Alicia Steele,” a Telly Award-winning and Emmy-nominated magazine show on PBA, Atlanta’s PBS Station. View more from “This is Atlanta” at http://www.pba.org/atlanta.”
natural building
Natural Building Options for Tiny Trailer Homes
Question: What are some good natural material options for tiny trailer homes?
Owen: Good options include cellulose or wool insulation (especially in the roof), straw/clay wall insulation with wood siding or paneling on both sides. Exterior grade vertical groove plywood siding is a popular choice (T-111). On top of this you could add trim boards to create a more pleasing batt and board appearance.
No Lava Rock/Scoria Available in Alaska
From Angela, a reader in Alaska: “I just wanted to add some updated info. I have been searching high and low for scoria. Alaska doesn’t have readily available sources. I have contacted a long list of people and while we can find the volcanoes and a scoria pit even, there’s no way to get it to the general public. Which really frustrates me because I’m been hot on the trail for a long time trying to build an earthbag home for us. If anybody gets any bit of updated info, please share.”
An Overview of Alternative Housing Designs: Part 1
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.
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.”
Localized Food for Sustainable Communities
“People like you want fresh, local food, so we are building the ultimate high performance sustainability hubs, starting in Pocatello, Idaho. Powered by the people, we give straight back to make strong self-reliant, communities. With your help we are laying the foundation for a sustainable future around the world.