We want a place where our children can come to if the bottom falls out of the American Economy. We want a refuge in which we can feed ourselves, stay warm, and be as self sufficient as possible.
We think that the age of limitless, cheap fuel is coming to an end. For over a 100's the world has seen a bonanza of wealth due to cheap and powerful oil. We have built a technological wonder and have exanded the human population exponentially. In doing so, we have raped and pillage the very earth we depend on for living. WE have overfished the seas, cut the trees, eroded the land, drained the marshes, and polluted all of it besides. This cannot continue.
Humanity is on an unsustainable course. There are far too many people, with far too little land in food production. WE eat far too much beef which requires a lot of land to produce.
My wife and I think that sooner, not later, the economic system of American will collapse. This will be the result of three factors:
1) The end of cheap and plentiful oil means that the price of everything will skyrocket. Transportation costs alone are going to be killers. The network of warehouses that supply the "just in time" system of inventory managment will be destroyed due to shortage of fuel and the high cost. Cheap and plentiful gas is a major source of all insecticides, pesticides, and herbecides that have created this 'green revolution'. That is, the steady growth of the human population is the result of heavy uses of herbecides and pesticides. WE have huge bumper crops due to this. But when these become unavailable, or too expensive to use on a large scale, crop productivity will drop. Food shortages on the horizon.
When fuel becomes too expensive or too short in supply, people aren't going to get to work, businesses will shut down, unemployment will skyrocket.
It is going to get ugly.
2) Global WArming
3) Environmental Collapse.
these three are to going to be the death knell for AMerica. This is not because this country isn't capable of solving these problems, it is because we have elected a leadership that is indifferent to the entire thing. Bush and his ilk couldn't care less about the plight of regular people. For that matter, they couldn't care less for America. It simply is a means to an end. Enourmous power and wealth.
So, we want to create a small space that might allow us to survive.
WE want to be either off the electrical grid or close to it. We want to be as self-sufficient as possible in terms of food and power.
We are now designing a system of living off of no more than 5 acres that could support a family of four. I should say self-support. WE want to be able to survive the coming collapse. And we want to have healthy food and water. If the collapse dosen't happen, we will at least have a wonderful place to live, good food and water, and the knowing satisfaction that we are as independent as we can be.
STRAW BALE CONSTRUCTION
WE are choosing straw bale because it is simply a marvelous insulator and means that the home can be easily kept cool in summer and warm in winter. Plus it is a building material that is completely recycled.
WATER
We are going to catch rain water off the roof and channel it to cisterns. These water will then be used to water the garden and flowers. It can also be back up to house with the proper amount of purification and filtering. I don't know if this cistern will be connected to the main well or not. I don't know if we need to add water to it from the well or not.
Should we plumb the system so that the well is connected to the cisterns? Do we need to fill the cisterns from the well at any time? Don't know.
In Sept/Oct 2005, Backwoods Home Magazine is an article about Build a component water system. Basically it states that you place water resevoirs in the attic to supply the house with useable water. You have a pump that pressurizes the system. Also, a pipe that bypasses the pump in case the power goes out. This water has to be purified as well. Sometimes a fish tank bubbler is a good idea to aerate the water. This improves taste and bubbles out some of the dissovled gases. Can also use an ultraviolet light, similar to one found in pond plumbing to purifiy the water. Also, have to have the tanks in a room that is insulated from the cold and one that vents easily to outside. Do not want water vapor to gather in this enclosed space. www.backwoodshome.com
WELL
The well will be solar powered. This way when the grid-power goes down, we will still have water. I don't know if I will have this solor collector be a part of the main collector or a seperate, independent system.
ELECTICITY
WE will have most of our power from the grid. But we will have solar back up. Maybe even a diesal generator. AFter all, bio-diesal will work fine.
"Designing your system correctly from the beginning is incredibly important. You want to end up with enough energy to do what you need to do without spending your hard-earned money on renewable energy (RE) equipment you really don't need.
A thorough load analysis is the place to start. A load analysis adds up all the energy your appliances consume, and shows you where you can save. This will save money when it comes to purchasing your RE equipment. It will show you which of your appliances you should replace with more efficient ones.
The next step is to find out what your RE resources are. In the case of photovoltaics (PV) , do you get enough sun? Checking nearby meteorological data collection sites (often airports) will tell you. If there is enough sun, you need to find out if your rooftop or other appropriate place is open to maximum sun. Siting your solar panels for maximum exposure without obstructions will save you money. For siting, we recommend testing your possibilities with a Solar Pathfinder.
Do you have a source of flowing water? If so, you need to measure the flow and the height of the drop between intake and turbine. If you have a good microhydro resource, forget PV because hydro is much cheaper and it runs 24 hours a day.
A wind resource is much the same as hydro. If you've got it, use it--it's cheaper than PV. On the other hand, wind generators are much more difficult to site, install, and maintain.
A combination of RE sources is often a good thing. In winter, the days are shorter and there are more clouds. But there is usually an increased wind and hydro resource then, which can complement the solar resource.
Whatever your sources and whatever your loads, you can often benefit by having a good installing dealer of RE systems help you site, design, and install your renewable energy system.
A thorough load analysis is the place to start. A load analysis adds up all the energy your appliances consume, and shows you where you can save. This will save money when it comes to purchasing your RE equipment. It will show you which of your appliances you should replace with more efficient ones.
The next step is to find out what your RE resources are. In the case of photovoltaics (PV) , do you get enough sun? Checking nearby meteorological data collection sites (often airports) will tell you. If there is enough sun, you need to find out if your rooftop or other appropriate place is open to maximum sun. Siting your solar panels for maximum exposure without obstructions will save you money. For siting, we recommend testing your possibilities with a Solar Pathfinder.
Do you have a source of flowing water? If so, you need to measure the flow and the height of the drop between intake and turbine. If you have a good microhydro resource, forget PV because hydro is much cheaper and it runs 24 hours a day.
A wind resource is much the same as hydro. If you've got it, use it--it's cheaper than PV. On the other hand, wind generators are much more difficult to site, install, and maintain.
A combination of RE sources is often a good thing. In winter, the days are shorter and there are more clouds. But there is usually an increased wind and hydro resource then, which can complement the solar resource.
Whatever your sources and whatever your loads, you can often benefit by having a good installing dealer of RE systems help you site, design, and install your renewable energy system.
Clearly we will be tasked with determining the best combination of alternative power sources. Solor will be only a partial solution as we live in the Northwest. Wind may provide part of the solution depending on the land we eventually buy. Water is probably out. This is because there is so little land left in the Northwest that all of the land with flowing streams is not available. In fact, we will be lucky to get any land at all, beyond a large lot. But we will see.
FOOD
We will have a large garden with year round crops. Perhaps we will have several gardens, that way we can rotate usage. Hold one garden out every other year. We will plant cover crops like alphalfa to fix nitrogen. We plan on all of it: corn, green beans, onions, squash, etc. Will also have fruit trees; apply, peach.
Will have chickens for both meat and eggs. Rabbits for meat. Rabbits are perfect in that they take up little space, produce quickly, produce great manure, and are easy to feed. Don't know about raising a cow or two. Would like to. but not sure how much land we can get. Chickens and rabbits for sure are on the menu.
Also, Merry wants goats. She is reading about a type of goat that supplies a lot of milk and meat. These are KINDER Goats. Pronounced with a short 'i', like the German word for children. These are small goats, hence they eat less and take up less space. To start out we willneed to go to the Kinder Goat webpage (www.kindergoats.com and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KinderGoats/?yguid=109437082) and find a local merchant who has goats to sell. It is often preferable to purchase a 'penmate' along with your goat. Goats get attached to their penmates as they are a herd animal and seperating them can be difficult for them. WE want contented goats. The meat and milk can be used to barter, or sell. They appear to be long lived animals are are not noted for their fence jumping. Their hooves need to be trimmed on a regular basis.
Also, along this line. we are raising our own meat because we believe that the way an animal is treated both in life and in his manner of death carries through to the energy of the meat. Let me explain. In the past, when humans had to take the life of an animal, they gave praise and thanks to the being for its sacrifice. They honored the sacrifice of the animal to give the humans life. This is a sacred connection. Now we raise our food animals in horrific conditions, allowing little freedom or honor. They are terrified animals who are slaughtered without respect for their sacrifice. We believe that this is translated into the wholesomeness of the meat itself. On the othe hand, when an animal is raised in a healthy condition. Given good food, good water, sunshine and room to be the animal is contented. Then his death is honorable and swift. With honor given to his sacrifice. This is a completion of the circle. This is a connection to our food that displays our kinship with these animals. We are part of their world. They have a right to be here. WE are taking their lives so that we may live, but in doing so, we respect them. They are our brothers and sisters.
We will can and store our food for the winter. Plan on having a storage/pantry area in the house. A large one, maybe one that is plumbed and with a small stove to heat up the canning supplies. Enough shelves to hold a lot of food. We will need about one year's supply of emergency food per person in the pantry. Also additional bottled water.
Barter economy
flashlights and radios that are hand powered.
Good Medical kits.
Skills to sell or barter with
Hand held walkytalky's
guns and ammo
knive and tool sharpening kits
Hand powered grain mill
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