Les Vignes Basses

International Women’s Day is a demonstration that our modern world fights the good fight daily in terms of equality, anti-discrimination and liberty to transcend gender boundaries. Some areas are making this transition in leaps and bounds whilst others are laggards stuck in their traditional ways with little or no thought towards progression. Thinking about this started a reflection process about our house build and the stereotypes which I unwittingly fought (and still fight) against on a daily basis.

4 Comments

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Kungfuflee

Eco-Building, Permaculture, Sustainable Futures

action, building, confidence, construction, diy, ecobuilding, empowerment, energy, fitfam, fitness, gender equality, greenbuiilding, International Women's Day, Les Vignes Basses, life affirming, mental health, Natural Building, permaculture, permaculturedesign, permaculturedesigncourse, selfbuild, selfsufficiency, straw bale building, StrawBaleBuilding, sustainability, Sustainable, wellbeing

I blinked and it was gone… Yes, summer has flown by! Suddenly the leaves are starting to turn in colour and float to the ground announcing autumn’s arrival. Summertime was exceptionally hot, not to mention dry, here in France, although I have the impression that it was the same throughout Europe.

7 Comments

Posted on October 11, 2018 by Kungfuflee

Eco-Building

animals, autumn, ceiling, community, dancing, diy, ecobuilding, ecofriendly, education, electrics, france, house, insulation, learning, nature, selfbuild, sharing, stove, straw bale building, straw bale house, summer, sustainability, woodburningstove, writing

“Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery…”

👆🏼 …According to Ruskin, who seemed to know a thing or two. And in my mind, their awesomeness is unparalleled. After a month working and hiking in the Spanish mountains I had plenty of time to ponder both the scenery aspect and the people who live within them.

13 Comments

Posted on June 6, 2018 by Kungfuflee

Eco-Building, Permaculture, Sustainable Futures

auto construire, building, community, countryside, diy, family, france, house, learning, Les Vignes Basses, Natural Building, natural materials, nature, permaculture, selfbuild, selfsufficiency, spring, Straw Bale, StrawBaleBuilding, strawbalehouse, Sustainable, volunteering, winter

5 Comments

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Kungfuflee

Eco-Building, Permaculture, Sustainable Futures

autoconstruire, diy, doityourself, ecobuilding, france, learning, livingnaturally, maisonenpaille, Natural Building, permaculture, permaculturedesign, selfbuild, selfsufficiency, strawbale, StrawBaleBuilding, upskilling

To Render Or Not To Render

Earlier in the summer we really thought we wouldn’t be able to render the house until spring 2018. Everything we had read pointed to the fact that lime render needs to remain frost-free for three months after application. We were told by our straw bale building guru, Barbara Jones, that the only way to effectively protect it is to wrap the house up in bubble wrap each evening to protect it from the ice. So, we decided in September that it was too late and we wouldn’t be able to get the three layers on in time around the exterior of the house.

2 Comments

Posted on November 24, 2017 by Kungfuflee

Eco-Building, Guests, Permaculture, Sustainable Futures

alifelessordinary, diy, ecobuilding, education, france, learning, lesvignesbasses, Natural Building, natural materials, nature, no debt, sharing, strawbale, StrawBaleBuilding, Sustainable

Anyone close to us will know that for the last couple of years our lives have been dominated by our straw bale house. After the foundations got underway and finished last year, we began building upwards in earnest on July 15th this year. The aim was to have the superstructure of the house completed by winter time.

5 Comments

Posted on October 15, 2017 by Kungfuflee

Eco-Building, Guests, Permaculture, Sustainable Futures

brightonpermaculturetrust, building, ecobuilding, learning, Natural Building, permaculture, strawbale, strawbalehouse