theresa tulsiak

Good morning- I just saw your post from a few years ago on Permies and wondered if you ever found a place in Tampa. I have a house in south Tampa that I tried to start a Makerspace at but for a number of reasons it didn’t work out, so I rented it for a few years. I’ve decided to try and avoid selling it to a developer who will bulldoze it after my heart was broken when it happened previously.
The house has a large yard, garage, and is even in a mixed use address since there is commercial across the street and next door but mostly residential. It’s close to interstate, downtown, (Home Depot)and the airport.
I started hugelculture which has disappeared while rented but yard has full sun while house is shaded. It’s a very nice updated block house.
If you are interested or know someone who is I would love to talk. I can work with the right person regarding rent and terms.
If you no longer need a place that’s good news, still happy to hear from any Permies!

I own a sub urban house in Tampa currently vacant, and have attempted to start a Makerspace there by advertising free rent for the place. It has a huge yard with hugelculture that I started and just sank into the ground over time. I had a relationship with 'hackers' briefly which ended by them moving to another space that I found, and it seems to be going well for them but soured our relationship when they removed all the tools I had gathered.

I think the best use is someone who needs a living space but also wants to promote sustainability through projects that can enable others to pilot projects then move forward elsewhere, but it doesn't seem like Tampa Florida has much interest in this. There must be creative people who care about building Green, alternative energy, and the Circular economy, but how do I find them?

The other issue is letting someone move in or use the house without losing control of it, or being liable for accidents, illegal activities, or other disagreements.
Any suggestions are welcome, before I return to renting it and feeling I missed an opportunity to do Good. I took one of the Makers suggestion to just 'take the money' and support my beliefs in other ways but that has felt hollow and unsatisfying.

I always heard that as long as you identify the queen, and queen in waiting, they will stick around as they have 'imprinted' on her.

My suggestion is to practice with pieces of veneer if you can find any around, mostly because I had to disassemble some old drawers after water damage and I saved the layers thinking they'd be good for a project. (haven't found one yet, but they are pretty slices, over 100 years old)

I was given a system by the city, who was trying to burn through some grant money- it's fairly 'tedious?' to put together and is quite large as well so I don't want to have to move it. (I also didn't realize I had to seed it with 25 gallons of manure, lol) I am excited at the idea of the possibility of demonstrating alternative energy and waste management systems and wondering if it would be put to better use by donating to an organization that is more knowledgable/proficient/ or visible to make a bigger impact. I was thinking a school, but after being shut down by multiple schools several years ago when I tried to start gardens, I feel torn by the potential bureaucracy even though we've come a ways, they still don't like to let the kids eat what is grown, although that may have more to do with stepping on toes of the companies who supply the official school lunches.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? They cost around a grand to buy, and even though there was supposed to be more engagement, noone at the city knows anything about it, and the person in charge was an intern now gone. It definitely needs someone to oversee it, and while I compost, I havent been successful at STARTING much- my previous attempt at a Makerspace failed, and even collaborating to start an aquaponics component at a local community garden was met with resistance ( that was due to my questioning the Budget, which listed gloves, building components, and other supplies at a HUGE markup of retail prices instead of sourcing them more economically) I am good at ideas, and financially supporting them, but it's been hard to get others to see new ideas as clearly...For example, I read that using pond bottom muck can be used to start composting systems, in my local community, but people's ignorance and resistnce to change is  frustrating, especially when I don't have the experience, just the willingness. I have tried engaging with local officials, suggesting introduction of graywater as an option, even contacted Insinkerator to discuss a project that would pre- chop organic waste, and the VP who called me back informed me that once local officials invest in  waste to energy plant, they aren't interested in anything that at all interferes with them 'feeding the beast'. It was an honest insight that I appreciated, but I inadvertantly caused a councilperson to ressurect his inaccurately coined 'Toilet to Tap' dismissal of any reclaimed water initiative. And got me a call from another vice-president- this one from Mosaic, who thanked me for 'caring about Mother Earth' but suggested I leave the big decisions to the experts- this was in response to my comment about their ongoing permit for dumping Process Water into our water supply- somehow he got my phone number, address and personal info about me- and this was in 2009. It started souring me on trying to make change  but I'm starting back up with baby steps...

Sadly, I scrolled to the end to see it sold, but for much less than listed for. How do you get notifications? My daughter just moved to Seattle and I would be DOWN to buy anything out there! I just got a methane digester and have solar panels- will travel...

TP is not your friend. That's why other countries love Bidets, but Americans are squeamish for some reason. Much more sanitary IMO. We also overuse garbage disposals instead of composting which is another problem. Very little vegetative waste should be going down the sink- what about a diverter to capture the rinse off from dishes and directing to your compost area? Washers pump out vast quantities of water which I believe can be used for watering if its the right detergent. Of course I think shower water is fine too- do we forget all the crap that's running off the roofs and streets, starting with animal waste?
The goal is to prevent graywater from BECOMING blackwater, and to limit the strain on the septic tank so the drain FIELD can filter the water.

Just because they are easier to repair doesn't mean you can. They just raise the price of the part to be incompatible with the time and money spent. Despite this, I attempted to repair a High Efficiency LG washer that spun so fast it not only shook my whole house. It was recalled and they turned the RPMs down but it eventually loosened the bolts which suspended the drum, causing the part  to drop down inside. Simply get it out and replace it right? After the repairman was truly ignorant about that basic task, several phone calls resulted in finally getting a part that included the entire assembly, I was unable to access the place to reattach, without cutting through the bottom - which I did. Unable to balance and attach this heavy drum alone I finally abandoned the project, sadly as there were any number of computerized circuits that I assumed someone could have used if they knew how. But I salvaged the drum and am composting in it.