Resources. The Future of Hope Foundation. Growing Food. My 10 Acres | Our little piece of this earth, trying to create an Urban Homestead. How to Build a Dry Toilet. For a new generation of canners, composters, homebrewers and knitters comes Making It (Rodale, 2010), the ultimate guidebook for living a homemade life. Frugal, do-it-yourself living is becoming a practical solution in an unsustainable world. Authors Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen help you navigate modern homesteading with easy, step-by-step instructions and projects ranging from the simple, such as making olive oil lamps, to the ambitious, such as developing a drip irrigation system for vegetables.
Don’t waste your waste! Learn how to build a dry toilet and reuse the compost to nourish decorative plants or fruit trees. You can purchase this book from the MOTHER EARTH NEWS store: Making It. Building a Dry Toilet Preparation: 1 hourWaiting: 1-2 years Flush toilets take two valuable resources, clean water and nitrogen-rich human waste, and combine them to create a problem: sewage. A dry toilet uses no water, power, or chemicals, and it doesn’t require plumbing lines or septic tanks.
Scavenge. How to Build A Sundial for the Garden - Do-It-Yourself. Build a sundial for your yard or garden, the ultimate in simple, practical technology for just a few dollars. (See the sundial illustrations in the image gallery.) Before there was the murderous regularity of a daily schedule, before there was the clicking, buzzing, chiming, and ticking of time, there was the sun and a shadow to mark the passing of the day. A stake driven into the ground was all the clock the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Etruscans and other ancient civilizations ever needed ... and while I'm working in the garden on a July afternoon, it's all the clock I ever want.
The summer sundial is thus named because its accuracy is limited to just that, the season which spans the warmest months. The Sundial Face Begin the project by cutting a 20-inch diameter circle from 3/4-inch plywood. When you've decided on the design, use the paper as a stencil and paint it onto the plywood circle and put on the design numbers, hour lines, and illustration. The Gnomon Preparing the Post. Intensive Gardening: Grow More Food in Less Space (With the Least Work!) Whether you grow food on a spacious homestead or are digging into your first urban garden, ditching the plant-by-rows approach and instead adopting intensive gardening techniques can help you grow a more productive garden that’s also more efficient to manage. These methods will open up a new world when it comes to small-space gardening, which can be so much more than just a few lone pots on a balcony. If you do it right, you can grow more food in less space and put an impressive dent in your household’s fresh-food needs.
Comparing 2 Popular Intensive Gardening Methods Two gardening authors and their systems of intensive vegetable gardening have been highly influential in North America for more than 30 years. Bartholomew’s aim with square-foot gardening is a simple, foolproof system that anyone can master (no companion planting, no crop rotation and no soil preparation). 4 Principles of Intensive Gardening 1. 2. 3. 4.
Customize Your Intensive Gardening System Adapt to local conditions. 1. How to Build a Dry Toilet. DIY Recycled, Wooden Compost Bin. Recent studies show that modern commercial household cleaners are causing serious health issues for individuals and their families. The Country Almanac of Housekeeping Techniques That Save You Money (Fair Winds Press, 2012) by Richard Freudenberger and the editors of Back Home Magazine shows you how to keep a clean and healthy home for just pennies a day. Using a collection of formula for effective cleaning, gardening and home maintenance.
Don’t just clean your household, get the longest life out of every item. The following excerpt describes how to make a DIY wooden compost bin from salvaged materials. Build a Simple, Wooden Compost Bin Cost savings Between $55 and $169 compared to store-bought, depending on design and manufacturer Benefits Easily assembled from salvaged materials, and can be sized to suit your needs Commercial drum and bin style compost containers are expensive, and they often don’t hold enough working material.
Materials Step 1: Gather and cut wood. Build a Picnic Table from Five Easy Pieces. We realize that not everyone has the time or the facilities to construct the "polygonal picnicker" described in Build a Hexagon Picnic Table. Some folks may just want to build a picnic table that is low-cost and easy to make. Ironically, we were faced with a similar situation ourselves last summer when we needed to build a veritable fleet of utilitarian dining structures for use by the folks who camp out at the Eco-Village.
Since we were building so many tables, no one managed to keep close track of the number, but it looks to have been over 40! Because the tables had to stand up to use by thousands of visitors, we were looking for durability, simple design, and low cost. After kicking around a few ideas, the crew out at the Eco-Village came up with an "economy model" winner that was easy to put together and required only five different cutting patterns. To begin, saw the 1×6 planks into nine 48" lengths. Start the actual construction by assembling the two end frames. Building a Stone Retaining Wall. Stone Primer (Storey Publishing, 2007), by Charles McRaven, presents basic techniques of stonework and dozens of projects for inspiration and practical guidance.
Designs for the home include structural masonry and accents like fireplaces and countertops, while landscaping uses include retaining walls, stone bridges, and even stone sheds and water features. The following project is from chapter 4, “Drystone Walls.” You can buy this book from the MOTHER EARTH NEWS store: Stone Primer. A drystone retaining wall is cheaper and easier to build than a mortared wall, having no footing or mortared joints. It isn’t as strong as a mortared wall, but, when built properly, can support a slope.
The drystone retaining wall is more natural-looking, especially when built of aged stones rather than those freshly quarried or dug from the ground. Also, moisture seeping from the soil bank held by the wall will allow lichens and mosses to grow better on the drystone wall. 1. 2. 3. The Lost Ways. Intensive Gardening: Grow More Food in Less Space (With the Least Work!) Kiva - Loans that change lives.
10 Skills That Urban Survivalists Should Learn. Skills are a major part of prepping. Although it is important to have supplies in place; the belief is that skills, and not supplies, will give you a greater survival advantage during a long term emergency. Learning new survival skills and abilities creates a new platform of knowledge to draw on when times get tough. There are many preppers who taking the time to make skill building a priority. The Survival Sherpa is applying his vast knowledge to the field and showing his audience ways to learn skills and be more efficient. There are many things you can learn to promote a more sustainable lifestyle while living in a densely populated area. Make the best of where you are and begin learning skills or continue refining them so that you can use them confidently during a disaster.
Raise micro-livestock in small confines. Many families have to stay in urban areas for financial or familial reasons, but do not let that stop you from learning a more sustainable way of life. Google+ Vertical Strawberry Planter: Learn About Planting In Vertical Strawberry Towers. By Amy Grant I have strawberry plants – lots of them. My strawberry field takes up a significant amount of space, but strawberries are my favorite berry, so there they will stay.
Had I had a little foresight, I would probably have been more inclined to build a strawberry tower. Building a vertical strawberry planter would definitely save valuable garden space. In fact, I think I just convinced myself. In looking through a dearth of information regarding the building of a vertical strawberry planter, it seems that although an engineering degree might come in handy, some versions of the structure are DIY friendly for the novice architect. Advertisement The basic gist for planting in vertical strawberry towers is to acquire material that is already tall, such as PVC piping or a 6- to 8-foot wood post, or stacking something, like two upended 5-gallon buckets and then poking some holes in the material to plant the berry starts in. How to Build a Strawberry Tower from PVC. 15 Fruits And Veggies You Can Grow In Buckets. Do you live in an apartment or a house with a small backyard?
Have you always wanted a garden but don’t have enough space? There’s a solution: Bucket gardening. All you need are some 5 gallon buckets, rocks, peat moss, planting soil, and compost. That might sound like a lot, but it’s actually very simple. Not only is bucket gardening a great solution for people with limited space, it has many advantages over traditional gardening.
If you decide to give it a try, the first thing you need to ask yourself what you’re going to grow. Here’s a list of 15 fruits and veggies you can grow in buckets, grouped by difficulty. Easy 1. 2. 3. 4. All the above greens can be used for cut-and-come-again salads when they are 2 inches or so high. Moderately Easy 5. 6. 7. Moderately Difficult 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Difficult 13. 14. 15. Like this post? Then check out these similar articles: No-Bake Chocolate Quinoa Cookies - Simply Quinoa. Banana " Ice Cream "
Untitled. What an ad. The photo showed a lovely, towel-clad model reclining on a smooth redwood bench in a handsomely paneled room. Healthy beads of perspiration trickled down her brow as she ladled water from a wooden bucket onto the stones in the heater below. Under the picture, the caption read: BUILD THIS BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHFUL FINNISH SAUNA. KITS AS LOW AS $449. "Yeah," I said to myself. "Sure would be nice to have a sauna like that ... but $450? You've heard the old saying, "Where there's a will, there's a way"? I'll have to admit, fate was with us when we began our search for free building materials because right off the bat we stumbled onto a couple of half-moon houses (made of rough-sawn pine) sitting behind an abandoned migrant workers' camp.
Back at the cottage, Tom and I — aided by Kathy Kalcec's brainpower — came up with a brilliant idea: Rather than dismantle the privies for their wood, why not hook the two units together to form one larger structure (our sauna)? Untitled. In June 2004, my wife, Summer, and I arrived at the 40 vacant acres of grass and woods we had just purchased, nestled in the hills of southwest Wisconsin. Summer was six months pregnant, and we had our work cut out for us to get a warm shelter built before the cold set in. We came with high hopes and a solid work ethic. We also brought with us feelings of freedom, concern from our families, and anxiety over what we were about to embark upon. Both of us had been preparing for this step into self-sufficient life since we were teenagers, saving money and learning old-fashioned skills, natural building techniques, and various arts and crafts (including blacksmithing and fiber arts).
We worked on conventional and organic farms, learning to live simply within limited means. We also held several intern positions, participated in WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms), and spent enough time on other people’s land that we knew we wanted to have our own. Making Plans Farming The Land. Untitled. Since the early 1800's the ice house has been one of the self-sufficient, non-electric homestead's most valuable buildings.
The structure has taken many shapes and forms over the years but all have been calculated to do the same thing: exclude heat and outside air while draining water from the slowly melting ice. Ice houses are easy to build in a permafrost area: "just" dig a few feet into the continuously frozen ground. In the temperate zone where most of us live, however, it's a somewhat different story. . . although there's nothing complicated about the theory or construction of such a building. The old-timers in New England sometimes stored their ice in a heavily walled stone structure set into the north side of a hill. Once you've settled on a size for your building, plan to locate the structure near your main house in as shady a spot as possible. Building Your Ice House Cutting Ice. Top 7 Things You Need for Sheltering in Place | Survival Weekly.
In most disaster scenarios, the best place for you to be is at home. That’s where the bulk of your supplies are located. You’re familiar with the area. The fact is, that’s just where you’ll be the most comfortable. Stress reduction is extremely important during a crisis and anything you can do to put your mind, and the minds of your family members, at ease is desirable. As a general rule of thumb, I advise you to shelter in place at home until or unless home is no longer safe. Okay, back to sheltering in place. Let’s run down the list of the top 7 things you need on hand for sheltering in place. 1. Of course, you’ll also need a way to cook food if the power is out. 2.
Don’t overlook the necessity for a way to purify additional water, as well. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Pot-in-pot refrigerator. A pot-in-pot refrigerator, clay pot cooler[1] or zeer (Arabic: زير) is an evaporative cooling refrigeration device which does not use electricity. It uses a porous outer earthenware pot, lined with wet sand, contains an inner pot (which can be glazed to prevent penetration by the liquid) within which the food is placed - the evaporation of the outer liquid draws heat from the inner pot. The device can be used to cool any substance. This simple technology requires only a flow of relatively dry air and a source of water.
History[edit] There is some evidence that evaporative cooling was used as early as the Old Kingdom of Egypt, around 2500 B.C. Many earthenware pots were discovered in Indus Valley Civilization around 3000 BC which were probably used for storing as well as cooling water similar to present-day ghara or matki used in India and Pakistan.[3] In the 1890s gold miners in Australia developed the Coolgardie safe, based on the same principles. Construction[edit] Effectiveness[edit] Amazon. Amazon. Amazon. Amazon. Amazon. 3 Ways To Make Bread When The Power Is Out. Early on in my survival preparations, I bought lots of whole wheat flour and yeast packets for making bread. Flour is a lot cheaper than MRE’s and it takes up less space. Then one day my wife said, “If a disaster happens and the power is out, how are you going to bake bread?” Good question. And I felt pretty stupid because I didn’t have an answer. Fry It: Donuts are just fried bread and sugar.
Meanwhile, heat a pan of oil over your fire and when the bread is ready, slip one of the pieces into the pan. Boil it: Bagels are bread that is boiled and then baked. Bake it: Yes, not everything has to be baked in an oven. Try putting something underneath the bread pan such as a brick. Homemade air conditioner DIY - Awesome Air Cooler! - EASY Instructions - can be solar powered! All American SUN OVEN | Sun Oven® | The Original Solar Oven & Solar Cooker. Shop — Solavore. Plans for Solar Cookers -- The Solar Cooking Archive. Solar oven. GoSun Stove: Fast, Portable and Practical Solar Oven. Solar Cookers International. Bake Bread Without an Oven: 12 Ways! - The Bread Geek. International and Area Studies 106, 001 - Spring 2014.
Collection:buckminsterfuller. The Open Organization: Igniting Passion and Performance: Jim Whitehurst, Gary Hamel: 9781625275271: Amazon.com: Books. The Social Entrepreneur's Playbook, Expanded Edition: Pressure Test, Plan, Launch and Scale Your Social Enterprise: Ian C. MacMillan, James D. Thompson: 9781613630327: Amazon.com: Books. Amazon. Amazon. The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses: Eric Ries: 9780307887894: Amazon.com: Books.
Amazon. Kiva - Loans that change lives. Yunus Centre. Amazon.