johnsamuels7484Eco friendly house
October 15th 2006 17:19
My family is having a house built out of Adobe and Straw-bale in Colorado, USA!
It is truly a dream come true.
Let me back up a bit...
Having grown up in Hawaii, there haven't been too many environmentally friendly product choices in my life. For starters, almost anything you buy here is flown in from somewhere else. Secondly, being in the middle of the pacific ocean has meant that, in the past, trends have taken take longer to get here, including the newest green products America has to offer.
So, as a young adult, when I started to think about my dream house in my head, it was hard to imagine anything other than the average concrete and drywall structures that are the mainstay here. I have always dreamed of creating an amazing conscious community, huge gardens and orchards, the whole "living off the land" feeling. That type of house built with those materials that are harmful to the environment just didn't fit in with the vibe of my dreams.
When I visited Colorado last year, I just couldn't believe it. It was too good to be true. I found a place where natural building is the norm! In this town, that my dad magically stumbled upon and bought land in, twenty years ago, conventional houses are almost looked down upon!
Environmental always equated to expensive for me, but not so in this progressive little town. It is actually going to be the same price, if not cheaper, than a conventional house!!!!
I picked an amazingly conscientious builder to start building a house for us,
with which I want to create an Eco-friendly Vacation Rental. I wish we could be there to help build it! But as of yet, we have no place to stay... but next time we surely will have our hands in it.
Here is the list of some of the green features:
* Solar hot water system
* In floor radiant heating tubes
* Passive solar: Big windows on the south facing wall to bring the sunlight in
* Adobe floor providing "thermal mass" holding the heat
* Straw-bales in the adobe wall provide natural, non toxic insulation
* Energy efficient appliances
Even though this is all very exciting to me, I want to stay living in Hawaii, and build my conscious community here at home. At this point in time we still don't have these sorts of options in Hawaii, but I can feel a change. I have been learning about the use of Bamboo in Hawaii to build houses. And there is a renaissance of Hawaiian culture happening, and all the amazing practices and teaching of the ancients are coming back and integrating with our modern life. Perhaps the most important of these teachings is that, we as humans are the stewards of the Aina (land) and that we must respect the environment that surrounds us. There was recently a code passed allowing the traditional thatched houses to be built. This is just the beginning of the changes, but I have great hope for the future.
As for my own dreams, not much has changed, except that now I have learned that anything is possible, and not to accept the limitations given to you by conventional society, but to dream BIG.
It is truly a dream come true.
Let me back up a bit...
Having grown up in Hawaii, there haven't been too many environmentally friendly product choices in my life. For starters, almost anything you buy here is flown in from somewhere else. Secondly, being in the middle of the pacific ocean has meant that, in the past, trends have taken take longer to get here, including the newest green products America has to offer.
So, as a young adult, when I started to think about my dream house in my head, it was hard to imagine anything other than the average concrete and drywall structures that are the mainstay here. I have always dreamed of creating an amazing conscious community, huge gardens and orchards, the whole "living off the land" feeling. That type of house built with those materials that are harmful to the environment just didn't fit in with the vibe of my dreams.
Environmental always equated to expensive for me, but not so in this progressive little town. It is actually going to be the same price, if not cheaper, than a conventional house!!!!
I picked an amazingly conscientious builder to start building a house for us,
with which I want to create an Eco-friendly Vacation Rental. I wish we could be there to help build it! But as of yet, we have no place to stay... but next time we surely will have our hands in it.
Here is the list of some of the green features:
* Solar hot water system
* In floor radiant heating tubes
* Passive solar: Big windows on the south facing wall to bring the sunlight in
* Adobe floor providing "thermal mass" holding the heat
* Straw-bales in the adobe wall provide natural, non toxic insulation
* Energy efficient appliances
Even though this is all very exciting to me, I want to stay living in Hawaii, and build my conscious community here at home. At this point in time we still don't have these sorts of options in Hawaii, but I can feel a change. I have been learning about the use of Bamboo in Hawaii to build houses. And there is a renaissance of Hawaiian culture happening, and all the amazing practices and teaching of the ancients are coming back and integrating with our modern life. Perhaps the most important of these teachings is that, we as humans are the stewards of the Aina (land) and that we must respect the environment that surrounds us. There was recently a code passed allowing the traditional thatched houses to be built. This is just the beginning of the changes, but I have great hope for the future.
As for my own dreams, not much has changed, except that now I have learned that anything is possible, and not to accept the limitations given to you by conventional society, but to dream BIG.
dreams come true!
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