Shagun Singh was a corporate business head. She quit her job in 2015 and moved to Nainital in Uttarakhand. She was looking for a place where she can build a home with her own hands. The idea was to create a magical place where one can grow food, where there is energy, water, and to live as holistically as possible. She found a barren piece of land in Mahrora, a village close to Nainital. Later she started making mud houses and founded a training center called Geeli Mitti. People from different parts of the world come and learn different mud construction techniques here. She emphasizes on the importance of mud over cement.

You can watch the video at www.youtube.com

A root cellar is an underground or partially underground structure used to preserve vegetables and protect them from frost through the winter. Root cellars are often constructed into hillsides and make use of the existing geography. Generally, they are constructed by digging a hole in the earth and reinforcing with wood, rock, cement, and/or other material before covering with sod, leaving a small door for access. Ideally, the earth surrounding the root cellar will be no less than fifty centimeters (approximately

A root cellar is an underground or partially underground structure used to preserve vegetables and protect them from frost through the winter. Root cellars are often constructed into hillsides and make use of the existing geography. Generally, they are constructed by digging a hole in the earth and reinforcing with wood, rock, cement, and/or other material before covering with sod, leaving a small door for access. Ideally, the earth surrounding the root cellar will be no less than fifty centimeters (approximately two feet) thick, which is necessary to achieve proper temperature and humidity levels suitable for preservation of the cellar’s consumable contents.

Dan Rubin says, “Root cellars are holes in the ground that use the surrounding earth to keep stored food from freezing. We found more than twenty root cellars in Pouch Cove, each one built in a unique way. But most of them are no longer in use. Without local agriculture, people no longer see them as necessary, so they are often neglected or removed.”

Root cellars are commonly constructed in the landscape between the fields where the crops are grown, and the house where the crops will eventually be prepared and consumed.

When used for the storage of vegetables, the interior of the cellar was commonly divided into wooden compartments called pounds. These were located either directly on the ground, on raised wood, or in bins, keeping separate varieties of vegetables, such as potatoes and turnip, in separate sections. Carrots and parsnips were often kept in bins or buckets filled with sand or sawdust which kept them moist and firm. Cabbage was kept up high and often described as being hung from above. During the summer months, root cellars were also used to store jams, jellies, milk, and other perishable items to keep them cool. Typically, a root cellar is accessed every week or two to bring in vegetables to the house.

Andrew Boland says, “A root cellar is a structure, or something built, for people to preserve vegetables, produce, that is built into the ground. So, you get the coolness out of the ground and some are built all below ground, or in the hillsides. I think most commonly they were built into hillsides, or over small mounds or hills. And some of them were just one level, many of them were two levels, there was an above ground level that enabled a person to, during the winter time when there is lots of snow, to get into the cellar and get down.

Ross Traverse says, “In Newfoundland, the root cellar is a basic structure for storing root vegetables primarily. Of course, it can be used for storing other things as well. Storing things like partridge berries which were stored in water. Originally, they might have put the barrel of partridge berries in the root cellar as well. Or bakeapples, I know they were stored in water in the root cellar. And also, it was used as a cold storage basically, a cold storage that did not freeze. In this climate, when you dug into the ground, or insulated a structure, you could then keep the temperature at proper storage temperature. Usually around five degrees centigrade or so. And it was ideal for storing potatoes. Potatoes were the main crop for storage because that was the survival food in the old days. If we’re talking about the old days, I’m talking about you know, from a time when potatoes were introduced to Newfoundland which was in the 1700s. From then on, the people that grew potatoes had to store them. That was one of the primary sources of carbohydrates. And so, you had to be able to store it. And potatoes wouldn’t keep if they froze, even if the temperature got down to close to freezing.”

You can read the original article at www.communitystories.ca

Also read this blog post.

Martin Anda, with his wife and some friends, bought a piece of land in Fremantle, Western Australia, that was part of an existing One Planet Living certified eco-village residential precinct. The land had  a north facing orientation to help capture the Australian winter sunlight.

Martin Anda, with his wife and some friends, bought a piece of land in Fremantle, Western Australia, that was part of an existing One Planet Living certified eco-village residential precinct. The land had  a north facing orientation to help capture the Australian winter sunlight.

Martin lives with his wife in one 60 square meter (646 sq. ft.) one-bedroom apartment and another couple live in the other apartment. They have an edible garden on the property which provides the couple and their neighbors with fresh herbs all year round.

Working with architect Richard Hammond, the group chose to go for rammed earth walls and recycled materials.  After a traditional Indigenous smoking ceremony to bless the land, sustainable home builder Craig Bailey of Ecovision Homes set to work on putting the vision to reality.

Unlike brick manufacturing, rammed earth doesn’t require firing, which means no greenhouse gas emissions. “Rammed earth has been used for thousands of years… It’s not like bricks. You construct it by pouring it in from the top. It’s a premium to do a rammed earth wall – as it’s used architecturally as a rustic natural finish,” said Craig.

The use of passive solar reaps a savings of approximately $1500 per year. “In the house I used to live in before, the bills were enormous… Now we have a heat pump running on solar, so it’s a lot less. I believe it’s around half the price.” Martin says his number one piece of advice to all home builders or buyers is to orientate their home for passive solar. “That is the best thing to do to achieve sustainability at lowest cost and return on investment.”

“In Perth, the breezes come from the south-west, so you need windows from that side to let ventilation through, but shaded enough to reduce the heat load.”

Aside from rammed earth, other sustainable materials used in the design included thermally broken double glazed windows, recycled timber, and other reused materials. Martin says that people considering building their own sustainable home need to “think seriously about materials of construction and where they’re coming from”.

The home has a 5.5 kilowatt PV system and a 5000 litre underground rainwater storage tank. The airtight house design is complemented by an emphasis on natural cross-ventilation, natural light and plants for air filtration.

The couple keeps fruit trees, tomatoes, lettuce, sweet potatoes, leeks, and a worm farm to top it all off.

Builder Craig says, “One of the biggest myths is that if you incorporate sustainability into your home, it will cost more. But that’s not true. Sure, you can take it to an incredible degree and it will start costing a lot more – but at a basic level it won’t cost anything extra. Clients want to future-proof. They want a house that will be here in 10 years and won’t degrade in value.”

You can read the original article thegreenlist.com.au

I am sure that many of you have noticed that for several weeks you have not been receiving emailed notices of new blog posts. Due to technical difficulties arising from our move to a new host for the site, this service has been suspended until today.

I suggest that you go to the blog and check out all of the posts over the last few weeks to see what you have missed.

I am very pleased to be back in business! This could not have happened without the inspired help of friend of

I am sure that many of you have noticed that for several weeks you have not been receiving emailed notices of new blog posts. Due to technical difficulties arising from our move to a new host for the site, this service has been suspended until today.

I suggest that you go to the blog and check out all of the posts over the last few weeks to see what you have missed.

I am very pleased to be back in business! This could not have happened without the inspired help of friend of the blog Luke Anthony. Thanks Luke!

“The new Helderberg Environmental Center is truly a magnificent building and provides the perfect setting for the various environmental education programs the City’s nature reserves offer schools and interest groups. This center provides us with a practical example of what a green City facility can look like. The project as a whole has proved just how beneficial implementing green construction practices can be, especially if one considers the amount of semi-skilled EPWP job opportunities that were created

“The new Helderberg Environmental Center is truly a magnificent building and provides the perfect setting for the various environmental education programs the City’s nature reserves offer schools and interest groups. This center provides us with a practical example of what a green City facility can look like. The project as a whole has proved just how beneficial implementing green construction practices can be, especially if one considers the amount of semi-skilled EPWP job opportunities that were created to assist with the material selection and specific green construction techniques,” said the City of Cape Town Executive Mayor.

Some of the sustainability features of the new center includes the impressive tire retaining wall, eco-brick wall and the integrated water treatment system, which includes the four chamber underground Black Water Treatment System.

In order to demonstrate alternative construction methods, the design showcased three approaches where waste was used in the wall construction. The concept for the enclosure is based on two curved walls, one fitting into the other and were constructed as follows:

This new facility is situated close to the parking and entrance of the reserve. It hosts a stage and has a clip-on Bedouin tent, which expands the covered usable area of the facility to accommodate larger functions.

You can read the original article at www.capetownetc.com

Previous blog posts about this can be found here and here.

Glacial Lake Lugano in Switzerland’s Italian-speaking canton of Ticino features some grottoes lining its shore. These natural caverns represent authentic Ticino and define the lifestyle of its people.

Grotto Descanso is a village tavern housed in a simple stone building with a shaded terrace overlooking the lake. There is a huge wooden door near the main entrance.  Inside is a long wooden table covered with a chequered tablecloth and a wall-mounted wine rack loaded with bottles. This is one of the

Glacial Lake Lugano in Switzerland’s Italian-speaking canton of Ticino features some grottoes lining its shore. These natural caverns represent authentic Ticino and define the lifestyle of its people.

Grotto Descanso is a village tavern housed in a simple stone building with a shaded terrace overlooking the lake. There is a huge wooden door near the main entrance.  Inside is a long wooden table covered with a chequered tablecloth and a wall-mounted wine rack loaded with bottles. This is one of the traditional storehouses fashioned out of the natural landscape.

Mostly dating to the 17th Century, they were originally used as family cellars, preserving wine, salami, cheese, fruit and vegetables. Similar grottos can be found throughout Ticino, and while some remain as private storehouses and others lie unused and abandoned, many, like this one, have been repurposed as cozy watering holes and village taverns.

Clay, sand and a little bit of straw. Add some water, pack the mixture into bricks and let them bake under the hot summer sun.

Clay, sand and a little bit of straw. Add some water, pack the mixture into bricks and let them bake under the hot summer sun.

Adobe is an ancient building material that has become more popular in recent years because it is environmentally friendly, according to the Earthbuilders’ Guild, an organization that promotes and aims to preserve earthen construction.