Various Ebooks

I have links to a few ebooks I've come across, some pertaining to structures. They aren't all necessarily "earthship" related, but they should prove useful, nonetheless

The first is by Ken Isaacs, who gives excellent insight into the utilization of space. It's a little harder to do with sticks, but if we eventually have an opportunity to mill wood, some of these could be quite useful, especially as temporary structures or workspaces.

Without any further adieu:
Ken Isaacs

The second is a bit more visceral than practical, but it gives you a new perspective of building materials. This is a photobook of Patrick Dougherty's work with sticks and stones:
Pat Dougherty - NY Times

The third is technically set of three. The Foxfire books are a collection of writings from various authors in Rabun County, Georgia initially published in 1972. The topics vary across many aspects of South-Appalachian culture and reveal a cache of backwoods wisdom.

More info on the series can be found here:
Foxfire - Wikipedia

Here are links to the first three Foxfire Books:
Foxfire One
Foxfire Two
Foxfire Three

There is plenty more to come once I've sorted through them all.

Enjoy.

plot management plans

There are full "Individual Plot Management Plans" for particular land plots in an intentional community in Wales. VERY thorough. Good to scan through for the purpose of figuring out what may be missing from the logistics of this project. Structure of one plan includes:

-Introduction/Background of individual/s
-Description of Existing Plot
-Permaculture Plan (drawing and a table detailing land use)
-Zoning (doesn't refer to zoning rules, rather, plans for zoning the land into sections for particular crops, animals, pasture, etc.)
-Fuel
-Water and Drainage
-Waste
-Energy Use and Generation
-Main House Designs
-Workshop Designs
-Barn Designs
-Mobile Compost Toilet Designs
-Business Plan for Land Based Production
-Land Products Cashflow Chart
-Smallholding Costs Chart
-Fuel Requirements
-Provision of Water
-Household Food Needs
-Basic Clothing Needs
-Annual Dwelling Maintenance
-Vehicle Fuel
-Taxes
-Mortgage
-Personal Food Production Table
-Projected Calculation of Household Needs Produced on Land
-Transportation
-Temporary Housing Solutions and Timescale
-Outside Sources of Income
-Start-Up Costs

goats

• 6-10 per acre depending on the type of pasture/forest available

• 1 goat per person in a family should be sufficient to supply enough milk for drinking, making butter and assorted goods, and feeding pigs

This is a pretty informative statement on a forum I found:

the six goats to the acre is stated alot and may be an average, but i think what they're mostley refering to is normally you can keep six goats on the same amount of ground that it would take to sustain 1 cow. but everything depends on how they are managed and how good your pasture or forage is. i've kept 30 or more on 3/4 of an acre and they couldn't stay ahead of the grass. the biggest problem isn't that they won't have enough to eat. it's controlling the worm load. if you're going to run a big number of goats on a small pasture, they need to be rotated very regularly to give the pasture 3 weeks to a month to let the worms eggs deposited by the goats time to die off. woods are not as big of a problem with worms because the worms get into the goats mainly by forcing them to graze rather than browse which is thier natural way of eating. i don't think you could run near as many in the woods as you could the pasture. i've never really pushed my woods to the limit like i have my pasture. but i have fenced off small portion here and there (1/4 acre or so) and 10 or 12 goats will have it eat down to nothing in less than a week most the time. i've never had a problem with mine running in the woods, maybe i've just been lucky. but they seem to have the ability to know whats good for them and what ain't, or at least not eat enough of it to cause a problem.

Wheat

Prepare yourself for some rambling...

From everything I've read, hard red winter wheat seems to the best for baking bread. We'd plant it in September or October and harvest it around May. In the meantime, we could grow a cover crop to replenish the nutrients in the soil and prevent erosion. Another idea is to fence in the area so during the summer when we don't have wheat growing, we could grow something full of good protein like turnips and let the chickens and pigs forage on them while simultaneously fertilizing the land with their droppings. This is an interesting article about incredible harvests of wheat after peas were grown in the soil. Here's a great page that goes into more detail about this important grain. It's worth a read.

Anywho, If we're working long days building, growing, and raising animals, we're definitely going to want the easy sustenance bread provides. The recipe I use for one loaf of bread includes 2.5 cups of whole wheat flour. It easily feeds Jamie and I and if we have children someday, it would feed them too. (I'll be safe and say one loaf could feed a family of four to five.) Figuring I made one loaf every day of the year, I would need 912.5 cups of flour. I'm going to round that yearly amount up to 1000 cups to account for homemade pasta, crackers, biscuits, pancakes, etc.

According to the page I linked to, one bushel contains 60 lbs of wheat which grinds into 60 lbs of flour. 1000 cups of flour translates into about 17 bushels of wheat. Now for the tricky part... How to translate that into acres. I think if we treat the soil well we can attain numbers like 100 bushels per acre like the article I linked to says. BUT to stay safe, we should go with the US average of 43 bushels per acre. (I have a feeling we'll exceed this amount though, which will just provide a good item for bartering.) This means 2.5 families can grow their yearly wheat allowance on one acre of land. More specifically, each family will need 17,424 square feet, or each individual will need 8,712 square feet. Of course we'll communally tend the whole farm. These calculations are only so we can figure out how much land we'll need to adequately feed the people involved.

Now to calculate how many milk goats, pigs, and chickens per couple and per acre... Any other livestock visions? Meat goats, turkeys, ducks, rabbits? How neat would it be to raise bison?!

ps. Are we going to use tractors or traditional draft horses or is there a way around both of those options?

An introduction....

These are our personal thoughts and opinions relating to the questions posed by Jamie during our first meeting. All of our answers are a matter of personal opinion and are certainly open for discussion and refining.

The format is that of the original questionaire/outline presented at the innaugural meeting.

All responses are made in-line, and are identified by "~" at the opening and closing of the injection.

Super Awesome Earth Ship Assembly Meeting #1

　

People:

Who are you? If we are going to live off each other and depend on each other to survive off the land than we need to know if we will be compatible.

~We are Brandon and Mandy… a couple for 8 years, we were recently married, and live together in Dauphin, Pa, where we keep and maintain a small, single bedroom, rural home.~

What is it that you envision for this endeavor and what type of goals do you want to set for yourself once we are a fully functioning community?

~We envision this project primarily as an experiment in green building and sustainable lifestyles. We hope to see it grow into a flourishing, but small community of people all working toward the goal of self sufficiency.~

What are you currently doing for a living? Will you be able to keep your job or would you be finding another source of employment?

~I work in Natural Gas production, collecting and processing bottom-hole information during drilling with which directional drillers steer the wells. I live on location for 2-4 weeks at a time, in most cases, and usually come home for anywhere from a week to 3 weeks between. I plan on keeping my job through this relocation process.

Mandy works in a hotel setting up the breakfast for the guests. Although she is happy with her current position, she is willing to explore other avenues, and would most likely find another position close to the inevitable project, or even put her full time effort into the project itself. ~

What other obligations may you be carrying with you into this? (Kids, you owe the mafia money, etc.)

~Owe the mafia! Classic! We have no children living with us, but we do have (currently) 4 dogs, 2 cats, a snake, and a mini-mule. As far as financial obligations, other than old repos, a few medical bills and a current car note, we really don’t have many binding ties. ~

　

How many assets are at your disposal? (Money, Tools, Modern home amenities)

~We have plenty of mechanical hand tools. We have a chainsaw, 2 4wd vehicles (A Tracker and a Cherokee) as well as a 35 MPG 08 Kia Rio5. We have a small savings that we are reluctant to utilize, but we make enough money to be able to feasibly meet any rational needs.~

　

What kind of experience do you have?

~I have a strong construction background as well as a pretty effective mix of mechanical/artistic mind. I DO NOT GIVE UP. I Push to the end, and then, a few feet past it. I’m physically fit, and thrive on physical activity. My construction experience started with HVAC, moved to residential electrical wiring, then to sheet metal fabrication. From there, I crossed into rain spouting installations, window set installations, and roofing. I’m also a locksmith, a pretty resourceful survivalist, a piss poor but manageable gardener, as well.

Mandy is experienced in rural living, some field identification of indigenous plants an animals, food preparation, dog training, etc.~

What kind of unique abilities will you be able to offer the group?

~We’ll certainly be bringing a bit of personality and humor to the party. But, more importantly, we offer the dogs. From security, to nuisance animal deterrent, as well as physical work, and, potentially, even electricity generation (I’ll explain more, later), the dogs are a beneficial, and practical, addition to the community.~

What kind of helpful networks are you tied into?

~As far as organizations, we really don’t have many pertinent affiliations. But we do possess a large network of people individually vested for many different aspects of this project.~

What kind of home do you see yourself constructing? What size? How long will it take to build and how long will you live there?

~With distinction between the initial project building, and our “home” being made, We would like a small 2 bedroom, single bath structure somewhere in the range of 1200 to 1500 sq feet. This structure will aim to be a 100% sustainable habitation, and incorporate many of the principals demonstrated in traditional Earthship designs.

Approximate build time should be no more than 5 months, equivalent to the constraints of seasonal change. In other words… I’d like to break ground in early spring, and be toasty in the new home by the time winter hits.

As far as intended term of occupation, if all of the things we conceptualize manifest, I see no need to leave the property at any point in the future.~

What materials will you need and how much will they cost?

~This all remains to be calculated due to the individual nature of the project and the lack of actual environmental givens at this early stage.~

Where will you be during construction?

~We have an RV, are avid tenters, and are in no extreme rush to inhabit the property or move immediately. So, I’m certain that we will have plenty of options when it comes to housing. Frankly, regardless of location, the larger percentage of my nights will be spent in job provided housing.~

What kind of overall time frame should we try and set for ourselves?

~“Let’s take it nice and easy.” …This is a huge risk. From the big issues of loosing our investments to the smaller issues of everyone having personal goals that are sure to clash at some point, the best defense I can see is to take our time and cautiously consider every individual step.

Understanding that other interested parties are in situations that require a more immediate occupation of project land, I still think it would be far easier to find temporary accommodations for those people than to spend the rest of the life of this project trying to compensate for permanent decisions made in haste.~

How much weird are you comfortable with?

~We’re Burners… just try us. Lol~

　

Land:

How much land seems appropriate for the amount of people that will be on it?

~This depends on the amount of people involved. I’m not too certain that this has been decided on, yet. My opinion is that 15 to 20 people is large enough to ensure proper function of the space… and that amount should be sustained on between 15-20 acres of properly suited land. But, I’m not here to say that my assessment of size or resource requirements are in line with anyone else’s.

Basically… this still needs a lot of discussion.~

What will we be doing with the land? (Animals, crops, greenhouses etc.)

~All of the above… plus art… plus parties… plus teaching… plus re-homing pit bulls. =0)~

How much money are we willing to spend on land?

~Here’s the fun part. I can’t just throw a number out. It’s commensurate to the actual property, and any assurances of our investment.~

How far from the city are you willing to be?

~Wherever’s clever! We actually prefer the rural areas.~

What are the zoning requirements?

~Dependent on location.~

Road access?

~Dependent on location.~

Water supply? (Well, perk testing?)

~Dependent on location.~

Power/phone lines and stuff?

~We’re not opposed to internet or the possibility of a phone line, but we feel all power should be internally produced.~

Will we be able to take advantage of any kind of preexisting structures or foliage on the property?

~Of course! That’s a huge part of it! Work with what we’re given! =0)~

Being Self Sustained:

What kind of food will we be growing and how much of each thing?

~This, again is a good question for further discussion as it’s answer will rely on the variable factors of the number of people and the particular property.~

Are you ok with raising animals for food? (chickens, goats, rabbits, bees, moose, fish)

~Frankly… I’m Cajun… I’ll eat it, if it doesn’t eat me first.~

Can we develop some kind of functional business model to start producing goods/services for sale besides food? (Soap, lumber, day care, agriculture training, clothing)

~Cottage industry will be a big help in making commuting less necessary, but will need to be explored further, as well.~

Once we are fully operational, how much will it cost to maintain our property?

~Outside of property taxes and incidentals (Ie. Clothing, vehicle maintenance, personal spending, etc.)… nada. I feel it’s completely possible to reach 100% sustainability.~

Solar power? Wind power? How ‘bout both?

~ANY and EVERY form of personal power production should be explored, integrated, and developed.~

How will we be able to tie in with our fellow units posted in the City?

~By offering educational programs and possibly an urban outlet for our future wares or any excess products.~

　

…ok?

Does that help?

Lol

We’re thrilled to be involved in this project, and look forward to it’s eventual bloom!

~Brandon~

Brandon found this awesome map, detailing where "permitting for environmentally friendly housing is quick and easy."

Do Whaaaaaaa?

Ok... where am I going?

I guess the best way to get to that is by looking at where I am.

I've got a very focused plan that will lead to the operation of a completely sustainable animal rescue/re-homing center for 40 dogs located on rural land, and needing separate homes to insure proper integration of the animals. It is important for me to build self sufficient structures for their economical value, allowing for more funding of the nuts and bolts involved with feeding and housing of 40 dogs and 5 families.

This plan involves acquiring land , building a site-custom main structure and then building additional smaller homes that will each be charged with the full care and behavior modifications of 8 dogs, while providing to the livelihood of the project's sustainability goals.

I had always assumed I’d be doing the beginning stages of it by myself, until recently.

I became involved in the Greater Baltimore Earthship Project in order to learn more and align my resources with those of other similarly minded people.

Now that we have had an opportunity to meet, I can see a definite urgency in pushing for progress. But at this early stage, I really don't see what we're pushing for yet. I know we need land. And I know that it will be the longest "up" in the process.

But, if we're just gonna be building an Earthship, it's $8k for basic plans and a few hours of consultation.

That makes it easy, right? Lol

However, if we are going to incorporate most of the principals while still working with what our unique requirements offer us, it's best just to consider it an efficient design similar to an Earthship.

I've thought long and hard about the many different systems. I even have some ideas for some pretty non standard forms of electric generation, basically running the house's main electrical system with recycled components from automobiles.

I have a good understanding of plumbing, and how to handle water cycling, and conservation. I believed myself able to retro-fit my current home with a forcing structure, alternative power system, rain catchments and utilization as well as waste disposal.

But, now the plan’s evolving. It’s not a back burner project, anymore. I can’t just pace around my yard with a measuring tape, and call it progress. It’s an organized venture, involving other people and their livelihoods, equally vested, and being charged with all of the associated responsibilities. In the process, it scraps my ideas for my current property, in exchange for a potentially better suited, but nonetheless new location.

It’s a big step.

But, I’m gonna give it hell.

My current goal is to design a very basic schematic for each of the four major systems utilized in a common home. Water supply, air conditioning, electricity, and gray water processing. Before the specific building project is decided on, this effort will consist of information compilation and research into each of these areas, so that when implementation is necessary, a solid familiarity with the concepts will allow for a more efficient, and durable integration of the principals.

I will update my progress here, as often as possible.

Merry Christmas, e’rybody!