Hi, interested in a model I saw a picture of and wondering if anyone manufactures them for purchase?
I searched again (here and Google) and did not find the picture again.
Thanks in advance
Sage
One of the downsides to wood, from my perspective is the time needed for the boards (rough cut and green) to be delivered/stacked to dry and season before they could be installed. Installing them wet/green would mean either overlapping a lot to account for shrinkage or dealing with gaps later on.
I love all this info. We have a member of our community that works as the Transfer station attendant in our town. o far we have received a beautiful *huge* window. a door, and a double sided sink. All great things for our project. Still working on a list for him so we can make sure he's looking for all the things we need. Our county does not have restrictions on scraping or anything. there is a "free" stuff shed set beside the dumpsters for people to leave useful things already and wood/mulch/ etc is set in an area that one can easily pull a truck up to and take whats wanted. I'm not as sure about the metal...
craigslist is pretty active and a local farm has what they have labeled a "resource pile" (a junk area that is well stocked and well organized).
We will be doing the work, and I am aware that daubing clay plaster by hand is more labor intensive than nailing boards up... that is the sort of comparision I am hoping for from this discussion. anyone ever done Daub in NE? plaster?
I just found a local place that will deliver 8 yards of clay to our cabin site for 300$... I think we might do the cob (daub) finish.
There are upsides and downsides to communally owned land. Everyone here has " ownership" of their own structure but not the land it's on, like a mobile home. There are no deeds (which is causing issues for an absentee member that want to sell her structure but no one here wants to buy it, and she can't find anyone interested in both paying her price and living with the rest of us... Giggle). The founder has no special rights or privileges, but since he's been here longest, and he's oldest, and he knows most about maintenance... He gets a lot of deference.
The land trust protects us all, because the land can not be inherited if someone dies, or sold, or clear cut... It has to be used for the community into perpetuity.
That's a big comfort since I know of communities that have been destroyed when someone died unexpectedly, and the kids inherited/sold the land off. Or someone got serious ill/injured and needed money for medical expenses...
Have you looked on ic.org? There seem to be many there. Twelve tribes comes to mind. I'm at dancing bones (nh)... If it wasn't so far I'd say "come on up." I would hate for you to be this far from your kids, though.
Hi all, what's your best source for finding stuff you need?
One of the guys in our community runs the town dump, so we have that cornered. I also have craigslist for our area. Where do you look? I am looking for building materials, but also for furniture, tools, anything that can be re-purposes into household stuff.
I am curious, because various materials *have* different insulative values. They must have *some * effect on the home as a whole. I don't know much about it, though.
I like the idea of a rain screen and will be looking into it more. Any good links you can share?
I think my husband is really interested in wood siding. What can you tell me about other options? I'm in New England and would like to compare price/ labor for plaster, cob, and any other methods. Anyone have thoughts?
Wow, This was a long time ago. Anyone still looking?
We have settled at a place in NH called Dancing bones. The process of membership is easy, there are both homes available on the 40 acres, and once you are a member you can build your own (we are doing so now).
I'd love to hear if anyone ended up at Abundant Dawn, or anywhere else?
My husband is partial to the look of Adirondack siding. I really like the look and durability of the metal panels. I don't mind the fading, or dents either... A few of the small cabins here (we live in an intentional community) have adirondack siding that was installed 9-15 years ago and I don't like the way it has weathered (and molded/rotted/been susceptible to bugs and vermin) at all. Cost is an issue, since he will argue on cost. The floor, though (and the supports for the structure) are very well-built with our rocket mass heater in mind. Looking forward to more progress... though it looks like a lot of conversations about our siding are to come.
Do you know how it does with insulation/heat retention?
Here is a picture of the 8 foot tall (buried) 12" sonotubes with the beams and posts finished/level.
If any of you are still looking, consider Central NH?
We have an established, but growing, community of 10 adults and 11 children called Dancing Bones. website (not very detailed) is http://www.dancingbones.net/
We don't have much permaculture going on, yet. There are some blue berry patches, and a lot of rasberry and blackberry bushes around. Many of us would like to get more going, and would like to have a common business going that could support us all so our families don't have to have people out working "paid" jobs daily. If you're onterested in more info, let me know?
Be well,
Sage
I wondered about the homeschooling group of permies. We have 3 kids so far and at 6.5, 4, and 1.5 they love being home and learning together. The 4 year old is helping the 6.5 year old to practice reading skills, and the 6.5 year old is tutoring his brother in fractions. They love working together and when the differences in their level of understanding can not be overcome, they take a brak to play with toys, or run in the 40 acres of forest we live on (Wit 4 other families).
Homeschooling (like homesteading and permaculture) is not for everyone, but it is for us. I am happy to have a bunch of people here to draw wisdom from. anyone have a great material/tool they used for homeschooling they want to share?
We have finally made the move to 40 acres in NH and are well on our way to timber-framing a small cabin. I am thinking ahead to siding. my husband and I were all set to order rouch boards to dry and use as lap-board siding, but I am now thinking perhaps metal siding would be similar in price and better in the long-run.
Any advice?
Anyone ever use metal siding (Like the roofing material)? Places to get good information on pros and cons? Metal Vs wood? adding a picture for a concept...
First, I want to note that I caught and identified the spider, AND had an obvious bite site reaction that i will add a picture of.
> Extreme fever within the first 12 hours... lasting for 4 days. (got to 104.2 and DR recommended acetaminophen to bring it down to prevent brain damage)
{I don't usually use any kind of pharmaceutical}
> Muscle aches all over my body from my toes cramping to the top of my head throbbing with pain at every movement.
> "Tetanus-Like symptoms" 48 hours after the bite. (This included my spine stiffening/arching, jaw clenching, and foaming at the mouth)
> The fever was done on day 4 and left behind severe migraines. Electric shock was attempted on day 5, and *did* stop the migraine. http://venomshock.wikidot.com/ > Circle-shaped rash-like patches all over my body, ranging in size from "apple" to "basketball"
> Swollen eyelids from day 6-present (day 18 at this posting)
> Nerve pain that began to be noticed on day 4 when i stopped taking the pills to reduce the fever. The pain is intense, systemic, increases in intensity with movement/activity, seems to be centered in the same areas as the red circles, and responds well to anti-inflammatory meds.
Part of my reason for starting this thread, and for posting my symptoms here is to see if others have different information that I have been given. The information I have ranges from "the venom is out of your system in 3 days" to "it could take weeks to recover" to "it could take 18 months" ... and I want to know what other people have experienced.
Most research I have done says that most adults don't respond at all to the venom, save for the uncomfortable bite location and possible fever for a day or so. Since, for me, these are all new symptoms and it came right after I was bitten, I assume those two things are related. no one (medical professional or otherwise) is really giving me good information, and i just wanted to hear from someone else what it was like for them.
I have a raw-milk dairy that delivers to my area once a week... well, not exactly my area, but only an hour away so it's not horrible. It's a trip i never make except for the dairy tho, and was thinking maybe I could find a source for Butter online? a friend has given me use of her free shipping through amazon prime and I have a deep freeze and a fridge, so I could store butter by the case easily. I like the Kerrygold butter, but can't find it by the case, and wondered if any of you had opinions on the amish butter or butter like this: http://www.amazon.com/Butter-unsalted-83-1-lb/dp/B0050ILPI8/ref=pd_sbs_gro_3
Have keywords I should look for in the advertising? if not, we recieve public assitance right now and I have a pretty good local grocery store, what brands of butter do you buy from them?
any advice will help, I just want to have more food on hand and can't get much butter from the local people at a time.
Be well,
Sage
We (my hubby and I) have spent the last 9 years studying/visiting communities all around the east coast and into Ohio.
One model we have seen, that appeals to us more than anything else, is used at Dancing Bones in New Hampshire. The community was originally purchased about 45 years ago by the founding member, who purchased it as a non-profit corporation. 8 "homes" and 7 tent platforms, a Quonset hut, and a mail shed have been built in that time. The community building, which served as a house for beginning members at one time, has running water and electricity. I think it even has Internet. Most of the cabins are simple, one or two rooms with lofts. The two oldest buildings, built by founding members, are several rooms and have more amenities. I tell you this so you have an idea of what the place is like. All the homes/houses have been built/paid for by the people that live or lived in them. As members have come and gone (or been asked to leave) The community has struggled on how to handle returning the investment of the people that are leaving. The consensus is that the person that paid for the house owns the structure itself, and so ofetn times the community members have pooled together to purchase the house from the people leaving: leaving the community able to "sell" it to the next person wishing to inhabit it, or to allow people to stay while retaining ownership (at no cost to the individuals using the house and covering the expense of the repairs/maintenance).
To me, the key point in this structure is that the community owns/maintains control of the land and who has permission to reside on it. The members have full ownership of their own house and can sell it to whom they like, but there is no guarantee that the new owner will have permission from the community to live in it. This motivates the seller to either sell the structure to another member of the community (as has happened several times) or to the community itself. Since meetings are held weekly and decisions about major projects are communal, this integrated community needs people on the land that work well together, and the system they have is working well. Subdividing the parcel of land is not possible or desirable in this case, and i would not want to split a parcel of land, ever... so this sounds wonderful to me.
Tizzy, I am so encouraged to hear that you are doing this. IA is out of the area we want to settle, but it is so encouraging to hear people moving forward with projects like this. good luck!
You need to leave where you're at in a month and half? We have friends/allies in the area we plan to purchase land and could possibly help you get settled there until we're there.
We are a family with small children as well. I am friends with Kestral, one of the members of Abundant Dawn, and would *highly recommend* that group to anyone that has a tolerance for the southern summer, and possibly an outside income or potential to have one. Wonderful loving people on a great piece of land. Too far south for us tho. lol. Summer gets hot there.
My husband and I want to go north, though, and are interested in having families join us as well. We will be purchasing land in MA this year and hope to settle a few families with children. We'd like to Co-op parenting/childcare/education while growing food and other interests together. The land will have no mortgage, we plan to purchase it as an educational non-profit and maintain it with no property tax if possible, or minimum taxes based on agricultural income. Decision mostly by community discussion/concensus with a majority needed to *block* projects. We hope to get it set up as a permiculture farm/ forerunner of *best* agricultural practices moving forward. we want to hold seminars and summer programs to show people how to grow food effectively and efficiently on whatever land they have. We are looking for people that are interested in building small, simple homes (like the Simon dale style Hobbit-houses) and living mostly off-grid and low-tech. We want to have a large community building with all the amenities/tech and leave that all out of our little homes. Reality is that it will probably start out with a single home from which we all share/start in while building our homes.
If this sounds like a fun adventure, PM me? I'd love to hear what the rest of you are looking for/doing.
We pay 4$ a dox outside DC. Those are fresh (sometimes we collect them right from the hen house) free-range (cooped at night) no hormones, no antibiotics, no GMO fed chickens.
Burra Maluca wrote: I want to point out that the only real rule here is 'be nice'. Any post that doesn't fit with the 'be nice' policy is likely to get itself deleted. There is no place here for mocking, judging, making sweeping statements about 'truth' or 'facts', or belittling anyone else's belief systems. This is not the right forum for discussing politics or religion, but I'll do whatever I can to ensure that this a safe place for discussing homeschooling.
Oh good, I was a little nervous. I am happy to know there *are* rules about being nice. I guess population statistics don't really fit into "homeschooling" discussion, so I'll leave that for another thread. Anyone homeschooling preschoolers?
Our house has an Athiest, a Pagan, a Buddhist and a Christian all living in harmony and acceptance. I only hope to find as much love and acceptance in other homes (not to mention forums.)
Is this a safe place for homeschooling discussion? Or, is it a place to mock and judge people for what they believe/teach? For me, Mocking and judging happen well enough outside our home (and especially in public schools) which is one of our many reasons for choosing the route of homeschooling. I hope that's not the case here, since I really like finding new sources for tools and learning resources, as well as sharing the many i find to be useful.
I hope to find friends here. Let me know if you're out there.
Hi everyone,
I am glad to see so many people here. I like to see that people *have* reasons for wanting to go the route of homeschooling. Though, I see a lot of responses with a Christian/"Young Earth" focus. I wonder if there are also unschoolers? People that teach evolution/creationism/intelligent design all as theories? Anyone Pagan? Atheistic? Universalist? Just sustainable/permiculture focused? I am wondering how mixed the population is, more than anything.
As for us, we are working on Kindergarten skills right now. Cutting, drawing, letter sounds and number recognition. Anyone else doing pre-school at home?
-S
RE:
boiling does condense the arsenic, yet it also changes the form of it... into a solid/non-absorb-able state, so it becomes inert and not harmful. Does that make sense? I'm not a chemist, so i don't understand exactly what changes, tho I know that boiled water, once cooled, is more easily absorbed by the body/plants... meaning that it is more efficiently used. You could boil the water and then run it through a simple cloth filter and you should visibly see the difference on the cloth. You will see fine grit, and the white specks are the arsenic. NO, boiling water does not remove arsenic, but it does render it safer.
Hi all.
I'm new here, tho not new to a permie-directed lifestyle. We have two small boys 4 and 20 mo and have been homeschooling from the start. nice to know others are here.
-Sage
Most bad government has grown out of too much government.-Thomas Jefferson
I have worked with military-standard ROWPU (reverse osmosis water purification unit) models since 2005. I have friends that have in-home units and drink only the water from their homes.
My first advice is that your shower is giving you more arsenic intake than your drinking water. Your body absorbs (through osmosis) more chemicals in a 10 min hot shower than you would get by drinking gallons of the water a day. That said, I would immediately start adding a regimen of Lugol's solution to your drinking water 2-3x a day. The iodine creates detox pathways that allow your body to flush out the arsenic. It could save your life if the arsenic levels are high.
Second, a previous poster mentioned a lack of minerals in rowpu water, and I agree with that. Drinking only rowpu water would soon cause health problems resulting from dehydration (your body needs minerals to process water) and mineral depletion (cause your body will use what its got in store). Ever eaten an MRE (Meal Ready to Eat)? There is a reason the instructions say to have at least a little of *everything*, even the drink pouch. The drink mixes in the MRE include a supply of the minerals missing from the ROPWU water, to try to prevent adverse consequences that in combat forces. That said, if you have access to other fluids like milk, juice, tea, etc., your body gains most of the minerals needed from those and from the food you are eating (which is not usually going to come from sterile/asceptic pouches, like it does in the MRE). If you use exclusively rain water, it will be full of minerals, since every rain droplet contains one particulate from the atmosphere.
In your case, if it's possible I would build a separate roof to collect rain, have as large a cistern as possible, and try to use that water for showers at the very least. You could continue to use well water for anything else, even drinking, though boiling your drinking water first would allow the particulates of arsenic to change form which would render them harmless in digestion (like sand).
