Midwest Inspirations: Fairfield IA. Abundance EcoVillage

Whether we are in a post-modern society, or a post-post-modern society, what we are today is a modgepodge of past ideas pasted onto a present framework. It is important to learn from the past and what others are doing around you. I think it is more important to do something functional and beautiful than to do something "new".

We are looking at what others are doing/have done around us for inspiration. Earlier this summer we stopped through the Fairfield, IA, eco-village.

From the top down.
Picture 1: Artwork and garden fence at the eco-village.

Picture 2: Scrap metal made into roses.

Picture 3: Snapshot of a sign in their small wetland. This sign explains how their constructed wetland filters human waste through a series of underground trenches working with plants to reuse the nutrients and remove toxicity.

Picture 4: To me this looks like a glycol panel. A glycol panel is basically anitfreeze that is heated in the sun, then run inside through tubing for heat. The tubing can be run into a tank to heat water or put inside a floor (these two ways are how we are considering using glycol panels). I want to run the tubing under the floor in the kitchen area and put adobe on top. It would be fun to create a hot water heater this way too. With glycol, you don't have to worry about the tubes freezing at night in the winter.

Picture 5: I thought this tool shed with the bike propped on it was fun. It was placed in the middle of a garden (the tour was self-guided, I assume it is a tool shed).

Picture 6: A yurt! The eco-village had a number of alternative-building examples. I like the rammed earth tires used at the edges of the entranceway. If they use tires around the yurt it would help keep a more constant, tolerable temperature.

Picture 7: This looked like a community meeting house. There is a greenhouse made with plastic on the wall seen here. In the back is a solar shower constructed with a black barrel at the top. The black will absorb the sunlight and heat the water, then it can just be gravity fed to the shower. The pipe coming to the front of this picture runs from the gutters on the house to a plastic cistern (above ground). I noticed a number of the houses had shingles, but caught their own water. I am left wondering if there is a type of shingle that won't contaminate the water. I would like to know more about it.

Picture 8: Example of a living roof. The grass filters the falling rain water. What, no goats?

Picture 9: Building style example of straw bale. One of the community members mentioned that they hold workshops and they believed that this was a left-over from a demonstration.
I am curious about the details of working with straw bale in such a moist/humid climate. Moldy?

Picture 10: This is the inside roof of the building in picture 11. It looks like wood framing and adobe. I think they may have painted something on the adobe. There were places of the wood framing covered with newspaper where it looked like they were coating the adobe. I am not sure what type of insulation they used for the roof. Something eco-friendly or recycled?

Picture 11: Adobe and straw hut. The tiles look like they are clay on the roof. The foundation appears to be concrete. I wonder how adobe holds up in this climate if it is exterior and if they have had any problems with the straw molding.





The architecture of the houses at fairfield also have an interesting history as to style. It is based on an ancient sytem designed to optimize the flow of bioenergy inside. I believe that they do use propane (as many off the grid systems still do as well). They have, as Earthships now do, employed the use of earthtubes for cooling. An interesting difference between the two communities is that Abundance EcoVillage has one large battery bank for the entire community. Earthships act as more independent systems and contain their own individual battery banks. Both communities use solar and wind power to charge their batteries. If/when we have community here I am interested in independent systems.

We talked with a developer there and Abundance EcoVillage members are also working with the loal town to help it be more green.

See more at abundanceecovillage.com

nature,travels, semi-local attractions, and supper!

Phoenix and I took off last Friday for the annual babies & momma's camping trip that Christy Sherman organizes at Governor Dodge State Park, WI. We hiked to the waterfall, played at the beach and took turns cycling kids around behind the bike. On the hike to the waterfall we found some purple clover and young milkweed pods (taste like fresh greenbeans) to snack on. After camping we all took a tour with the kids at Cave of the Mounds. Phoenix enjoyed learning about how rock formations grow.

On the ride home we passed a winery near Elizabeth IL. Phoenix and I stopped through to grab a couple of bottles for the hard working folks at home --and for me too. I had to grab the cherry rose, becasue I love cherry wine. As I was debating the light white called "Daffodil" they splashed a little into a glass for me. Of course I had to get that one too, yum. It was a really cute and friendly winery. I am excited for some of the events they are having later in the year, such as a wine stomp!

When we arrived home I was greeted by the sight of the kitchen sink outside! Jerome was going to set the sink up outside for the summer while we are gutting the kitchen. The worst of the mold that is left is behind and inside the sink cabinets, so my sneezes say.

Jerome tied a big rope up in the tree for a swing while I helped and multitasked by picking dandelion greens for supper. I had picked up cheese in WI and we foraged a salad at home: lambs quarters, young dandelion greens, purslane, wood sorrel, and cilantro (from the garden) topped with cumin/garlic black beans. There were also some gluten-free cornbread muffins from a local baker. The white wine went well with supper, but went even better with the cold "rescued" watermelon that we had for desert.

Minthe

The herbs in our garden are thriving from all of this rain. I can't pick them fast enough. Phoenix and I have been sharing mint tea every morning, with Hannah sometimes joining us. I am having fun looking up the health benefits of mint. I do think that it has been helping when I get a little too sneezy. I tried adding some fresh mint and honey to plain yogurt today and it turned out really yummy.

This link has some great information on vitamins from and benefits of mint: www.helpwithcooking.com/herb-guide/mint.html

No wonder the mint is thriving right now, in greek mythology Minthe was a river nymph.

These pictures are of the spearmint.

Excavation

This past weekend some friends came out to see the place and help at the farm. They planted oak trees on the north side and we had a bonfire. Thank you! We didn't quite get around to pounding tires. . The next day we had a local, Jean, come out and excavate around the house. We are going to retrofit for our thermal wrap (earthship uber insulation from earth-rammed tires and foam insulation combined)!

The Earthship books talk about some retrofitted building experiments heating up just from a laptop or body heat in the winter. We are beginning to plan for some cooling earth tubes as well. We got the west, north, and east sides excavated and weatherproofed with plastic and something like tar. The greenhouse goes on the south side, eventually.

Plastic may not be the most sustainable product but, one step at a time. A house bermed into the earth will save many things but may be susceptible to water in areas with a high rainfall/water table (as we have already experienced with this moldy house). The plastic will help protect our time investment and resources as a water barrier.

We re-routed the gutters to rain barrels (scavenged large containers from around the farm) for watering the plants, and just to keep the water from falling right next to the house. Then we washed the grime off and went out to a nice dinner for our six month wedding anniversary!

smiley building

One of the buildings on the farm is painted yellow. The paint is perhaps chipped as much as it is painted. Jerome decided, very soon upon buying the farm, that he wanted to paint a giant smiley face on it that cars can see from the road. I found some mis-mix paint for him :) and a quote to paint on the other side of the building:

“If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.” -- Thich Nhat Hanh

We know that we want to contribute to peace in the world, but where does one start? In our daily lives. Creating a peaceful environment to share with others is a good step. Mindfulness is the most important part. See a smiley, remember remember.

This beep is bananas b-a-n-a-n-a-s

If you have never looked in a store dumpster you should--it is very educational. It is amazing the amount of food that America wastes! I can't name sources, but I once heard that 30% of food in America goes to waste. This is one area in our country that consumption needs to be optimized.

Someone I know peeped in a dumpster recently, ahem, and told me about the mass amounts of bananas she and her husband saw that had been thrown out. Everyone in the midwest knows that overripe bananas make amazing baked goods. Why the waste?

Lara Martinson-Burrell made an impact on me when she said that she never buys bananas that are not fair trade--unless a store has a bunch of overripe ones that are going to get thrown out. The banana industry has wreaked havoc on some beautiful countries. Destroying forests and land, displacing local populations and more (see banana link).

http://www.bananalink.org.uk/content/view/77/37/lang,en/

There are many causes out there. We all have to choose which ones we want to focus on. Personally, I buy bananas once in a while. If we are at the gas station one of the little ones is hungry I will grab a banana or an apple. I am aware of the banana struggle, however, and seeing bananas in a dumpster gets me thinking. All of those resources and fossil fuels spent to transport those bananas here. All of those people the banana trade has effected, and those bananas end up in an Aldi's dumpster--ouch.

Earthship retrofitting: "The most versatile/economical building design"

http://earthship.com/retrofit/Retrofit-with-Earthship-Biotecture

I did an internship at Earthship Headquarters Taos, NM in March of this year. It was a great time and I learned so much about economical building. Earthships are designed to be off the grid. Each one is a piece of art. We are planning to build at least one on our property. Currently we are retrofitting the earthberm house that came with our farm.

This weekend (July 8, 9, 10) we are digging out the house, adding plastic for water protection (rain seeps in some of the rooms right now) and pounding earth into tires around the house. After the tires are finished we will add a row of insulation behind the tires for a thermal wrap and berm it all back up. This is going to be a lot of work! We would love it if you would come help and learn--or just come keep up company.

I am excited to see what this yields, especially in the winter. We will hopefully have some extra South facing windows by then to catch us some winter heat.

Pictures:

1. A solar array at the Lonetree work site in Taos. The array was used to power the tools for building. Later it went up on roof to provide power for the home.

2. Tires: an Earthship tire wall in Taos. Eventually this wall (internal) got covered in adobe. The external walls were bermed in with earth.

3. Me happy to be building in Taos.