In the next few posts I'm going to focus on my house. It is a simple but modern eco-house that I designed and built with my own hands, and much help from my family.
I was determined that we didn't go into debt to build this house because I felt it would significantly impact the way I work and volunteer, bring unnecessary stress into our quite relaxed way of life, and affect my ability to be fully present for our children as they were growing up.
I thought I'd start by sharing an article I wrote about a year ago for PIP Magazine Issue 2 (the Australian Permaculture Magazine). It introduces our house and garden, and the features we designed in:
building an affordable and comfortable eco-house
being a demonstration and educational space
staying debt-free
modular and flexible subtropical design - a pod for the children, an office pod, a guest pod and the main pod
using simple methods so first-time owner-builders can succeed
having a low ecological footprint
using predominantly local, reclaimed and sustainable timbers
producing all our own power
heating our water by the sun
catching breezes in summer and keeping warm in winter
collecting all our water
processing all our grey water
processing all our humanure
processing all food and biodegradable wastes on-site
being surrounded by beautiful permaculture gardens
creating an edible fun playground for the children
connecting with the natural environment
enhancing the habitat for native wildlife
enjoying the process!
Here's first page of the article with link to the full version on my website.