Nikolaj Vinicoff

I just started reading this book yesterday: (The New) Create an Oasis with Greywater: Integrated Design for Water Conservation - by Art Ludwig. Some books manage to suck you in and turn page after page, and this book is one such example. Anyhow, my thread today isn't about the book, more so about a useful short video I stumbled upon on YouTube where two guys talk about septic systems in a way which even kids can understand. I'll leave the link below.

The only two additions I might add (I'm no expert but I've seen examples of this) is to (#1) divert greywater around the septic tank into a separate system of grease trap followed by a reed bed and finally to garden irrigation, and (#2) add another reed bed at the exit of the septic tank so that any blackwater will also get biologically filtered before it seeps into the ground, also making use of this water to irrigate certain crops.



Any feedback is welcome.

My advice would be to have a look into the future of what might annoy you about this property, and this advice comes from my very own personal experience. 3 things: Solar aspect? Wind sector? Ease of selling the land in the future?

I felt drawn to a property some years ago which remains a beautiful property, no doubt there, but there are some things I wish I had looked out for had I known what I know today.

Solar aspect here isn’t ideal; being slightly on the north side a ridge of a sunny southern valley makes the winter cooler and less productive for growing trees/veggies - you notice how much slower things grow with the lack of sun and abundance of shade.

Being on the northern side of the ridge, the windward side of cold (and strong) mountain winds, although seasonal, can be a pain in the butt sometimes.

Location is everything when talking property. I would try to buy a land a little bit closer to civilisation and/or with a better access now that I’m selling the land.

Just a personal tip from here. Good luck with your process! And yes, wait… don’t rush it

John F Dean wrote:I just got an email saying the company can prevent me from running out of money in retirement.  I just need to send them $1,000,000.00 to invest.

That must be the same company owned by the beautiful queen of Lesotho who has been fleeing her war torn empire with 827 million dollars since 5 years ago when she asked me to send her 500$ as a show of my seriousness in running away with her!?

Heres a quick, yet not final, update on the airtight thermal seat:

I ordered the thermal seat from a Finnish website and just received the parcel today, along with a book I ordered on Amazon that Paul recommended on a podcast (or a talk?). The 2 seem to go hand in hand. Next I will bring the seat to my compost toilet setup in Senegal and give you all another update once installed.

An aircar might just be perfect given that I hold a pilot license

I'll probably keep my Civic and get the necessary repairs done, and drive it for maybe another 50k miles. By then I'll have sold my property here and purchased another one, spending more and more time in Africa, and thus I'll be driving less in Spain, but I'll be able to upgrade my Civic to a newer car: Ford Tourneo Connect with either a 1.0 og 1.5 litre petrol engine properly maintained and cared for would probably suit me well as a family car, work car, and a camping car for the occasional road trip.

If some manufacturer comes out with compressed air cars, I'll definitely be up for that!

but let's just end with, a good old-fashioned pickup truck is one of the most useful tools you can have, and it's very appropriate for permaculture!

Well said!

Personally , being remote, where electric isn't there yet, an alternative eco solution is to fix/upgrade what you have. So my two cents follows accordingly because you have a Civic.

Ra Kenworth: I'm definitely keeping that option in mind that fixing my Civic might be better than buying another car. It's not in bad shape, but parts are wearing out and I recently got a high quote from a mechanic since there are various repairs required, some urgent and some aren't. It's a 08' 1.8 petrol semi-automatic (i-Shift as Honda calls it), now pushing 203,000km and I have it since 140,000km.

Recently learned that the CRV 2012 is Civic's big brother and it is more suited for not-so-smooth road driving given its height and it being AWD. I never go for Diesels, but I found one at a dealer in Barcelona which I might go for. A 2012 Honda CRV diesel will surely keep me going for years to come (it has driven less than 100k miles)

I'm so happy how much input I got from all of you on this thread.

Posted this thread, went to sleep and woke up, and was glad to see all this engagement. Pick ups are ideal, the Honda Ridgeline would be my number one choice if it weren’t that expensive. I get it that we should all be mindful of how we use cars, but I also don’t think we should feel ashamed or guilty for having cars. Cars have been a miracle. Anyhow, I’m looking for another car that will last ‘forever’, and would love to have a truck bed where I could load all kind of shit (literally speaking) in the back any very reliable, inexpensive trucks come to mind ?

Knowing that this is not really a car forum, permies often do rely on cars to get around, and I think a sound way is to think in terms of longevity and reliability (as little inputs as possible for maximum output). I'm looking to change out my trusty Civic to get some more ground clearance as I'm doing quite a lot of mountain driving. Thought I should also aim for some more interior space, so stumbled upon a Skoda Yeti petrol, also looked at some compact vans like the Ford Transit Connect / Courier as well as some of its direct European rivals, but since it's hard to find a reliable engine (and transmission) nowadays, and having such a good experience with Hondas, my eyes took a liking to the Honda CR-V, although the Diesel version which I often try to avoid. With a little trailer on the back I could easily haul around organics, and it would double as a family car / weekend camper.

What are your permie car experiences and what is a good permie car to you?