Garden Instead of Lawn

          This is a wonderful idea to have instead of a lawn. Imagine growing all the food you could want in your front and back yard instead of having a lawn you have to mow. This will also help cut down on your grocery bills!

          Gardening really is not as hard as some like to think it is. As long as you read about the amount of light and right about of water plants will grow. So think about replacing your yard with a raised box garden like this! Plus your vegetables will be market fresh and YOU will decide what goes into growing them. This can help allow families who want to eat more organic foods afford to do so. Plus you are adding more green to the world... which will help the planet!

          The important thing about doing this for the Community would be that it helps even more for us to increase the amount of foods we grow ourselves. This will reduce the costs to the community, it will reduce the costs of farming, transportation costs from purchased foods and all of this will help decrease green house emissions resulting from these.

Heating Ideas

          I have been talking with my friend Crisy how is a civil engineer. She suggested a few ideas on heat that are really great ideas and will change some of the design ideas I have for the Super-adobe structures.

          The first is instead of the fireplace being on the outside of each dome have one central mutli-opening fireplace. The fireplace could be a central adobe tube which the three larges domes butt up too. This would allow for each dome to have an opening on the fireplace while the heat from the fire pit and chimney radiate into the structure of the Super-adobe speeding the heating process and allowing for a much more even ambient heat. Of course this then REALLY gives the nice effect of seeing fire from any major room.

         The other idea was to have a mini green  house off each of the kitchens on the southern side. This was in effect work as a natural solar heater as well. The glass of the green house would amplify the light coming through which will heat the surrounding air and stone. That in turn will radiate out through the house. So not only do you get the added heat but you also gain a great source of natural light while having a place to grow plants and herbs.

(images created by me on Note 2)

Calearth Workshops

          So I am going to start looking into the Calearth workshops for next year. The week long session is the one I would like to take. I think that would give me a good grounding in building the Superadobe style. The week long session is $1,600:

Upcoming Workshop Dates:
2012-2013
Workshop Dates:

Four Day Workshops
December 5-8, 2013
February 20-23, 2013
July 10-13, 2013

One Week Workshops
November 5-10, 2012
March 18-23, 2013
April 20-27, 2013
May 20-25, 2013
June 17-22, 2013

They have camping on-site as well as the emergency shelters they have build for those that want to stay. I think I might just stay on-site so I would not have to worry about a hotel, rental car and that extra cost. Though I might just want that as well. Will have to look into the weather during whichever time I could go.

Here is the schedule of classes being taught:

Topics Covered:

• The principle of the arch
• Superadobe basics
• Soils practicum and discussion
• Super-adobe with stabilized earth
• Plaster workshop with stabilized earth
• Learning to read blueprints, elements of design, placing windows and doors
• Contrasting domes with vaults, vaulted roofing system, dome geometry
• Site planning, orientation, simple solar passive strategies
• Compass theory and application
• Waterproofing, foundations
• Ceramics discussion and Introduction
• Building with brick

Land... what a chore!

          So I have started the chore of looking for land again. There are far more options than I dreamed possible. There are tons of options in the surrounding counties just in the state of Arkansas. I have also started looking in northeast Oklahoma and in southwest Missouri. All these areas would be about 30-60 minute drive from my work.

          I know there needs to be farm land (food and animals), there needs to be flat land for homes as well, there needs to be year round running water, and most important for the immediate future is access to city water and electricity. So a hunting we will go! I would ideally like 150+ acres.

          More updates as I go along.

Note to self: wording... all about wording

          So I have started asking questions on subjects I know are going to be touchy with most people. WOW I was so totally not prepared for the blasting and responses I have received at ASKING a question. What I am finding though through all the YOU SHOULDN'Ts and the HOW DARE YOU's is this: when working on the Community Covenants the wording will be extremely important. Perhaps more important than anything else centered around the community.

          It is strange to me how people revert childhood states of rebellion even at the mention of words such as 'required'. I wonder if it strikes a cord from their past when they were told they 'had' to do something. Either way I will have to strive to be extremely creative with wording things when it comes to the documentation of the Community.

My Little Homestead

Here is one of the families I have found so inspirational when doing my research on building in the superadobe or earthbag construction method. They are on Youtube.com under the user name mylittlehomestead.

There are many techniques they use in their more tradition styled home that can and will apply to the construction of this community. They also have their own site at www.mylittlehomestead.com

They have used things use as the radiant flooring in their earth-crete floors. This is run off a recycled motor home hot water heat system and a propane tank, much like one used on a grill. A very good resource for those really seeking to live a more earth friendly and sustainable life style.

Wind Power Generation

Sail-inspired wind turbine doubles efficiency without blades

          I am all about tech helping us live better and reducing our foot print on the environment. This is one of those techs that could really be a game changing in the field of renewable resources that also reduces the damage and danger to nature and wild life. You will find I will be post a lot more of this kind thing as I find them. Check it out!

New wind power!!! This is awesome!

Wind power is a source here in the Midwest that should be harnessed whenever possible since there is typically a great deal of wind. This new technology could seriously pave the way for making communities like this one becoming even more sustainable and helping them be able to put power onto the grid.

That is where I would like to see this community, lowering power usage through energy efficient technology and generating an over abundance of sustainable energy which can then be sent back onto the grid.