Category: Sustainable Futures

A Sealed Super Structure

With winter well and truly behind us, I find that now is the time to reflect upon some of the successes, failures and surprises which the winter and spring had in store for us and our straw bale house.

What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks?

Shakespeare knew where it was at; windows really are making all the difference to the house. It’s starting to feel like an indoor space now. Surprisingly we found the windows super easy and satisfying once we had all the right components.

The Splendour Of Render

An account of the ups and downs, ins and outs of using lime render on our straw bale house.

I’ll Huff And I’ll Puff… 🐖🐖🐖

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.

Majestic Mongolia

Mongolia. A land of mystery, ferocity and intrigue. A land where the people maintain a strength as large as their legendary leader Chingis Khan. A land of horses, camels eagles. A land where the traveller can barely scratch the surface of the culture without becoming fascinated…

Homemade Powerwall

Always being up for a challenge, we decided to have a crack at creating our own homemade Powerwall using recycled laptop batteries sourced in job lots on eBay.

WWOOF WWOOF

WWOOFing in Japan was one of the best things I have ever had the pleasure to encounter.

You Put The Lime In The Coconut…

For the past month or so our lives have been consumed with making lime putty. Processing quicklime and turning it into lime putty, ready to be mixed with sand just before it goes onto the walls of our straw bale house as render/plaster.

Trans-Siberian & Trans-Mongolian Railways

Although our round trip to South Korea and Japan was a little while ago, I’ve rounded up some of our best (and worst) memories of the trip and put them down in writing. Since returning to Europe, many friends, friends of friends and even complete strangers have asked us for help or advice in planning a trip on the most infamous of all train journeys through Russia.

Making A Crust

Since our move to France, the most commonly asked question is “How are you making money/a living/ends meet?”. For all those budding homesteaders or people wishing to live their dream but who are worried about their modus operandi abroad, I thought I would share our experiences of not only making ends meet but actually saving to build a house.