“A film crew from New York City came out and spent two full days with us taking footage that was eventually edited into this episode. Here you can see the wood-fired barrel oven in action and learn more about how it is made and how it works. We were especially happy that they picked up on the value of showing our gardens and the process of harvesting the food, preparing it, and then cooking it in the barrel oven.”
natural building
Rocket Stove Mass Heaters
We’ve briefly mentioned rocket stove mass heaters before. Here’s an excellent site that compiles a lot of free info about them and has free plans. (Detailed drawings are for sale, but anyone should be able to figure out the process by looking at the illustrations, reading the text and watching the videos.)
“Rocket mass heaters in a nutshell:
– heat your home with 80% to 90% less wood
– exhaust is nearly pure steam and CO2 (a little smoke at the beginning)
– the heat from one fire can last for days
– you can build one in a day and half
– folks have built them spending less than $20
Evaporative Refrigerator no electric bill
“This is my powerless Fridge design that can bring temps from 96deg down to 64deg.”
Straw Bale Mud House Weekend
“Friends and guests from all over the world came to our land in late January to help us build a natural straw bale and mud house for Tit Yai, an Issan man who is partially paralyzed. We were fortunate to have teachers from baandin.org and Michel Spann from Holland along with children and teachers from the Sri Sangwan Khon Kaen School for children with disabilities and many local Issan people help us make the house.”
Peter Cowman – The Shelter Maker
“The structures that Cowman helps build are an extension of the humans who he helps to build them. As he says, each of us have boundaries, just like houses. But beyond the physical self, a home should also reflect the intuitions and dreams of its occupants: Cowman calls this invisible architecture. The design process, it is stressed, begins the moment we imagine our ideal; in other words, when we dream. Homes, he says, quoting Jung, are an extension of oneself and one’s desires. But in order to dream effectively, we must first get in touch with our own lives.