For our house and barn we have used the light earth building method. Light earth uses a double timber frame structure which holds the roof and has an infill of clay and either wood chips or scoria. The walls are 300mm deep, which gives a really cosy feeling. Light earth is holding the heat well in winter and keeps the temperature pleasant in summer.
In winter we are mainly cooking on a wood fired kitchen range, this also keeps the house nice and dry and thanks to the wetback also heats the water. In summer we use our gas cook top and the outside gas BBQ and the sun (solar hot water) does all the water heating. We have dry composting toilets.
Both buildings are on alternative power, again supplied by the sun. The drinking water is rain water, stored in tanks, pumped to a header tank and then gravity fed back for us. A gray water system takes care of the used water from the kitchen and the shower.
The irrigation for the gardens is supplied by a communal dam.
The food we grow and eat is simple and fresh, we do avoid processed food wherever possible – at home you are (can be in) control. The words by Michael Pollan in his book “In Defence of Food” still ring true to us: ‘If your grandmother would not recognise it as food, then don’t eat it’.
Our gardens supply us with the best vegetables and fruit all year round, we have our own eggs and meat. Our high degree of self sufficiency and bulk buying of organic dry goods allows us to create a variety of meals any time.
