Rooftop gardening is a simple idea that could help billions of people worldwide. It’s actually an ancient idea that’s already common in Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. Rooftop gardens are gaining traction in other places as well. The concept involves growing food on top of flat roofed buildings, primarily in urban areas where growing space is limited and the need for fresh food is greatest. France has just signed into law that all new commercial buildings incorporate green roofs.
sustainable
Natural Building Workshops at Bottom Leaf Intentional Community
“Hello Owen, we’ve listed some more natural building workshops at Bottom Leaf Intentional Community. Next will be a bottle wall then an earth plastering workshop. Our last in this series will be building an earthen floor but we haven’t listed that one yet.
Burdei Homes
“The first order of business for any pioneer family was to make sure that they had shelter. In the Ukraine, some of the very first houses were simple huts that were made from sod and logs. The name for this structure was “burdei.”
Grassroots Movement Building Earthbag Schools in Nepal
In collaboration with Good Earth Nepal.org and donations from the Schoeck Family Foundation, we’ve been touring earthbag projects near Kathmandu. We’ve seen numerous earthbag schools in our travels, but haven’t noticed any new conventionally built RCC/brick schools.
Live from Nepal: Tour Update #1
As most readers have already heard, I am touring earthbag projects near Kathmandu in collaboration with Good Earth Nepal.org (winner of NEA design award). Every day is exciting, informative and productive even though there are many challenges traveling in rural areas on heavily damaged mountain roads. For instance, the “main road” to China, which one would think is a major trade route, in some places looks like a bulldozer simply cleared aside a crude path on top of millions of tons of rocks. And that is in fact what it is!
Curtis Stone: Passive Solar Greenhouse
Curtis Stone, The Urban Farmer, explains how he built his cold climate greenhouse in Canada. As usual for The Urban Farmer, the video is packed with interesting details. Note his comments on how he saved $10,000 by avoiding the common trap of overengineering. Curtis Stone’s videos and book explain how to make $100,000 farming ½ acre you don’t own.