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. Episode 247. [theflyinghammer.com]
Natural Buildings for Urban Living – The Tour (part 2)
By Janaia Donaldson, originally published by Peak Moment Television
November 20, 2013
Janaia Donaldson
Janaia Donaldson is the host and producer of Peak Moment TV conversations showcasing grass roots entrepreneurs pioneering locally reliant, resilient communities during these challenging times of energy and resource decline, ecological limits, and economic turbulence. We tour North America in our mobile studio, taping on location. Peak Moment Conversations are online at www.peakmoment.tv/
Tags: Buildings, Cohousing, Housing, strawbale building
Related Articles
What are republics, exactly?
By John P. Ruehl, Resilience.org
The future of republicanism depends on the U.S. shaping its domestic agenda for the common good and using its influence on the global stage in line with democratic principles.
November 15, 2024
Coming of Aging… for Empire
By Vicki Robin, Coming of Aging
Is capitalism aging gracelessly, full of hubris and making trouble for everyone who loves it? Name me an empire that has gone out gracefully.
November 15, 2024
The Bright Sword: Review
By Eliza Daley, By my solitary hearth
What you feel when you finally close this long book is the pointlessness of quests and knights and kings and, well, points… The point is that there is no point. And Grossman, being a wizard, actually makes that feel comforting. Particularly in these times. Because, he whispers, we are the story… We are collapsing… But we will not end.
November 14, 2024