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Nature by Numbers

fibonac_8

Patterns in nature never cease to amaze us. The short clip below gives some visuals on what we teach in our Permaculture Design Courses about how to use natural patterns to increase sustainability in human systems. For instance, on many plants, the leaves are spaced in a “Golden Mean” ratio around the stem – giving each leave maximum exposure to sunlight.  That same ratio in a thin spiral seashell gives it more structural support while keeping it light and mobile. How could you use these ratios to improve your design?  🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkGeOWYOFoA&feature=youtu.be

Cob building – “living in a hug”

Cob building is a form of building that combines clay, straw and sand into a very malleable structure that can be sculpted at will. One can build houses, walls, outdoor or indoor ovens, benches, and pretty much anything you want to build with it. It has structural integrity because of the straw. One can see cob structures built in the 1500’s still in use in England, and much older examples elsewhere around the world. The house below has tapering walls that are sometimes more than two feet thick at the bottom. This is what offers structural support.

$5000 home

We love the creative potential of cob building. It truly is a medium for artists.

devon1539

cob oven

Can you build with cob in Florida? Absolutely! Building in the dry season is preferable when working with natural building materials. And keeping the structure off the ground and potential flooding with stones or earthbags is also important.

cobdet3

Is it legal? Yes, as long as your structural support can be permitted – timber frame or other accepted structural support can be used, with cob being used for the walls.

cob20

There is nothing like the warmth of living in a shelter made from the earth. Radiant heat and cooling from the walls feels really good on the skin. The earth provides healing instead of the toxic off-gassing one gets from modern construction. Our favorite herb lady, Willow, said this about natural building, “It’s like living in a hug.” We can relate 🙂

cob interior

We include hands on basic cob building in our Urban Permaculture Design Course and built environment workshops (see our courses page for more info), and plan to build what we believe will be the first cob oven in the Tampa Bay area, soon! We love cob!

cob water

Alternative economy in Greece

 

 

 


Greece develops cashless, Euro-free currency in tight economy

http://www.rawstory .com/rs/2012/ 03/16/greece- develops- euro-free- currency- in-tight- economy/# .T2RcMFoiN3h. twitter

A determination to `move beyond anger to creativity’ is driving a strong barter economy in some places
In recent weeks, Theodoros Mavridis has bought fresh eggs, tsipourou (the local brandy: beware), fruit, olives, olive oil, jam, and soap. He has also had some legal advice, and enjoyed the services of an accountant to help fill in his tax return.
None of it has cost him a euro, because he had previously done a spot of electrical work – repairing a TV, sorting out a dodgy light – for some of the 800-odd members of a fast-growing exchange network in the port town of Volos, midway between Athens and Thessaloniki.
In return for his expert labour, Mavridis received a number of Local Alternative Units (known as tems in Greek) in his online network account. In return for the eggs, olive oil, tax advice and the rest, he transferred tems into other people’s accounts….

Follow the Food

A timely article about some of the strategies being used to reclaim farmland from the jaws of development, and to get and keep regenerative farms in production.   Some good ideas that financial and community governance and land tenure permaculture could add to and enhance…

http://www.fa-mag.com/green/news/10123-follow-the-food.html

Eradicating Ecocide

FT-300x194We need to create laws that will prevent criminals from passing the true costs of doing business on to others. Future generations are being robbed of their natural capital by greedy, short-sighted and irresponsible people. They need to be held accountable.  What would happen if ecocide was a crime? This is true cost accounting. Check out the video!

http://www.eradicatingecocide.com/the-trial/

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