“In our world of ever evolving technology where we have access to an infinite amount of information through cell phones that can become out of date in six months, we sometime we take for granted the basics. It is easy to forget that more than one third (37%)(WHO 2012) of the global population does not have access to adequate sanitation. Sanitation is considered the greatest medical advancement attributed to almost doubling life expectancy (BMJ 2007). It is estimated that access to adequate sanitation can reduce infant mortality (Spears 2012) to reduce the 750,000 childhood deaths annually attributed to lack of sanitation(Li Lui et al 2010).
sustainable
Rina Swentzell’s Adobe House
Yesterday’s blog post showed an adobe home photographed by Bill Steen, one of the prominent straw bale building pioneers (co-author of The Straw Bale House). I thought readers might enjoy learning more about this beautiful home in New Mexico. Kent Griswold’s Tiny House Blog does a good job of covering the story.
Building Earthen Homes Using the Original DIY Material
“Dirt is the original DIY material. In cultures all over the world, people have used earth to fashion everything from bowls to buildings. We know this because so many earthen homes are still around, including buildings hundreds and even thousands of years old. In recent decades, interest in earth construction has risen. What follows are some of the pros and cons of the different types of earthen building, including adobe, cob, compressed earth blocks and clay-slip straw, and some practical tips on things you may want to try as well as those you’ll want to avoid.
Most Woodburning Stoves Will Soon Be Illegal
“When you think of that little dream homestead in the woods, what does it include? Probably a well and septic system, a little stream bubbling nearby, a chicken coop, a sunroom for winter growing, and a cozy fire to curl up next to.
LiveRoof Living Roofs
“LiveRoof® combines the best features of all green roof systems:
• Natural Function/ Natural Beauty of built-in-place systems
• Speed of installation of modules
• Prevegetation of carpet systems
• Plant diversity of 65mm – 150mm of soil.
Natural Design/Build Materials & Methods
“Round Timberframing. Harvesting trees from the site where we are building and using the trees as round structural members is ideal. Certainly this is time and labor intensive, although structurally, round timbers outperform milled timbers of the same dimension. This is because of the natural spiral form of the tree grain which is lost when the tree is milled. This spiral form is what allows tree branches of large girth to hang horizontally to limits that seem unbelievable.