Thanks to the hard work of Zafra Miriam, Cato Arce and Gonzalo De la Isla Arias the Spanish version of my Earthbag Building Guide is now available for $10.
natural building
Wisconsin Round Barns List
The name pretty much says it all. Lots of readers are interested in building roundhouses, and so when a reader sent me this website I just had to post it here for all to see. (Thanks, Richard.) There are around 100 round barns on the list, and they’re a good source of inspiration. Look closely for details.
Life on a Self Sufficient Farm
“This is a photo video of my life on a self sufficient farm in northern Kentucky. We cook on a wood cookstove, and live without most of the modern “toys” that almost everybody has.”
Cottage Industry Appropriate Technology
This blog post lists numerous low cost appropriate tech devices that can be made at the cottage industry scale and sold for profit. As the economy continues to erode, a lot of readers are looking for ways to make extra money. The following list has some ideas to get you thinking. There are many appropriate technology devices, and many different ways to make them. A complete list would fill a book (see Field Guide to Appropriate Technology), so use this blog post as a springboard to discover additional items. Search YouTube for instructional videos.
Straw Bale Roundhouses Built in One Day
A kindred spirit sent me a memorable letter about 10 years ago. They had read about the strawbale roundhouse I helped build with the Lakota Sioux in South Dakota. (I recently found out the roundhouse later got destroyed in a flood.)
Earthbag Building in Vanautu
From Liz: “The Ernas Women’s Centre is a group of 66 displaced women from all over Vanuatu who have settled in the Erakor peninsula. They have no jobs to pay their children’s school fees so they sell food by the road side. They have a business co op that supports them in earning, saving and getting micro finance loans.