“Tiny House at the Home Depot in Blue Ridge, Ga.” Note: the main idea here is not to build with wood studs and OSB. Better to use more sustainable materials. The main point is tiny house living (and by extension alternative living in general) has become so popular that even big box stores are joining the movement. In addition, there’s a rapidly growing number of companies that build tiny houses.
sustainable
Steadfast Nepal Earthbag Houses
From Roger, the inventor: “Steadfast Nepal just bought five earthbag machines (mini Earth Home Builders). This will help speed up home building at least 4 X faster / home. These units are not powered by skid steers as they have electric motors and gear boxes. They are light weight and allow the remotest villages to build with use of a power generator. They are called MEHB mini earth home builders and with help of Steadfast they were custom built for needs in Nepal. We hope to get the skid steer unit to Nepal in the future as they are the fastest way to build but of course the poor roads and lack of funds are slowing this down.”
Forest Gardens for Biodiversity
Forest gardens have many benefits, one of which is sequestering carbon from the air and storing it in soil. A large diversity of plants, like found in nature and forest gardens, maximizes the carbon storage process. The image above lists the advantages of storing carbon in the soil.
Earthbag Animal Shelter in Nepal Survived the Earthquakes with No Damage
“Earthbag is an affordable and earthquake safe building method for Nepal, says Animal Nepal. The animal welfare agency was pleasantly surprised when its earthbag/adobe shelter did not sustain a single crack during the earthquakes that hit Nepal in April and May.
Living a Free and Artistic Life in a Magical Gypsy Vardo Style Caravan
“Take a moment to step inside the magical world of Frenchy. A wonderful, artistic young woman who built and lives in her own Gypsy Caravan.” You can read more about this home here: http://www.livingbiginatinyhouse.com/magical-gypsy-caravan/
(lots of details and good photos)
3 Reasons Why We Can Win the Fight Against Poverty
“Half of the world’s poorest people have something in common: they’re small farmers. In this eye-opening talk, activist Andrew Youn shows how his group, One Acre Fund, is helping these farmers lift themselves out of poverty by delivering to them life-sustaining farm services that are already in use all over the world. Enter this talk believing we’ll never be able to solve hunger and extreme poverty, and leave it with a new understanding of the scale of the world’s biggest problems.”