We publish the House Alive! Newsletter about six times a year. With its to-the-point articles and updates on natural building techniques, appropriate technology and design, it is a great way to keep Natural building on the front burner!
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Posted by James Thomson on November 16, 2009 –
During a week in October, a group of about 80 natural builders came together for the annual “Natural Building Colloquium” in Southern Oregon. These events began about 15 years ago, as a way to bring members of the fledgling natural building movement together to share stories and techniques, meet and get inspired. The movement has grown since then, but the colloquiums continue to be an important annual (or biennial) meeting for builders to come together and share their work.
This year’s event drew people from all over North America, including Ontario, Vermont, Mexico, New Mexico, and of course the Pacific Northwest. People shared pictures of their work and shared new techniques, as well as discussed the challenges facing the both movement and the world. Read More »
Posted by Coenraad Rogmans on October 5, 2009 –
A few weeks ago we went to visit friends who run a children’s camp on the shores of Lake Tahoe, CA, to relax and spend some time on the lake. In order to get there we had to drive through Reno, Nevada. Approaching Reno from the north, a significant building caught my eye. Because I was driving, I could not really take my eyes of the road in order to give it a closer look, but I did catch a few design features of the building.
It was very large, perhaps 2 acres, and stood in the middle of nowhere. There was no clear entrance or front door, nor were there lit up names or giant vinyl posters, indicating whose building this was. It appeared to be no more than 2 stories tall. All around the building were black, reflective windows, about 2 feet high and 4 feet long. This would be a reasonable size windows for a regular house, but they were tiny for this huge building. I also suspect that they were non-openable windows. On a previous trip to visit the same friends, I saw a similar building outside of Carson City, Nevada. My friend told me that it was a hospital. Read More »
Posted by James Thomson on July 26, 2009 –
Recently I had the good fortune to visit a small island off the coast of El Salvador. The island, called “Isle de Meangueara”, can only be reached by taking a small lancha (boat) from the port town of La Union on the mainland. Everything the island uses arrives like this: food, drinking water, clothes, building materials. This is not surprising for islands, but what is surprising is the lengths they must go through to get these essential supplies.
There is no dock in La Union. The lanchas float in the shallow bay, and to get to them you must take off your shoes and wade out. All the supplies must be brought out this way, too. As I sat in the lancha waiting to leave, I observed a dozen men bringing out boxes and sacks on their shoulders full of supplies. They each made several trips, carrying heavy loads. Read More »