Nov 2008

We always wanted to experience a farming lifestyle so when Gouri found a website for volunteering on organic farms we jumped on the opportunity. There seems to be a revolution going on in the rural southwest USA to change the way homes and gardens are built (notions of 'permaculture' and 'energy sustainability'). We got a good dose of of it at Earth Mountain, Colorado (http://www.earthmountainfarm.org/photo_gallery.htm) which is completely off grid: no municipal electricity, gas, or water - they collect rainwater, cook on a wood stove and use solar power to run their computer and a few lights. Living in a tipi was an experience, particularly when the snow and sleet started pouring in through the hole at the top! The place was a bit "rustic" (that's the most polite way of putting it - check out the photos) but their organic carrots were the best I've ever tasted, and the heating system for their compost toilet is an ingenious modification of a solar Trombe wall.

Stacking chopped for the winter was one of the chores we participated in

Outdoor kitchen with its antiquated wood-stove was certainly an experience!

Compost toilet and solar heated outdoor shower - all homemade solutions

We spent four nights in this Teepee - it was certainly very exciting for the boys

Another charming feature - homemade outhouse

Later we went to SolarArk and met Arvo, the self taught engineering genius who built the whole thing (www.solarark.org) over the last 12 years with his own hands using mainly salvaged parts. The home is attached to a passive greenhouse and doesn't require heating or cooling despite the -25 deg F to 100 deg F temperature changes in New Mexico's high desert. He gets water from a well but the power for all modern conveniences (stove, washing machine, fridge, freezer) comes from solar panels, a wind generator and an ingenious biogas system. Why ingenious? Here is an example: when we arrived he was fine tuning the compressor system which turns on when the biogas (from the chicken poop and other refuse) inflates an old tube from a wheelbarrow that pushes a lever to turn on the compressor; when the biogas is pumped to storage the tube deflates and turns off the switch...Another example: he made the fridge from scratch using thick wood and polystyrene insulation that he found lying around. The whole place is sustainable - here is an example cycle: he was cleaning out the thick manure sludge from his biogas tank which we helped put into the earthworm buckets that make compost; the compost and earthworms go onto his outside and inside gardens to give the plants nutrients; Thane, Aidan and me harvested the sunflowers and chard from his outside garden and then we fed the chickens who ate it with glee, and the cycle was complete when the chickens pooped again. The only problem is that Arvo is a bachelor, so although the accommodation was very warm and comfortable, the kitchen was a little below Gouri's hygiene standards so I don't think we're going back anytime soon...

The Earthships (http://www.earthship.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=14), which we visited in Taos, New Mexico, are far more elegant (and expensive) although they require propane to run a stove. Everything else, including water (from rain runoff) is self sustainable and it felt very comfortable exploring the living spaces so low inside the earth. I never felt claustrophobic or anything like that. The idea of using the earth's heat mass is supposed to work in hot climates like Texas too, although I'll be asking Tatus to confirm that separately. Also, the tires and cans used to build the home seem a little over the top which makes Gouri and me think this could be done less expensively using conventional materials... new business opportunity?

Mesa Verde in Colorado is another building technology we saw, built by the Pueblo people 800 years ago near the 4 corners region.

More photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/sdjohannsens