Green future is possible! The eco house of Simon Dale WWW.GOODNEWS.WS

Field to Farm Vidéo (streaming) - Notre pain quotidien Des images valent parfois tous les discours. Quand je regarde Notre pain quotidien, ma première réflexion est de penser que cette devise à été écrite pour ce film documentaire. Ici, en effet, pas d’artifices, pas d’effets spéciaux. Pas de musique, non plus, donc pas d’ambiance ou d’effet provoqué, pas de dramatisation. Pas même de commentaires ou de narration ! Des images. Précisément où le consommateur n’a aucune chance de pénétrer. Filmées en plan fixe, les images donnent une impression de distance par rapport au sujet, de froideur presque clinique. Deux thèmes sont abordés par Notre pain quotidien : Le premier et principal de ces thèmes est la production de nourriture telle qu’elle est aujourd’hui massivement effectuée, c’est à dire de manière ultra-intensive, dans le but de réduire les coûts, et de maximiser la production et les profits. Dans une moindre mesure, le film nous montre la place des machines dans cette production alimentaire via l’automatisation à outrance.

Le Village Vertical, une alternative écologique et solidaire face à la crise du logement Et si l’on reprenait en main son habitat ? C’est le pari lancé par le Village Vertical, une coopérative d’habitants située à Villeurbanne, dans la banlieue lyonnaise. Dépassant les conceptions classiques de propriétaire et de locataire, la coopérative invite les habitants à mutualiser leurs ressources pour concevoir, construire et gérer collectivement leurs futurs logements. Un reportage en partenariat avec DIY Manifesto, webdocumentaire présentant des initiatives en France et dans le monde pour répondre à la crise économique. En pleine crise du logement, le co-habitat ou habitat partagé a la côte. Si les formes juridiques du co-habitat sont diverses (co-location, société civile immobilière...), l’habitat en coopérative est désormais encadré en France par la loi ALUR, adoptée en 2014 [1]. Inventer un habitat solidaire et non spéculatif Ce père de famille, moteur du projet, a été rejoint par d’autres aspirants résidents au fil de l’aventure villageoise. Allier écologie et social

Building StrawBale Houses Strawbale houses are cheap, easy to build and can be put up in a relatively short period of time. Strawbale houses are usually made by stacking rows of straw bales with a moisture barrier between the bales and the supporting platform. Building with bales of straw has become very popular and can be seen in many areas of the Southwestern United States. Straw is a renewable building material and is a great insulator from the elements. Strawbale Homes Strawbale Resources: Photo Gallery Pat's First Cob (1998) This was Patrick's first cob project on his own after taking a one week workshop with Cob Cottage Company (CCC) in 1997. He built the foundation and then used beach logs for the frame. CCC then taught a 2 week course, after which Patrick finished the walls and roof. Tracy and Patrick did the plastering. Hilde's Cob (1999) The major construction of this cob was completed in the summer of 1999. Garden Cob (2002) Elke and Patrick built the Garden Cob during an 8 week apprenticeship course. Christina's Cob (2002-2004) There are 3 separate cob projects on this site. Kate's Cob (2003) Kate's cob is our largest cob house project to date. Deaconvale Farm Cob (2005) Tracy and Patrick were the instructors for this intensive 9 week, 9 person apprenticeship program. Lee's Courtyard (2000-2001) This courtyard was 2 separate workshops over 2 summers. Charles' Cob (2001) Charles wanted to use only materials from his site. Blacksmith Shop (2001) Community Garden (2004) - Tracy Calvert

Foraging It’s acorn season in Southern California. I’ve long been interested in acorns, knowing that they were the staple food of the native people who lived here, and I’ve gathered and processed them before. However, once I have the acorn meal, I’ve never known exactly what to do with it. It’s highly nutritious, but I thought (wrongly!) that it was somewhat bland, and all I could do was incorporate acorn meal into baked goods. Pascal and Mia putting out a spread: acorn sliders, acorn and tapioca pudding, red cabbage and red onion slaw with wild juniper berries, chocolate truffles infused with white sage and dusted with dehydrated raspberry powder, plum membrillo and beer hopped with yarrow. Pascal and Mia are high caliber foragers and foodies. It’s rare to find folks who combine deep food know-how with a love of wild foods. I’ve downed a lot of veggie burgers in my time, and I’ve come to think of them mostly as excuse to eat bread and condiments. Continue reading…

Une école 100 % écologique qui apprend aux enfants le développement durable Alors que les équipements scolaires viennent cruellement à manquer en Uruguay et que les déchets s’accumulent, l’association TAGMA a pris en charge la construction d’une école 100% durable. Construite essentiellement à base de déchets et autosuffisante en énergie, elle apprendra aux enfants à mieux recycler et consommer. Depuis janvier, la petite ville de Jaureguiberry s’affaire. Dans ce village uruguayen de 400 habitants, plus de 200 bénévoles venus du monde entier œuvrent à la construction du tout nouvel équipement public : l’ « Escuela Sustentable ». Un équipement public indispensable Cette école d’un nouveau genre répond à deux problèmes majeurs qui touchent l’Uruguay. L’Escuela Sustentable a été conçue pour répondre à ces deux problématiques majeures : l’école, construite à plus de 60% avec des déchets, permet aux enfants des villages avoisinants d’avoir accès la même éducation que dans les grandes villes. Auto-suffisante énergétique et enseignement durable

rainwater harvesting There’s a lot of advice floating around the internets about how to make a rain barrel. Most barrel pundits suggest drilling a hole in the bottom of a barrel and installing a faucet, a kind of connection called a “bulkhead fitting”. Unfortunately such improvised fittings have a tendency to leak. My favorite way to make a rain barrel is to take a 55 gallon drum, use the preexisting fittings on the top and turn it upside down, a process explained nicely here (complete with a list of parts), by B. To get started, you get a ubiquitous 55 gallon drum with two threaded “bung” holes that look like this: A good source for this kind of barrel is your local car wash. Glue that up with some PVC cement, wrap the threads with teflon tape, and you’re almost ready to collect rainwater. The last step is to prop the barrel up on some wood or concrete blocks to give some clearance for your hose connection and some extra elevation for a gravity assist to help push the water through a garden hose.

How to Build Your Own Starter House in Just 5 Steps — for $25,000 — TED Fellows How to Build Your Own Starter House in Just 5 Steps — for $25,000 Wanna ditch the mortgage and live in a modular, open source, ecological house? Introducing the Open Building Institute Eco-Building Toolkit. Picture this: you own a small piece of land. Sound crazy? As they close out a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to take the idea to the next stage of development, Marcin and Catarina give the lowdown on barn-raising, open source style. 1) Create an open source library of modules. Each essential piece of the house is designed to be built individually, then assembled like building blocks, kind of like Lego. 2) Train people to build in this way. Lots of people want to learn how to build their own house — and lots of people would prefer their house to be built for them. 3) Construction pays for itself. What might this look like? 4) Get people out of debt. The ability to grow a house incrementally offers housing security, without the need to go into debt. Sound cozy?

Top 10 Most Influential Cob Builders | This Cob House It’s time to take a look into the world of natural building by looking at some of the most influential cob builders. You might have heard of some of these people before as they’ve demonstrated their craft and expertise in the field. Many of them you might just be hearing about for the first time. 1. www.cobcottage.com Ianto is the director of the North American School of Natural Building and master teacher and builder at the Cob Cottage Company in Coquille, Oregon. Laughing House at the Cob Cottage Company, Coquille, Oregon 2. www.risingearthbuilding.blogspot.com Mike followed through the apprentice program at the Cob Cottage Company in 2008. Chapel Hill, North Carolina 3. www.cobandon.blogspot.com Greg was born and raised in Syracuse, NY, and studied design at Syracuse University. Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute, North Carolina (photo courtesy of ourgreengoodlife.org) 4. Cobgobatron 5. www.naturalbuildingresources.com Cornwall, UK. 6. www.emeraldearth.org 7. 8. 9.