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The willow feeder system, a "freaky-cheap" and sustainable approach to human waste management, was developed by permaculture expert Paul Wheaton as an alternative to conventional septic systems and sewage treatment plants. The system emphasizes a closed-loop cycle, transforming human waste, or "poop", into valuable fertilizer, termed "willow candy". Unlike composting toilets, willow feeders utilize a dry environment created within sealed garbage cans to mummify the waste, preventing composting and the potential spread of pathogens. A small amount of sawdust is added to each can, primarily for aesthetic purposes. This dry process also preserves valuable carbon and nitrogen, which are often lost to the atmosphere during hot composting. After two years of aging, the pathogen-free "willow candy" can be safely applied as fertilizer to "poop beasts" — trees like willow, cottonwood, poplar, and bamboo — which can handle the high nutrient content without being harmed. This system turns human waste into a valuable resource, promoting sustainable gardening practices.
A berm shed is an innovative, earth-sheltered structure designed for storage, blending seamlessly into the landscape while offering practical benefits. This natural building technique utilizes readily available materials like logs and earth, minimizing environmental impact and cost. The berm shed's design, as described in the sources, features a sloping roof covered with soil, creating a natural berm that provides insulation and helps regulate temperature. The round wood timber framing techniques used in its construction, relying on logs rather than dimensional lumber, further enhance its sustainability and aesthetic appeal. The berm shed is often incorporated into permaculture designs, serving as a visual and sound barrier, enhancing privacy, and creating a microclimate for plant growth. Its construction involves earthworks, carefully shaping the surrounding landscape to create the berm and ensure proper drainage. The berm shed's unique design, combining natural materials and earth-sheltering principles, offers a durable, cost-effective, and aesthetically pleasing storage solution that integrates harmoniously with the surrounding environment.
WOFATI structures demonstrate remarkable effectiveness due to their unique design features and emphasis on passive systems. The "two-skin" system, characterized by a double layer of membrane, protects the structure from moisture, ensuring dryness and longevity. WOFATI designs prioritize the use of natural and locally sourced materials, primarily wood and earth, significantly reducing the building's environmental impact and embodying the "freaky-cheap" philosophy pioneered by Mike Oehler. The core principle of "Annualized Thermal Inertia" harnesses the earth's thermal mass to regulate temperature fluctuations, providing passive heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. Large windows strategically placed on the uphill side, along with a spacious gable roof on the downhill side, often incorporating glazing, maximize passive solar gain, further enhancing energy efficiency. By minimizing reliance on artificial heating and cooling systems, WOFATIs achieve substantial energy savings. Allerton Abbey, the first WOFATI built at Wheaton Labs, exemplifies the practicality and success of this building technique
HUSP, an acronym for "Horticulture of the United States of Pocahontas," represents an advanced, nature-centric agricultural system envisioned by Paul Wheaton. It goes beyond contemporary permaculture, envisioning a future where food production systems have undergone centuries of optimization, inspired by traditional Indigenous practices that existed before European colonization. HUSP posits a hypothetical United States of Pocahontas (USP), where agriculture prioritizes harmony with nature, rejecting environmentally harmful practices like plowing and the use of petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides. This system would not only produce abundant, nutritious food, but also lead to improved human health and a thriving health tourism industry within the USP. Achieving HUSP in the real world necessitates collaborative experimentation and knowledge exchange between permaculture, biodynamic farming, and native plant cultivation practitioners. This would involve a 2,000-acre plot divided into smaller sections, where experts can develop and refine HUSP principles, fostering innovation and leading to a future where food production systems are deeply integrated with natural ecosystems. Crucially, this project requires a supportive environment with minimal government regulation to encourage creativity and accelerate progress toward a truly sustainable agricultural future.