Join us for a tour of two super do-it-yourself houses that are great examples of green energy. We will spend about an hour at each location.
The first house is a load-bearing (without frame) strawbale and cob house with earthen floors and clay-based plaster finishes. The house utilizes a rubble trench foundation and earthbag stem wall to support the 2-1/2-foot thick walls.
The home is heated with a batch-style rocket mass heater which heats the 750-square-foot home on two cords of wood each year. Also featured on the same property are pallet and cob-constructed composting toilets, an outdoor shower with tadelakt (Moroccan plaster), a strawbale workshop, freestanding cob garden walls, and a cob and straw bale guesthouse.
The second house has decorative and insulating concrete construction, solar, and the Annualized Geo-Solar (AGS) attached greenhouse. This low-tech AGS system captures hot air in the summer and stores it below the greenhouse (or house) to be released in the winter.
You can ask questions and hear about the installation, use, and requirements for homes with these green innovations. We will carpool, and including transit time to switch houses and return to the parking lot, we expect to finish by 1 pm.
Donation: $10 per person
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