Dan Phillips and Creating Houses from Recycled Materials

I just found this excellent video, from TEDxHouston, of a talk given by a man named Dan Phillips on the creation of homes from recycled and re-purposed materials. I definitely thought that it was going to be meat and potatoes on home building and how to use/find materials to use. Boy was I wrong!! This, most excellent, talk is as much about philosophy of home construction, and how we live within our homes/communities, as it is anything else.

Mr. Phillips discusses basic philosophy in the terms of how we seek, build, finance, and live in our homes. A really interesting way to approach things indeed. He breaks it down into two major ways of looking at homes based on Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the Apollonian and Dionysian. Now Nietzsche wasn't the first to discuss these two in opposition to each other, I think that was probably Plutarch, but Nietzsche went the extra mile to oppose the two diametrically. The Apollonian being the ordered, the ideal, the logical, the thinking, the appreciation for visual and tactile things, whereas the Dionysian is the chaotic, the intoxicated state, the instinctual, the feeling, the appreciation for reality (organic structure?). Applied to modern homes you have the Apollonian McMansion, and the Dionysian [name your organic/sustainable/recycled home design ethos].

Within this framework Phillips breaks down the ideas behind his work and why it is important. The largest driving force, within the home construction industry, is the waste created by the consumer. Formally waste was all over, the industrial revolution had a dirty, wasteful start (think your turn of the century saw mill or steel furnace), now we are presented with a industrial process that is certainly wasteful in terms of pollution but not necessarily use of raw materials. Modern mills and plants that make materials for use in home construction have the process of getting the most out of a raw material to a T. If you have ever been present at, or watched a video of, a modern saw mill in action you will have undoubtedly noticed the advancements made in production of dimensional lumber. Computer technology has allowed a mill to calculate the most efficient use of a log within milliseconds and then cuts it accordingly, gone are the days of cutting 2x4's from one log then 4x4's the next and so on. The problem of waste lies with the consumer.

Phillips gives an example that I, myself, have been guilty of, turning away a piece of lumber because it is somewhat warped. Another example is throwing out the off cuts of pieces of lumber and not using them for other projects and applications. Yet another is replacing any piece of a home just because of a minor imperfection that changes or, in the eyes of most, depreciates its value. This is as bad an example of wanton over consumption as any. Years ago people wouldn't waste anything they bought when building a home or making anything in particular. Today we throw away most of what we buy.

Mr. Phillips believes that a return, or more like a shift, towards the Dionysian side of life, is required in order to conceive of and create a less wasteful way of life. Mr. Phillips, you are preaching to the choir. This shift from an ordered way of building would allow us to get in touch with a more organic and natural expression of our wants and needs. His ideas are quite provocative and I strongly urge you to take aside for a few minutes and watch his talk. Without further diatribe, here is Mr Phillips.



Search Amazon.com for recycled home

Communitarianism

This is a good article I found on the Times's website. Give it a read. I think Phillip Blond's essays echo many of my own feelings.

Planning with Intent: Planning my Intentional Community

So planning for a long term intentional community might seem like a big and scary task. Something that might easily overwhelm any person who was to take on such a venture, but for as complicated as it is, to plan such a community isn't insurmountable. I have been kicking around ideas to plan, build, and make profitable a intentional community aimed towards self sustainability, agricultural education, and a farm stand/store. Below is my starting five year plan.

The Compound....(Yea I know its kind of intimidating but we haven't figured a name yet)

• Year 0
• Membership:
• 4-8 central starting members
• Likely to be divided between major financial contributors and major labor contributors.
• Planning will be equally shared and voted on, so a odd number of people would be best.
• Full-time, live in staff responsible for labor, building, and management.
• Part-time, non-live/seasonal live-in in staff responsible for finance, legal, PT-labor.
• Central members set goals and a overarching vision for group/project.
• Plans that set guidelines and expectations for years 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, etc.
• Combine initial investments and incorporate as a group.
• Search for a suitable land investment:
• 150-200acres
• Good water, (lake, ponds, streams, rivers, quality ground water)
• Good initial soil and slope for farming
• Reasonable timber resources for building and sustainable timber operation
• Proximity to local municipalities
• Proximity to major towns and/or cities
• Access to local grid (phone, power, network)
• Standing structures are a bonus
• Previously farmed land is a bonus
• Set final plan for farming and long term expansion of farming efforts
• Viable crops, cash crops, subsistence
• Crop rotation
• Agricultural style (organic, no-till, etc)
• Make initial contacts with Timber management company
• Early income potential
• Begin initial equipment investments
• Basic tools
• Tractor and attachments
• Portable Sawmill? (would be excellent for structure building)
• Power generation equipment (solar or small scale wind)
• Water storage
• Power tools
• Year 1
• Establish residency.
• Initially part time
• Rehab of standing structures and construction of small scale residences 
• Initial structure building prep
• Season timber for building (why we would use/need a sawmill)
• Establish structures for farm facilitation and equipment storage
• Clear/prep land for farming.
• Establish green manure/composting/soil building program at this time to effectively recycle cleared materials.
• Soil tests for pH and mineral contents to plan amendments and initial cover crops
• Cut and dry firewood for future
• Establish water and waste systems 
• water conservation and protection
• water acquisition
• if a well is needed have it dug
• water storage (cistern or catchment system)
• waste water recycling. (earthships model)
• waste recycling (composting)
• Establish subsistence farm
• provide food to residence
• provide crop effectiveness feedback
• Plan and establish initial animal husbandry
• chickens are easiest!
• plan for sheep, pigs, horses, cows, or whatever animals are desired for draft and food purposes.
• Begin contacting schools for initial internship possibilities and planning
• cheap labor
• agricultural education is positive for the community
• get kids out of the cities and off the streets for the summers
• provide skills, training, and food for good, honest labor on the farm
• Years 2-3
• Establish living quarters for full time residents and a bunkhouse for visitors.
• Living spaces would be best if shared initially via a large common farmhouse or lodge.
• Built from harvested timber for year before, and built with recycled or locally sources materials. Strawbale would be best, in my opinion.
• Expand farm to commercial scale. 
• Expand residential food garden too support a local farm stand and farmers market stand. Possibility would exist to create a CSA out of farm should that be desired at the time.
• Cut and clear more land, expand crop variety.
• Management of farm must be efficient if venture is to succeed
• Begin implementation of internship program to staff farm through the summer months
• This would also be a good time to begin looking for people to "buy in" 
• Expand animal husbandry and seek a facility to process animals locally or on site if possible.
• These years will be critical to success of venture because of initial dependence on the success of the farm and related commercial ventures. If revenue from farm is substantial enough to see a profit then profit should be reinvested into the farm in order to expand and streamline production. Larger farm=larger return.
• Begin development of processed foods such as syrup, honey, cheeses, preserves, pickled vegetable etc as an expansion of agricultural market.
• Years 4-5
• If things with farm are on an even keel this would be time to begin planning of other investments on site. 
• Suggestions include: meeting spaces, artists retreats, artistic facilities and work spaces, bed and breakfast, restaurant etc.
• These must be viable businesses that stand alone from farm financially. Financial interdependence could be a dangerous web should one venture or another fail.
• Lodge and surrounding full time residences should be complete along with workshop spaces, equipment sheds, water storage and processing, bunk houses, part time residences etc. These should have power and facilities independent of one-another.
• Development of a CSA group to better facilitate farm growth.

So this is where my ideas begin to stretch and get foggy. However, this is just because I have been more preoccupied with the details of the initial buildup that I haven't developed a solid plan that extends further than five years. So here is where I want your input and suggestions. What can be developed further? What can be added? What should be changed? What risks do you see? What could potentially make for a more sound idea? Anything you wish to contribute would be appreciated! Thank you!

Schools Post Oil: What is going to happen to our educational system?

We all love our schools dearly in this country. Every Monday night across countless fields, our high school football teams face off under the lights, with the roar of their frenzied parents and fan fare of the bands behind them. But what happens to them when the lights go out for good?

For the last fifty or so years our nations schools have been suburbanized, centralized, and have downsized on teaching staff and resources. Before the age of the yellow school bus fleets and high school campuses that resemble shopping malls, we had a smaller, less centralized, system. A system that was walkable, flexible, and very personalized for that region. But no longer. Our children get bused from far away to massive buildings, full of thousands of students, where two teachers could work at the same school all their careers and never meet. If you are reading this blog you likely have a good handle on how poorly our schools operate from various angles, such as quality of education or efficiency of resource use, but have you ever considered what would happen if the students couldn't even get to school if they wanted to?

The scenario almost plays out like a charity commercial for a third world country. Students longing to get to schools but they are too far to walk or bike. The roads are rough from even a year of disrepair, and in the winter months the way is simply impassable. The schools are shells, falling down around the few teachers and students that manage their ways in every day. Water supplies are inconsistent, lights are broken or off dew to power outages, and heating and air conditioning systems are inoperable. Books are old and tattered and all the marvelous technological innovations of the 20th century are useless. It is a sad and stark reminder of what we will not be able to accomplish in a world beset by constant oil shortages and/or total oil depletion.

So how will schools need to adapt in the times to come? There are many answers or at least many options. Not every school is the same, nor is the town in which it is located, neither are the places they will no longer be able to serve, and the traditional methods of teaching might not apply from town to town, city to city.

The biggest change will have to be in size and geographic location of schools. Gone will be the day that kids can be bused from miles and miles around. Instead of serving entire districts schools will be forced to serve much smaller populations. To give you an idea of school sizes, the average school district in America serves about two thousand students grades K-12 and this is inclusive of vocational and other schooling. Two thousand students is a very large population for a school system and in a post-oil age it is likely that the average population of an entire district will shrink to a fraction of this. I predict that the average school will serve between fifty and a hundred students, that number may shrink or swell based on geographical location. In some cities it is totally foreseeable for a school to serve a few hundred students, and maybe even a thousand, based on the walkability of cities. On the flip side of this, our rural districts could become completely home schooled or turn into a local communal form of education with neighbourhood families taking shares of the responsibility for the education of their young people. "School" sizes in places such as these could be as small as a couple dozen students K-12.

The schedule of schools will likely stay within some semblance of what it is today. I would imagine since schools would be serving their own immediate localities, each would have their own unique calendar year. But regardless of location schools will likely revert to a more agrarian based school year. Days might be shorter in the harvest and planting months and longer during the winter months. Most schools will likely be directly tied into local economies to the point that weekly decisions about scheduling may be made depending on who is available to teach what or if a local business may provide a learning opportunity to educate students. City schools will be less affected by this change. They inner city areas will probably lengthen their school years and shorten the days. This would not only afford teachers, but students even, the chance to get a part time job on top of their obligations to school. This would benefit the local work force as well as give teachers and students a deeper level of integration within their neighborhoods.

The role of the teacher will change drastically. The traditional teacher will be replaced by a more versatile and multifaceted individual, capable of not only teaching a "classic" subject like history, science, or math, but also more practical skills such as carpentry or farming. Vocational education through internships and work programs might become the new norm for students in their teens, in a time where learning a specific skill to contribute to the common good of your home town trumps individual success. The role of a teacher may become a higher valued position within a community. Parents and community leaders may, once again, look to teachers as the stewards of their future instead of necessary components of a educational industry. College, among other forms of higher education, may revert to a realm for the select, and lucky, few who can afford to leave their local community or have such a resource at their disposal locally.

As I touched on already it is likely that many student will not move on to more than a 8th or 9th grade educational level. This would be reasonable in a world post-oil, at least initially, for a few reasons. First is that a functioning high school may be out of reach geographically for some. Not all rural areas would be able to afford or support such and endeavor. It would be more practical for some students to simply move into the work force at the age of 13 or 14 if the only thing they need to know is how to support their family by living off the land. Certainly the structure of classes, content, and years of mandatory attendance would change but even in areas that are more densely settled than farm areas it will likely be more practical for students to apprentice in their communities in order to learn and preserve trades necessary to their town. Of course doctors, lawyers, teachers and politicians will still be needed but they will be those select few who will go on to higher educational institutions, if they still exist. The biggest worry here is the creation of a more intense class system where select areas of a state or even people of certain professions call the shots. I can see this happening, however, I hope that the feeling of belonging to a community and the sense of responsibility for a persons own people will not be lost on these lucky future few.

Indeed the role of education and the way it is executed is yet to be seen for the future. All that we can do is speculate and prepare for what may come. But the overarching theme needs to be this; that we MUST be prepared for any eventuality. The biggest weakness we will face as the world turns and changes is an uneducated population, especially if that population forgets the lessons of the past. We have ignored those lessons already and, because of that, we face a grim future.

Communes, Intentional Communities, and Ecovillages; different spins on society that can sustain humanity into the future.

When someone tells you they want to live on a commune they immediately have visions of free-loving hippies and psychedelic drug use, the traditional view of anyone counter to the common ideas of how a society should be structured. This, at times, may have been a understandable outlook, the 60's had their ups and downs, but modern intentional communities are paving the way for people to live sustainable into the future.

So what are all these concepts anyway? Communes? Intentional Communities? Ecovillages?

The idea of a commune is nothing new, we are all familiar with the communes of the 60's in America, but they go much further back into history than that. In America there were many political, religious, or social communes that date back into the 1800's. Believe it or not the Oneida silverware company, in Oneida, New York, began as a commune! Abroad there are histories of communes in Europe, in countries like Germany and Russia. In the Middle East was home to communes in the past. All over the world there are Abbey's and Monasteries that are communes and some of these date back hundreds of years, if not more!

What a commune is differs greatly from place to place but most are a community of people who unite over social, political, or religious causes, common interests of goals, and many other things. Typically material possessions and land are shared along with income and resources. These are a type of "intentional community" or planned community. Basically a residential community that places a high emphasis on team work and the common good, and which works towards a better way of life for its residents. Many commune-type communities are ruled democratically or by majority vote of its founding members. However some have a more hierarchical form of rule. It would seem that one common thread is a disdain for bureaucracy and unfairness.

What is an interesting concept within a commune is the idea of shared property and possessions. Foreign to most Americans is the concept that a group can own a piece of property, live and work on that property, and be successful as a society. Even more unusual is the idea that a group of people would pool their individual incomes together in order to serve the interests of the group as a whole. By bringing all their income together into one common purse the group can achieve much more than the individual and in achieving more as a group they raise the standard of living for the whole commune.

I personally think that in a time of global economic hardship the idea that a group could come together like this. In a way it is a very human thing to do. Those in the group without an income could find a way to be beneficial the group through the growing of food and livestock or doing the work and chores around the property, and maintaining the various systems needed for life. Meanwhile those who have an income can bring that into the group and benefit the group as a whole while being supported by other members of the group. This sort of symbiosis, I feel, is lost on many Americans today. Perhaps only in stories and the memories of the very old can we find functioning examples of this in out society.

So then comes the concept of the ecovillage. At it roots a combination of a intentional community and a sustainable habitat for humans. Most ecovillages place special importance on being eco-friendly to the extreme. Green or eco-friendly infrastructure and capital, small ecological footprint, systems of sustainable agriculture such as permaculture, and renewable energy are just some of the pillars that an ecovillage stands on.

Most within ecovillags place a value on being agents of change for the greater society. Setting the example of how people can live without harming the environment. Self-sufficiency is also sometimes a goal but can lead in ways to isolation that may not be desirable. Most ecovillages look down on immoral or objectionable spending from an ecological or socially just point of view. So leave your SUV's at the gate. This mindset of eco-friendliness combined with a goal of making life equally agreeable makes for a very attractive deal.

For more information on ecovillages I encourage you to visit The Ecovillage at Ithaca's website. EVI is a ecovillage made up of two distinct communities with a third on the way in Ithaca, New York. Their village spans a 175 acre parcel of land a large chunk of which is dedicated "green space" that will not be developed. Theirs is a very good inspiration for what a ecovillage looks like.

So how can these examples help our society in the coming decades? It may not be what these communities themselves do within themselves but the example they leave and the skills they teach others that will be of greatest importance to society as a whole. In the face of the converging problems of climate change, peak oil, overpopulation, food scarcity, water shortages, etc, etc, an ecovillage is a small utopia within the greater picture. Expand that Utopian lens to the size of a small town or city and we are talking about a method of living that could possibly sustain society.

A large part of what these ecovillages would do is bring infrastructure, production, agriculture, and all the basics of life back into the local community. Imagine a town of average size where the local economy wasn't a problem because everything that the town needed was made within its own borders. Now the concepts of property and income sharing might not be for all but imagine if your town made its own clothing and you were able to buy that clothing at 80% of what it would cost you to get it from a foreign supplier because by purchasing that piece of clothing you were not only supporting your local textile industry but also your own livelihood. Of course this might not work for places as big as New York City but there are parts of the greater message that might be applicable such as raising your own food, or even just a portion. Within a small town like the many that dot New York State there are surely people who would benefit from the de-specialization of labor, shared property, working within the community, for the community as a community member, growth of local industry, self sufficient lifestyles.

Realistically a group of friends or like minded individuals who were to start such a community would only need to be able to purchase, collectively, a piece of land to suit their group size, maybe 50 acres. From there they would need within their group, individuals with the skills and the means to build homes, farm the land, design green small scale water and water treatment facilities, build a internal power infrastructure, raise livestock. Skills that not many have but that many might be able to learn. Initially such a venture might be costly for those fronting the cash within the group or for all the members of the group equally, but after a few years of hard work and determination they would be able to put together a sustainable habitat for those who lived there. Such a goal is hard met but noble in its intent, and truly any group who deems such a cause worthy is deserving of such a haven. With luck, in time, there may be more such villages in the world. With greater luck perhaps the world will pay attention and set some similar goals of its own.