My hope for this site is that it will become a collection of resources for anyone who might want to undertake a project such as mine. While it is certain to start out small, the hope is that over time this will become a real help to people who want to live a more energy efficient, environmentally friendly lifestyle: especially those who really want to do much of the work themselves.
It is also a way for me to catalogue my project and keep me honest. Knowing that there is a public site out there reminding friends, family, and the eventual regular visitor will be an impetus for me to keep going.
I hope you will help me get this site going and will offer suggestions, resources and links. I am a novice, at least for now. If you have any suggestions, you can leave them in comments on the blog, or email me here
Welcome aboard,
Paul
January 28, 2007
The Project has two main stages. First, the construction of a small, off-the-grid, solar-powered, straw-bale cabin and; second, the building of a larger house. The house will also be off-the-grid and will also be somewhat small, at least as far as modern American houses go.
While that sounds simple, there are lots more to the project than these steps. I am starting with a blank slate – an empty canvas if you will. I own 20 acres up in the mountains outside of the former ghost town of Madrid, New Mexico. As I write this, the property is land-locked and only accessible by foot. The closest road is a rough track some 1000 feet away from the property line. Stage one will be getting access.
There are no utilities out there. The eventual structures will be solar powered. Rain catchments will provide a certain amount of the water though potable water will have to be trucked in, at least until I can get a well dug. The sun will provide most of the heating (passive solar) and all of the electricity (photovoltaic). The building itself will be made largely of straw bales, and earth plaster (clay, sand and straw) will provide the cover. There will also have to be one or more utility structures for the building of the cabin and house and eventually the result will be a small compound of mostly small cottages.
I have worn many hats: this one is hopefully one of the last. I have never undertaken a project like this, and that provides much of the excitement and trepidation.
My most recent employment was running a B&B in the Village of Corrales, New Mexico but before that I managed money on Wall Street for a number of years after a brief stint in academia. I came to this point in my life after much … well, we’ll leave that up to other parts of the site, including the blog.
My ever patient and forbearing wife currently supports me and the project and I have high hopes that will last until it is done.
