The ECOnomics of ECO-Sense

Almost two years ago now we jumped a big leap of faith and quit our jobs to embark upon this project. Our fears were pretty much muted by our excitement and belief in what we were doing. Something bigger than fear was driving us as we dove head first into the mud…of bureaucracy, only to emerge a couple years later even more determined and quite a bit thinner.

Rant
We have ranted as we piled the mud higher on such subjects as peak oil, climate change, species extinction, environmental collapse, our consumer culture, economic collapse, and all of our laws that protect us from every possible little thing that could go wrong…except food shortages, dried up aquifers, extreme weather events, poverty, disease, cancer, and the big one, the collapse of our life support system.

Do we really need all these laws?

This month we came across an article that put into perspective much of what we seek to dismantle, explaining how complexities of our society make us more fragile. www.climateark.org/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=97741 Over the months we have argued that complex codes, regulations and policies limit our ability to build ourselves a simple and more sustainable home.

Building code policies as David Eisenberg (of DCAT) notes, develop out of the need to address failures in past building practices. In our BC climate we have the leaky (sweaty) condo which has led to even more complex systems to seal and move air around in buildings, and rain screens on the outside of buildings. Every time our society tries to fix individual problems by adding more layers of complexity we actually create larger problems which lead to a more fragile economy and ecosystem.

The law of diminishing returns explains this well. We believe that in order for our society to evolve into a sustainable one we need to simplify. This means problem solving by reducing complexity and acting locally with the primary guiding force of the bigger picture. This also involves the fundamental acceptance and comfort in knowing that the earth is in charge and all will ultimately be good. Problems can more easily be solved when we look to nature for the answers.

The above article also pointed out that as a civilization moves away from simple systems, and becomes more complex, there reaches a point where the individual functions played are so specialized it opens itself up to fragility in the face of change.

Food security works the same way. On the Island we have a limited supply of food, three days I believe is the number. What if a hurricane/tidal wave/earthquake wipes out the transport links to the mainland? Our Grandparents used to grow and share food among their communities; they were not as efficient as the greenhouses in California, but their food source was more secure.

The power grid also demonstrates what happens when we rely solely on one power source. Blackouts when a node fails. Would a decentralized power system be as efficient…probably not, but a decentralized system would be more secure.

Who’s the most important in our Society?

If we all lived much simpler lifestyles where the majority of us were directly involved in producing items to fill our needs (food, shelter, education, health), then each of us is a contributor. In our current societal arrangement, we actually have very few contributors, most of us are non-productive consumers; each of whom fills a role outside of the production of basic needs. What this means is that those who produce the basics to fill our needs have to do so more efficiently. This tends to mean that we centralize production, mechanize the systems, and production becomes more complex. This places our civilization in a very vulnerable position.

Fear of No Money

So where does this leave us. Currently our home is almost finished and our bank account is almost empty. (Check our website for our updated cost spreadsheet) Both of us are actually fearful of the empty bank account. Logically we know we will be warm and safe in our home, (once we finally finish and move in) and we can grow most of our food if we work REALY hard. We also have abundant clean water, for now anyways. But even knowing all this we are scared of not having any money. We are still trying to get to the bottom of our fears but we think that most of it is irrational cultural programming. Money represents power, stuff, and security.

But really, we do need to earn enough to buy our local goats milk, our used clothing, tools, maintain our computer, pay property taxes, go to the dentist, buy our $900 liability insurance so we can participate in green building shows, you know the essentials.

The future for us is not in the green home building industry where we have to travel and spend time away from home. So what makes ECOsense for us?

Ideas

1. Sustainably Suite
Picture the demand for eco-density, more population living within city boundaries, with the need for kitchens, bathrooms and the other necessities. Where do we fit in?

Take the need to renovate and install a suite, with a kitchen made out of beautiful recycled materials, with cob countertops; where floors are heated with the sun, light clay infill walls for sound and fire proofing, natural plasters, and where simple composting toilets are installed in bathrooms. What is even more interesting is the idea that the green home owner filters tenants by their eagerness to use a composting toilet and live more naturally. This is even suitable where regular toilets are too costly or impractical in certain applications. Every suite renovation and install of a composting toilet would require the owner to read the “Humanure Handbook”.
Grey water re-use and rain water harvesting may also be incorporated.
Sustainably suite! Sustainable home renovations… by… Eco-Sense.

2. Tours and Education
We are definitely going to continue with our tours for the public, professionals, and students. This is very important to us but generates very little income relative to the effort. Oh…slight tour change for June. There will be NO tour on Sunday June 8th but instead there will be one on Saturday 10 am to noon June 7th. This is great news for all those church going folks who have been very interested in our progress.

3. Consulting for natural building and system integration.
Though all of our work here we have learned a great deal and are eager to help others with this process.

4. Workshops
In the years to come we have many hands on workshops planned.
Next year we will build an 8 x 8 cold storage shed out of cob. This design can be adapted to many backyard projects and the CAD plans will be given to all workshop participants. This short course will occur on two consecutive weekends in the 2009 season.

Also next year we plan on building a covered outdoor cooking, meeting area in front of our gardens that will include seating, bread oven, food prep area, etc all out of cob of course. This will be offered as a five day workshop. Plans will also be given out.

5. HOW TO Presentations in the Circle Room
Two hour presentations given in the circle room starting with a half hour quick tour of the home, a one hour power point presentation on the given topic, and then half hour for questions and discussion. Groups of about 10 people.

Topics to include:
Natural plaster (including Ann’s secret plaster recipes), composing toilets, simple grey water systems (including the ‘WORM BIN’), rainwater harvesting, living roofs, earthen floors, infill wall systems, sustainably suite, solar PV, solar thermal, and anything else YOU think will be useful to YOU in our changing world.

For the series we are also partnering up with others like Angela Evans with her amazingly empowering presentations on community building in YOUR neighborhood. Check out Angela’s new website at www.localsolutionsplanning.com to learn more.
We hope to put a schedule together for this fall. If anyone has other ideas or would like to present a topic in the circle room please let us know.

So there it is…the beginnings of a sustainable future doing what we are passionate about.

If anyone is interested in learning about timber framing check out the series of hands on courses offered at Our EcoVillage. www.ourecovillage.org

Please share any ideas you have…we are all ears.

Cheers,

Ann and Gord

A Day
As April came to a close we had one of those regular days. It started by watching our weeks worth of milk squirting out of goats, while sharing easy conversation with the squatting goat farmer on the history of my own milking experience and admitting that not only have I never milked a goat but nothing has ever milked me and then explaining that my kids are step kids and not baby goats…(kid is the technical term for a baby goat).

Coming home with fresh milk for my family (Husband, two step kids, and parents) to find more family visiting excites the social senses. The sharing of stories and a beer was saddly interrupted by “Dad! Dad! (Sob! Sob!) I think Kozy (the visiting dog) just bit a chicken!” On heightened alert we rush to the coop only to find our finest laying hen… lying… LIFELESS. Explaining to the kids that black labs are bird hunters, we share what Spring (the deceased chicken) will become as we bury her quickly (and rather unceremoniously) into the thermophilic compost pile. Emily, through sobs and sniffs, explains to Uncle Brian that Spring laid double yolks! As we take in all the emotions comforting kids, sympathizing with visiting family about their dog’s
natural instinct, and observing the eight circling Turkey Vultures directly overhead, we keep in our mind that we have a wedding to attend to in 30 minutes.

As Spring the hen met her fate, on her way to starting many new lives in the compost, the phone call came that Rick, Ann’s brother, was to be married in Las Vegas and the 6 minute ceremony would be a live web cam broadcast. As we hugged family goodbye we rushed to conquer technology to view the wedding.

In our simple life in two trailers, we have, sadly, three computers. The first, a Mac that woudn’t view the web cast. The second in the midst of a virus scan and unwilling to shut down, so we scramble to the third in the den. In the den we find the power is out. (Later, Emily and Ann learn that Spring’s feathers inside the chicken run, hide the disconnected power cable). Back to the trailer where the virus scan finally quits and allows us to see the vows. We fight back more tears of happiness as Ann’s friend since grade two is wed to her brother.

Emily, after all was said and done, tied some of Spring’s feathers together with Grandma Merrily’s finest twisty, and remarked “We can have a Spring flower on our Christmas tree”. More tears!

The day was rich as we shared family, tears, weddings, death, life, local milk, and eggs.

The Children

“If you want to know what the future looks like,” asks Clifford Stoll, “don’t ask a scientist with grey hair, ask a kindergarten teacher; and not just any kindergarten teacher, but an experienced one. They will tell you what the future looks like because they’re looking at it”.

The kindergarten teacher at our kids’ school, is an amazing man with an amazing ability to empower all his students, making each one feel like a leader, filled with self confidence, creativity, and an unfettered understanding that they can change their world, for the better. It makes sense that Mr.Crisp sees the future… and this is why he invests so heavily in it.

This month we have been contacted by students from Glenlyon Norfolk, Esquimalt, Spectrum, and Belmont, all primarily through their own action. They all want to know what sustainability looks like, how it takes shape, and they have lots of questions.

Sustainability is more than just a house and its systems, it is a mindset.

Interestingly adults and youth share different mindsets. This month we have had several conversations with adults and there is a fairly prevalent series of stages that adults are going through. The stages seem to be denial, fear, powerlessness, acceptance, anger and empowerment. The kids luckily for the most part have escaped this and are at the empowerment stage.

The feeling of powerlessness is understandable as it is easy to look at the global picture, ignoring the small pieces that make it up. The Gestalt view is that the whole is a sum of the parts, and despite “feeling like an ant run over on the highway”, it is the combined action of the ants that demonstrate the success of the whole colony.

Think globally and act locally is in our opinion admirable but tough as the global thinking paralyzes us and can make one feel powerless. We like to think local and act local. Kids are naturally focused on the local… they provide the smaller parts that make up the bigger picture.

Here are the questions posed by grade five students from Glenlyon Norfolk, and our answers.

Jamie
How much did your house cost?
Our house cost $270,000 or $125/ft2.

Did it cost more or less to build than an ordinary house?
A conventional house without any custom work costs $150//ft2. A house with custom furniture, cabinets and finishing ranges from $190-$200//ft2. So Our home costs a lot less than an ordinary home… plus our costs include all our power for the next thirty years!

How do you use technology in an eco-friendly way?
First off, we USE LESS; we have changed our lives to use less water, to use less electricity; we have built a house to require less. This means whatever technology is used can be sized smaller. Even though we use sustainable energy there is still a cost to the environment to manufacture it.

Are you happy with your choices?
I think so. After living a year in the house and we see how all the systems perform, and how we perform, we will have a better idea.

Julia
What tools did you use to build your house?
The two most important tools we used were (and are) our hands/bodies, and our minds. Our cob tools we used are the rototiller, gloves, shovel, wheel barrow, cob saws, buckets, and level. For our carpentry to build our roof and cabinets, we required regular carpentry tools, (hammers, saws, drills, etc.).

Are there any pests that could ruin your house?
No. Pest look for food, and cob does not provide any nutrition. Even in areas of the world that have termite problems, cob is seen as a pest free building style. The straw in the walls has no food value; straw is different from hay, where hay is a food source.

What maintenance will you have to do on your house?
We will have to refresh the lime plaster on the outside with a lime wash (lime paint) every couple of years. We will have to replace the roof in 80-100 years, and check on it to ensure an arbutus tree is not sprouting.

Sarah
What is the foundation made out of?
The foundation is made out of concrete as specified by the building code… BUT we used a high flyash mixture. This flyash mixture means we were able to remove 40% of the Portland Cement out of the mix, by the addition of flyash, a cementatious material that is a waste by-product from coal fired power plants.

What type of flooring do you have?
We have earthen floors. This means we have floors made of straw, clay and sand, that are sealed in many layers of linseed oil and wax.

What type of insulation do you have?
Our cob walls are very thick which gives them mass. Mass has the ability to store heat. Within the cob wall is pumice, a lightweight volcanic rock with air pockets, which provides insulation to the cob. On our ceiling/roof we use a formaldehyde free fiberglass insulation. Our roof is a living roof with three inches of pumice and soil.

Are most of your materials local?
By volume and amount of materials – yes. By cost of materials – NO. The materials made elsewhere, by non-natural sources cost a lot more.

What type of power runs your home?
We use solar PV to make electricity for the home.

What is the most environmentally unfriendly material you have in your house?
This is a hard question. The first is the concrete for the foundation. It is one of the highest carbon footprint items. The second is the EPDM membrane (pond liner) for the roof, which is a petroleum product. Thirdly, one of the most toxic products produced, is a material that coats all our electrical wires; this is PVC (polyvinyl chloride), a type of common plastic.

We wanted to share these questions with all of you to show what the future looks like.

Eco-Sense in the BC Legislature

Last month we spent a wonderful two hours giving our local MLA John Horgan a tour of our home. He was so supportive of what we have accomplished here that he spoke for two minutes about Eco-Sense in the BC Legislature. Check out this link to read his speech. Http://www.islandnet.com/~anngord/downloads/legislative-report-april10-08.pdf This was a real honour for us. Mr. Horgan also puts out a monthly e-newsletter where he introduced our home.

http://www.islandnet.com/~anngord/downloads/john_horgan_mla-april08-newsletter.pdf

The adventures building our sustainable home have been followed by many other politicians and political candidates from municipal, provincial, and right up to federal. Check out Brian Gordon’s Blog at http://www.greenparty.ca/en/blog/815 and for specific items on Eco-Sense check out these two entries. http://www.greenparty.ca/en/node/4209 and

http://www.greenparty.ca/en/node/3614

Tours:
Our first two tours of the years were fully booked and we even had to turn some away. Oddly enough though, we had to cancel our third tour as we had only two bookings. I guess we need to do more to get the word out. Two public tours are booked for May: May 11 and May 25. 10 am until noon. $12. Please call or email to book you spot. ann@eco-sense.ca 250-478-2680

All the Best,

Ann and Gord