This post is co-written with Trace…
Four years ago, with our good friends Noel and Danielle, we bought 12 acres of land. The land includes an old falling apart house, a shed and a lean-to barn. About a quarter of the land is cleared with rest in young forest. Trails wind through the forest onto adjoining properties, running along the property lines to streams, rock outcroppings and sections of older forest.
We came to this land not to escape or drop out from anything, but to further a desire to connect with what sustains us. Two years ago we moved to the property and began several farming and homesteading projects; growing greens, beans, tomatoes and potatoes; raising chickens, pigs, and turkeys; establishing perennial tree, fruit and herb gardens. We gained inspiration and know how through several neighbors, folks at the eco-industrial facility where we both work and Crop Mob.
Building our home is the next project in our evolution, and we hope to use the skills we have developed in building community in order to create this home – kinda like Community Supported Housing.
Just this past weekend we had about 20 of our friends help us with our homework, taking two and a half roofs off and totally gutting the back addition. This could have taken at least a month to do on our own and was so much more fun to do in the company of friends. We hope this is just the beginning.
We will reconstruct the existing house using natural building methods. This is somewhat like green building but quite a few steps closer to total sustainability. After we gut the house, we will rebuild with lumber and strawbales harvested nearby. From the materials gathered from the existing house we’ll re-use whatever we can – even if it’s just for trim or for some other project on the land. When the strawbale walls are constructed, we will seal the bales inside and out with a plaster mix made of clay, sand and straw.
We’re lucky that the house already faces south. We can take full advantage of the solar gain in the winter. There are also large trees that block a majority of the sun in the summer. This keeps the inside cooler without relying on air conditioning. For heating we will use a wood stove and also incorporate radiant heat in the floor using water pipes hooked up to a solar thermal water heater. In regards to the size of the house, we’re reducing the footprint to 1100 square feet – about two thirds of what currently exists. On the outside, we will eventually have a back patio with an earthen oven and rocket stove for summer baking and canning.
Community is crucial to our success, as it always is. Two good friends with carpentry and natural building skills are helping us along the way. We also plan to hold workshops at key points in the process in order to support people who are interested in learning how to build with earthen and natural materials. A handful of friends and family are providing micro-loans to help with the financial support.
We want to live in a world where food, homes and relationships are healthy and sustainable. We want to live in a world where we can rely on our friends and family for support – not institutions like Walmart and Wachovia. It may seem radical or unconventional, but Trace and I really enjoy the challenges of developing new ways in which to make our lives more fulfilling and our connections to each other and our immediate community deeper and more nourishing. We’re working to make that happen in our professional and personal lives, hoping to set an example for others who want to use and improve on our ideas.
If you’ve ever felt like there is more available than what is conventionally provided, we invite you to join us while we navigate this new, yet familiar, terrain. Seriously, what are you up to this weekend?
Tags: awesome, building, community, crop mob, CSA, friends, home, natural, strawbale, support, sustainable, wowedout
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