Eco building, Permaculture design, Travel

A simple survival

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comfort in the desert


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There aren’t that many people who would travel across the world to visit the most inhospitable place in the New Mexico desert, but even fewer who would build there. That’s what Michael Reynolds did, he invented the earthship, a house that makes survival in the extremes possible. Rain water is collected from the roof and used for drinking water, is filtered through planters in a greenhouse, then used for showers and flushing toilets, then the black water too is filtered for landscaping. Banana plants are growing where the temperature is -10C outside in winter, they’re off the grid with solar panels on the roof and tires and glass bottles are used as building materials.

Melissa drove from Minnesota and picked up Madalyn in Alburquerque, then us in Santa Fe. We were crammed in buried to our necks in luggage and groceries, but completely merry about it all. I demanded conversation to keep my claustrophobia at bay and Madalyn told us how she had been staying at a place in Albuquerque where they kept a pet pig (the product of a failed realtionship) and the guy who owned it slept with in his bed. She sailed tall ships for a living and was really interested in what people wanted to name their children, I believe she liked Jasper.

We arrived, got the lowdown from Ron and then got separated into groups and thrust into the arms of our “Den Mother” Griffin. He gave us a tour, in a fantastic world weary way that only a Virginian, pot smoking, earthshipper can. We were housed in “the Towers”, some others in the “Simple Survivals”. The other group got shipped 30 minutes away in “the Castle”.


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That night we met for green beans and beer. In a cloud of smoke Griffin happily chattered about Michael Reynold’s book about Wizards and Mike’s penchant for strapping himself in a coffin on top of a pyramid to have the moon burn holes through the back of his head. Perhaps this earthship caper was a little more esoteric than we thought, but Ron had seemed very grounded in the practicalities of septic systems so maybe not. KTAO 101.9 FM was humming Native American tribal chants on loop in the background all night and Griffin had grand plans for being the greatest Den Mother ever by covering a table in tin foil and laying out a hundred different types of salad, a sort of Viking feast for vegetarians. It was all rather delightfully surreal, I’m really not sure what might happen next, but I think it will be fun.



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6 Comments

  2. I am really liking all the posts a welcome visit when i get home from work. The photos are excellent keep them coming.

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  4. Haha yes ma’am! I’m a week behind so have to put the nose to the grind stone after ever construction session to keep up the content for you guys! It’s fun to relive the week before though. Such sore arms today from plastering!

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