Eco/Self Sufficient Living

It has always been a dream of mine to have a place that provides it’s own energy needs. Back at home, electricity just gets more and more expensive, while the generation systems are pushed more and more to provide the increasing demands.
It’s more a direction of independence and self sufficiency that impresses me, not necessarily the economics of it all, although the way prices are going, I am sure it wont be long before self power generation becomes an economic decision for some people.

The sort of thing I am talking about is Wind turbines and Solar for electricity generation, ‘smart’ house design that makes use of natural heating and ventilation and other concepts such as ground heat exchangers, Natural building materials, onsite water treatment etc.

It used to be ‘hippy’ types that were into this sort of stuff, but I firmly believe that we are on the brink of a mainstream explosion into eco/self sufficient living. Technology advances are only going to make it easier such as the increased acceptance of low wattage 12v Halogen lighting in new homes and industry, more efficient appliances, etc.

I’ve got a few interesting links, but I’ll see if this discussion gets going first.

What Eco/Self sufficient ideas have you guys seen or thought of?

Rocky Mountain Institute provides some interesting ideas. There has been a lot of work done recently on off-the-grid living. I remember reading about an energy efficient place in Bangkok, designed specifically for a hot climate. Simple things like large overhanging eaves to cut heating due to direct sun, insulation, and air corridors between windows on opposite walls to cool the building using air currents. Simple, thoughtful design, and existing technologies can do a lot.

As a child I was taken several times to the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, Wales. At that time it was a fairly hippyish place, but shortly afterwards they did a lot to “smarten up” the image. They were no doubt thinking of the “mainstream explosion into eco/self sufficient living” that you mentioned.

It’s a great place, anyway, and there’s a useful website associated with it:
cat.org.uk

I just hope the price of oil keeps getting higher and higher. 175 per barrel would be great! Once this happens we’ll see more and more clean energy being used.

[quote=“Jaboney”]Rocky Mountain Institute provides some interesting ideas. There has been a lot of work done recently on off-the-grid living. I remember reading about an energy efficient place in Bangkok, designed specifically for a hot climate. Simple things like large overhanging eaves to cut heating due to direct sun, insulation, and air corridors between windows on opposite walls to cool the building using air currents. Simple, thoughtful design, and existing technologies can do a lot.[/quote]Rooftop gardens are another good one. They keep the place warm in winter and cool in summer. Apparently some city planners in Japan are doing this.

Straw bale houses are pretty cool (in the summer) and warm in the winter and sound proof and have a great esthetic feel to them. My bro built a couple of them for clients in the Puget Sound area (he’s a contractor and also built his own eco-friendly home up there). I’ll post some pics of his projects later. For now, here’s a few straw bale houses.

And, here’s an excellent series of photos showing the construction process:
udayton.edu/~physics/rjb/Str … awbale.htm

As you can see, they also incorporate some of the other things you referred to.

Straw bale houses are pretty cool (in the summer) and warm in the winter and sound proof and have a great esthetic feel to them. My bro built a couple of them for clients in the Puget Sound area (he’s a contractor and also built his own eco-friendly home up there). I’ll post some pics of his projects later. For now, here’s a few straw bale houses…[/quote]

Ironman built one of his houses like that.

What I would like to see developed on a large scale is the production of methane from the fecal matter of both humans and farm animals.

I saw a couple small ones in operation on two large pig farms and all you need is a concrete pit, a large agitator to stir the shit, a compressor and pressure-tight fittings. Think of all the shit that is passed (literally) by the millions of people and pigs in Taiwan and think of all the methane that could be gathered.

Furthermore, methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas and by trapping and burning it --it burns quite cleanly–we’d be helping the env. on two fronts.

This isn’t the place I was thinking of–this one looks much higher-end–but it’s interesting nonetheless, and the site has a number of interesting articles under “environment”.

I was born in a mudbrick house with solar electricity. The house was cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The panels were on the roof and powered the lights. We didn’t have high electricity needs - old style wood cooker, no TV etc. Water came from the dam. We did have a phoneline tho, so the house did have some amenities from outside.

My parents raised animals and grew vegies for food, although they did buy some too.

But they broke up after ten years and now live cushy city-style lives. They said it was pretty tough trying to do the self sufficiency thing.

The house that my mother moved into with her second husband was nominally solar passive, but was really really crazy and horrid to live in. There were some really innovative ideas behind the planning of the place, but much of it was poorly put together. As an example: the water was stored under the house, in these huge tanks. The reasoning was that it would help to stabilise the house temperature. But the tanks were made of black plastic lining, which meant that after ten years they started to crack. They couldn’t be cleaned, and the water was full of nasties (we had it tested). And the concrete slab that hte house was on was not strong enough to have any really construction on top - the house was made of glass and asbestos sheeting.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that you’ve got to be really really careful about who you go to for advice in the alternative living circles. Some of it is a lot more idealism than practicality.

Having said that, I want to retire in as eco as possible mudbrick house in Tasmania.

wow thanks for all the links so far. Ya know, after having visited Thailand probably a dozen times, it have never struck me as the kind of place the is very environmentally friendly…but that link shows there are some fairly decent projects going on.

Here is a collection of links I have put together as I have come across ideas I like (not all are eco type ideas):

I think I will start adding your links to that collection.

Interestingly, yesterday after starting this thread I read that the annual ‘House of the year’ Award in NZ this year was won by an ECO house.

nzherald.co.nz/section/8/sto … d=10395251

Straw bale houses are pretty cool (in the summer) and warm in the winter and sound proof and have a great esthetic feel to them. My bro built a couple of them for clients in the Puget Sound area (he’s a contractor and also built his own eco-friendly home up there). I’ll post some pics of his projects later. For now, here’s a few straw bale houses.[/quote]

I really like the rounded feel of the house. It looks very comfortable to live in, very homey… Is it expensive to construct at all?

Straw bale houses are pretty cool (in the summer) and warm in the winter and sound proof and have a great esthetic feel to them. My bro built a couple of them for clients in the Puget Sound area (he’s a contractor and also built his own eco-friendly home up there). I’ll post some pics of his projects later. For now, here’s a few straw bale houses.[/quote]

I really like the rounded feel of the house. It looks very comfortable to live in, very homey… Is it expensive to construct at all?[/quote]

That’s the problem. I believe they’re more expensive than conventional houses because very few builders have experience with them so they don’t go up as quickly/smoothly as conventional houses. It’s likely to be something of an interesting learning experience for the builders, with lots of friends, family and community members dropping by to share in the experience, which may be nice, but the workers who are paid hourly to build the thing are likely to learn to a certain extent on the job. But you’re right: the thick, rounded walls are very pleasing.

I’d like to get some land and master the art of “natural farming” (developed by [Masanobu Fukuoka (link to Wikipedia)].)

Wellwater or rain harvasting to could be source of drink.

I wouldn’t even mind raising some animals myself (to eat) if I decide to keep being a meat eater.

I haven’t thought much about home design. I figure having/building the house in the right place (and right design) along with some solar panels would be good enough. By right place I mean the temperature would be fairly self regulating.

I’d probably also cut back from 3 computers to 1 (eco friendly one :slight_smile:.)

[quote=“miltownkid”]I’d like to get some land and master the art of “natural farming” (developed by [Masanobu Fukuoka (link to Wikipedia)].)

Wellwater or rain harvasting to could be source of drink.

I wouldn’t even mind raising some animals myself (to eat) if I decide to keep being a meat eater.

I haven’t thought much about home design. I figure having/building the house in the right place (and right design) along with some solar panels would be good enough. By right place I mean the temperature would be fairly self regulating.

I’d probably also cut back from 3 computers to 1 (eco friendly one :slight_smile:.)[/quote]
Another interesting link, cheers.

Well, we have the land already, 12 acres, so this interests me a fair bit.

I reckon if it is possible to get set up without a massive mortgage, then the attitude would be to devote more time to ‘making a living’ - literally, setting up and maintaining systems that provide or at least contribute to the families needs to survive.

That way, the priorities as to what work is all about then changes. Instead of working 40hrs + a week for pure financial purposes, that ‘need’ can be cut back significantly, and the balance of the labor resource can be put into ‘making a living’ at home.

Many people think this is crazy and idealistic, but I think raising a family in an environment where they are exposed to a more practical means of survival, living and education would be really beneficial long term. Besides that, personal sustainability during a local or global crisis (such as unemployment, depression/financial crash, endemic, war) is more viable.

Just some ideas anyway.

Where’s your land? What’s the climate? How many people are you looking to house?

NZ. Climate can be fresh at times during winter, but generally above zero degrees Celcius all year round. During summer it gets into the 30s on occasion.
Low Humidity, but pretty windy. Wet during winter.

How many people? Not sure. At least 2 anyway :sunglasses:

But anyway, this is more a general discussion as I know there are better climates than NZ for self sufficient living (i.e. places that don’t require heating in the winter)

[quote=“Truant”]I reckon if it is possible to get set up without a massive mortgage, then the attitude would be to devote more time to ‘making a living’ - literally, setting up and maintaining systems that provide or at least contribute to the families needs to survive.

That way, the priorities as to what work is all about then changes. Instead of working 40hrs + a week for pure financial purposes, that ‘need’ can be cut back significantly, and the balance of the labor resource can be put into ‘making a living’ at home.

Many people think this is crazy and idealistic, but I think raising a family in an environment where they are exposed to a more practical means of survival, living and education would be really beneficial long term. Besides that, personal sustainability during a local or global crisis (such as unemployment, depression/financial crash, endemic, war) is more viable.

Just some ideas anyway.[/quote]
That’s exactly what I’m thinking. I think it’s very possible (know it is actually.)

Interesting link this one off-grid.net/index.php

“Eco-pimp my ride” :sunglasses:

In May-June 2006 Utne there was an article titled “Off the Grid: Magazines About Permaculture and self-reliance”

Check the link to see them all, but this one struck as sounding pretty cool:

Published since 1979, Living Free, a zine devoted to self-sufficiency and privacy, has covered topics ranging from cabin design and electricity generation to counterterrorism legislation. The January 2006 issue contains material on arboriculture, free state projects, and how to learn about uninhabited islands (if not move to one of them). $12/yr. (6 issues) from Jim Stumm, Box 29-UT, Hiler Branch, Buffalo, NY 14223.

This site listed in the article also look very promising: freecycle.org/

utne.com/pub/2006_135/promo/12080-1.html

Have a look generally at “The New Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency” by John Seymour. He wrote an awful lot on a broad range of topics focusing on traditional living - maybe forty plus books over his lifetime. He passed away a while back but there is still a website with info and such though I cannot remember how helpful it is.

Have a look for the River Cottage tv series - website is here Entertaining and perhaps motivating.

Pick up a subscription to The Ecologist and browse its online archives for interesting articles and such. The classifieds in the back of the magazine have lots of eco-friendly products and businesses listed as well (though mostly UK based.)