As Haitians continue building with alternative materials, straw wattle projects near Gonaives received international recognition with an Energy Globe award this year! At the award ceremony in New York City Patti Stouter met Carline Seide-Murphy, three-time winner of the award for Haiti. Her projects dealt with the plastic trash problems and providing solar power to clean water.
natural materials
Return to the Forest Natural Building School
“The Natural Building School was founded in 2008 and has been hosting a variety of popular courses on Natural Building, Permaculture, and Appropriate Technologies. Return to the Forest strives to educate the world on sustainable building practices to complement the global movement in ecological living.
Building The Roundwood Spiral Staircase
“At last, I’m here to report that April and I accomplished building the round wood spiral staircase. Over the course of five days, literally up to the day before we left Dancing Rabbit, we installed the risers and treads. [Shock! They’re selling their home and moving to Berea, KY.]
Thompson Indian Tribal Pithouse
“Computer model data from NATIVE AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE, by Peter Nabokov and Robert Easton, Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York, 1989.”
Wigwam Construction
“Chogan and his family needed a structure that could support the heavy snow and also provide shelter from the harsh northern winters. The dome shape of the wigwam has natural strength, and any snow that accumulated on the wigwam roof provided additional insulation from the cold.
Making Better Buildings
“From foundation to finish, a wealth of information is available on sustainable construction methods – entire volumes have been published on individual green and natural building techniques. But with so many different ideas to choose from, there is no single resource that allows an owner or builder to quickly and objectively compare the merits of each system for their particular project.