“The Craftsman-style bungalow looks normal on the outside, but the surprise is on the inside: straw bales inside the framing provide super insulation. Natural builder Lydia Doleman designed this 800-square-foot small-footprint house to last centuries, with its metal roof and strong foundation. She used reclaimed lumber and recycled materials extensively. Hot water pipes warm the earthen floors and replace energy-intensive concrete. Day-to-day usage is low impact: composting toilet, vegetative roof and rainwater catchment, LED lighting, and solar hot water.”
permaculture
Natural Building in Argentina
Amazing home tour of a permaculture institute in Argentina — one of the biggest hot spots of natural building in the world with over 250 houses. They show an endless stream of innovative ideas such as cob bricks with corn cob insulation. This is a must see for all natural builders.
Nextworld TV Permaculture Videos
Carroll suggested this list of permaculture videos.
Food not lawns: urban gardens in Eugene, Oregon yards
“Every year, 58 million Americans spend approximately $30 billion to maintain over 23 million acres of lawn, using more pesticides per acre than agriculture. According to Heather Flores, author of Food Not Lawns, the water consumed by U.S. lawns- 270 gallons/week- could support “81 million acres of organic vegetables, all summer long”. Perhaps its time to rethink the American yard. There are increasingly more groups- like Food Not Lawns, Edible Estates, locavores, 100 mile diet- urging homeowners to mow less and plant more.
My Father’s Garden — Documentary
“We are rapidly losing the natural resources and human wisdom that are necessary to grow food.
My Father’s Garden is an engrossing, emotionally charged documentary about the use and misuse of technology on the American farm. In less than fifty years the face of agriculture has been utterly transformed by synthetic chemicals, whose power to control the forces of nature is rivaled only by that of the atom bomb. These chemicals have also changed the farmers who have used them. This film tells the story of two such lives, different in all details, yet united by their common goal of producing good food.
A Farm for the Future
Excellent 5 part documentary. Highly recommended.
“BBC documentary on the precient global farming and food crisis, filmed in the UK.
Featuring Martin Crawford (Agroforestry Research Trust), Fordhall Farm, Richard Heinberg and others.