When my partners and I embarked on this project, nearly three years ago, I could barely distinguish between a screwdriver and a zucchini. That tidbit tells you all you need to know about my building skills as well as my gardening skills. My partners on the property were similarly lacking in relevant skills.
Now I’ve hammered, drilled, sawed, plumbed, tiled, and constructed. And grown, in ways I could not have imagined. Kurt Vonnegut’s mythical writer, Kilgore Trout, comes to mind: “How the hell did I do that?”
Imagine what you can do with a little time and some bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. I’m certain, for example, the typical reader could do far better than we’ve done. This is picture-filled post merely illustrates some of the structures we’ve built on this property. For the most part, they speak for themselves. But, always verbose, I’ve added captions regardless.
We’ve at least two structures yet to go. A biochar kiln is currently under construction by a talented neighbor. A solar ice maker is being designed by a colleague. If they are completed before the lights go out, I’ll either include them with a future post or update this post (and include notification within a future post).
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This essay is permalinked at Energy Bulletin (check out the editor’s comment at the bottom of the post).