© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adventure, alternative, biotecture, buy nothing, earthships, ecotourism, energy-efficient, environment, featured posts, green building, lumber, New Mexico, outdoors, sustainable, Taos, travel, video, vigas, volunteer, voluntourism

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On Monday, I started my month-long internship at Earthship Biotecture. Earthships are self-sufficient houses that use recycled materials in their construction, and that are equipped with systems for rainwater catchment, solar and wind power, water reuse, waste control, and food production. What does that mean? It means that once you build an Earthship, you never have to pay an electricity or water bill again. Ever.

Don’t believe me? Good, because I can’t explain it all in a single blog entry. Go read the Earthship website instead, and then watch Garbage Warrior.

I’ve been working on site at the visitor’s center, which was constructed in the 90s as a demonstration building. That’s the entrance in the first photo. Earthships don’t look like much on the outside, but on the inside they’re really lovely.

 
The main room is filled with posters & diagrams of the various Earthship models and systems, plus a demonstration video and press books.

Yes, the TV runs off solar power collected from the roof panels. There are computers running in here too, and an extension cord stretching over to the building site, where it powers all the tools. With enough panels, you can have as much power as you like, even in cloudy areas.

What’s great about this design, however, is how little energy is really being used. Natural light makes it so you don’t need lightbulbs in the daytime, and even in extreme weather the building maintains an even temperature through passive solar heat and thermal mass. Today was cold and windy outdoors, but totally comfortable inside.

Bottle walls are one of the coolest features of Earthship design. They’re literally trash stuck in mud, but they create this beautiful stained-glass effect. That’s the bathroom door, and in front of it is a demonstration water cistern.

Less glamorous but much more important is the Power Organizing Module, which processes all the incoming power and sends it out as DC or AC. Normally this wall would be plastered, but the tires and cans were left exposed so visitors can see the construction technique.

All Earthships have indoor greenhouse areas, which are used for growing flowers and food. The food production techniques are still being perfected, but the ultimate goal is to make it so that you don’t need to buy groceries. It’s pretty amazing to look out over this healthy garden and see how dry and desolate the outside world is.

By the way: look at that window again. See the wooden arch at the far left? That’s part of the new construction.

This structure, and the identical one next to it, are part of Mike Reynolds‘ new additions to the visitor center. You can see that the walls are made of tires stacked like bricks; tires are filled with rammed earth (aka “dirt”) to make them incredibly solid, strong, and temperature-resistant. Non-load-bearing walls are made of cans & bottles, stuck together with cement and adobe.

This wall is just getting started, but you can see the design taking shape. The cans will be plastered over, but bottles will have their ends exposed to let in the light.

Once the wall’s thickness is determined, the bottles are cut with a tile saw and the two fat ends taped together. Then you just cement them in.

But before you can get to the fancy stuff, the tires have to be pounded! That’s what we’re doing at the big building, which will eventually become the new visitor center.

That’s my fellow intern Andrew off to the right, showing how it’s done. Yep, a shovel and a sledgehammer and lots of elbow grease. These things are seriously labor-intensive; pounding one tire takes 15-20 minutes for experienced (and acclimated) workers, so for us green kids from lower elevations, it’s taking half an hour per tire.

That’s Tim, the crew member who’s been managing us, working out the levels. Technically, this is a decorative (non-structural) bottle wall so it doesn’t have to be perfect. But sometimes it’s nice—actually, necessary—to stop hammering for a minute, so we’ve been getting everything good and even.

Tim and the other crew members have been amazingly patient and supportive while Andrew and I learn the ropes and build our strength. Working at 7500 feet can be totally exhausting, and when the winds are high it’s hard to catch a deep breath. But we’re learning and getting stronger, and benefiting from all the knowledge around us. Everyone on the crew lives in an Earthship, and many of them built their own houses. They’re professional and creative, and easy to talk to. I feel lucky to be here, even despite the sore muscles.

On that note, it’s off to bed for me. Tomorrow is a full day of tire-pounding on a new site, with all six interns. I’m gonna sleep all weekend!

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: alternative, art, biotecture, design, earthship, Earthship Biotecture, earthships, ecotourism, energy-efficient, featured posts, garbage, green building, New Mexico, recycling, reuse, sustainable, Taos, volunteer, voluntourism

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We’re installing an arbor to surround Faithful Fountain. I bet you never thought about how all that big art was installed, did you? Yeah, me too.

The arbor is made of rebar. It was built in the metal shop, which is down by the house. In order to move it up the hill to Dandelion Ballad, Candace and Loren had to cut it into four sections—each of which is still bigger than a truck can easily carry. I honestly have no idea how they got it up the hill. But I know one thing for sure: these folks can really work with what they have.

Introducing the Power Wagon.

click to enlarge

Yep, that’s an old Dodge (circa 1948) with a boom lift mounted to the front. It takes us (and by “us” I mean “Loren”) hours to get the boom positioned correctly and ropes tied just right so they don’t take off the top of the fountain, but damn if Loren doesn’t work it out.

And then, we start raising it up. It goes a few inches at a time: lift it a little, put cinderblocks underneath, shorten the ropes, lift again. I am full of doubt: there’s no way this will work, the angles are all wrong, it’s too heavy, etc etc. But before long, lo and behold, we’ve got it a couple feet off the ground!

click to enlarge

So now comes the positioning. It’s got to be just right, so that the arched doorways are aligned with the center. Candace and Loren and I all take turns staring at it, hemming and hawing, pointing, lifting, turning the arbor until it looks pretty much right-on. My favorite part is when the boom needs to move to the right a hair: Loren just puts a jack under the left side of the truck, and cranks it up until the positioning is better.

And there it is. Next Loren busts out a transit level, and we get the heights just right. From there it’s a simple matter of hammering in about a zillion stakes (which we make by welding together lengths of recycled rebar) and mounting the arbor so it stands on its own. Tedious work, that, but it gets done despite my griping.

All told, it takes us nearly four days to get that crazy thing in the ground. But the closer we get to finishing it, the better and better it looks; by the end, our furrowed brows have turned to big grins, and dang if we don’t have a piece of art on our hands.

Another victory for Dandelion Ballad!

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adventure, art, featured posts, starving artists, voluntourism, WWOOF

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Hey everybody, I’m headed deep into New Orleans and won’t be back for a spell. Gonna see my first Second Line parade today, then spend a few days working with Common Ground… and then it’s Halloween.

I’ll be back on the radar soon, and in the meantime here’s some food for thought: photos from the Big Post-Katrina Easy.

Odds are, this house and this car never met before Katrina…
but they’ve been together four years now.

Downtown’s got its troubles too

You can construct a new boardwalk, but you can’t just rebuild the bayou:
this should be full of trees.

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: ecotourism, environment, ghost town, New Orleans, outdoors, photography, travel, volunteer, voluntourism

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Reign of Grace cob bathhouse at Dandelion Sustainability Farm

My longtime readers will remember Dandelion Farm (Lower Lake, California), where I had my first WWOOFing experience way back in December. The other day I received this message from them, and thought I’d pass it along for anyone in California who’s interested in natural building.

Candace Stolley writes:

volunteers building Reign of Grace
Photo courtesy of Dandelion Farm

We have just broken ground for our first little cob cabin in Enchanted Encampment…hurrah! So we are planning our first work/party on the 18-21 of Sept (Fri AM to Monday PM).

We ask $25 ($35/ couple) for first time volunteers only for this period to help with food/expenses.

This is also a good time to get to know us and us you to see if a longer stay would work for all sides. Please have other options for after the party…we may be full even before it starts.

USF students at a 2008 work party

Loren and Candace Stolley

If you have not cobbed before (mud and straw building) this will be a great opportunity to experience this building technique that anyone can do, so naturally! We hope if you are musical you will come prepared to entertain the mud fun. The ponds will be refreshing and a good way to get that mud off. Overnight camping will be available. Bring a sun hat, your sleeping bags and pads and a good flashlight!There MAY be indoor space, but you must reserve early with your $25. to be sure of that.

Please email and let us know if you can make it so we have an idea how many to cook for.

We will possibly host more work/parties later to finish the building. If you can’t make this one and wish a later date let us know!

HOPE we get to share the work and fun with you and show you all the progress that your help here has led to!

Warmly,
Candace and Loren

Queen of Heaven Gate at Dandelion Farm

Dandelion Farm is full of incredible metal and natural art. See more photos or visit Dandelion online—or email Candace and Loren to reserve your spot on the work party!

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: agritourism, biotecture, building, California, cob, community, construction, education, farm, green building, natural, organic, sustainable, training, volunteer, voluntourism, WWOOF

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Yesterday I told you all about Farmer John’s struggle to save his family’s farm and preserve his unique identity (The Real Dirt on American Counterculture: How Farmer John made ideals come true).

From a family farm, the place has grown a lot. These days, Angelic Organics does a lot of education, from on-farm training to urban workshops to sustainable-building courses. See all they do here.

I visited an urban garden in Chicago’s South Side, just one of many teaching gardens founded with the help of Angelic Organics. It was a sunny day and the birds and bees were out. Here are some photos of the garden and the things living in it:

The next day, we drove out to Caledonia to visit the farm where Angelic Organics began. Unfortunately, it was a gray day and the Learning Center was mostly deserted. The farm itself is off-limits to tourists, with good reason; unfortunately, this meant there wasn’t much for us to see. We wandered around the grounds a bit, pet the goats, and went on our way.

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: agriculture, agritourism, alternative, animal, biodynamics, Chicago, chickens, community, counterculture, ecotourism, ecotravel, education, environment, farm, farming, flowers, gardening, Illinois, insect, locavore, organic, outsider art, photography, radical, sustainable, teaching, travel, voluntourism

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Way back in May, I told you a little about the gorgeous gardens at Zephyros Farm, gave you a bit of the background behind Daphne Yannakakis’ gardening skills, and showed you some photos by Karina Salinas Heredia, a farm intern from Ecuador.

For new readers: Zephyros is an organic, family-run farm in Paonia, Colorado, where I WWOOFed for two weeks this spring. So far, out of all the places I’ve visited, it’s been my favorite. Read all about it here: Zephyros Farm and Garden.

Just the other day, Karina sent me more photos from the farm—and so I’m passing them on to you. Spring and summer have been good to the gardens, apparently. Here’s how things have blossomed in the past few months.

Note: these are just my favorite shots. See all of Karina’s photos here.

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: agritourism, Colorado, ecotourism, farm, flowers, gardening, nature, organic, Paonia, phenology, photography, summer, voluntourism, WWOOF

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Catherine Gockley, owner of Fire Mountain Farm and Apiary, didn’t start out as a farmer. She didn’t even start out wanting to be a farmer. But once she sets her mind to things, they get done: having decided to become a grower later in life, she spent ten years learning and working to reach her goal. Fire Mountain is a beautiful example of an organic, chemical-free farm built on small acreage and with a reasonable budget— and Catherine made it all happen on her own gumption.

A bit of background: a trained geologist, Catherine worked as a backcountry ranger in Denali and Yosemite before deciding to become a grower. She found a couple of farms in the hills of California where she could work and live, picking up skills and experience from the landowners. She took a special interest in beekeeping, becoming an apiarist and even teaching chemical-free beekeeping workshops. And then she took the plunge, buying four acres of sloped, sunny property on the Pitcairn Mesa.

Catherine was my rideshare from Boulder to Paonia. I thought she was fabulous and fascinating, and I was intrigued by the idea of visiting a brand new organic farm. How do you get started setting up a small farm? Where do you begin, and where do you go from there? So I invited myself over to get a better look at Catherine’s method.

Fire Mountain Farm is small, but it’s the perfect size for Catherine: soon she’ll be able to support herself completely on this little piece of land. Here’s how she began.

(...)
Read the rest of How To Start an Organic Farm – a visit to Fire Mountain (739 words)

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: agritourism, chickens, Colorado, community, environment, farm, gardening, how-to, organic, Paonia, permaculture, rideshare, sustainable, travel, voluntourism, WWOOF

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Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers also feed the soul. – The Koran

It was planting season when I visited Zephyros Farm and Garden: snow melting off the mountains, grass high and green, and everything beginning to sprout. We spent most days preparing beds for tiny plants that would soon grow tall and fragrant. As we worked, Daphne buzzed around the farm, visiting every bed to check on her babies.

Smart as a whip and twice as fast, Daphne knows exactly what each plant needs— along with its proper Latin name, family history and variant. Under her care, scores of perennials grow tall and lush. When the time is right, she harvests the blooms, arranges them artfully, and sends them off to market.

(...)
Read the rest of Brilliant (organic) Blooms of Zephyros Garden (218 words)

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: agritourism, Colorado, flowers, gardening, nature, organic, Paonia, photography, spring, voluntourism, WWOOF

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It started out innocently enough: it was a sunny Friday afternoon, and everybody at Zephyros was ready for a break from work. On Fridays, most of Paonia heads to Revolution Brewing. Daphne and all the interns (except Siwar, who was too young and therefore tasked with cooking dinner) hopped in the Subaru to go have a pint.

Like I said, it was a good day and spirits were high. The brewery’s yard was full of interesting people, and as we all laughed and chatted one beer turned into two.

But then the sun started setting: we’d stayed too long. We had to get back to the farm for evening chores. We motored back up the hill, arriving after dark, and powered through our work as quickly as possible. We hit one snag, however: the chickens had fallen asleep outside of their coop. Actually, under their coop.

Now, let’s talk about chickens for a second. Chickens, for your information, are stupid. Implacably idiotic, even. See video above.

Still, these particular stupid chickens had been hand-raised since they were two days old. Most of them were too young to start laying, but would be old enough soon; their (organic, cage-free, grain-fed) eggs would bring a lot of money at market. These stupid chickens were loved. They were important.

You may notice I’m talking about them in the past tense.

(...)
Read the rest of The Great Chicken Massacre of '09 (477 words)

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: agritourism, animal, chickens, Colorado, farm, organic, Paonia, voluntourism, wildlife, WWOOF

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