Wild inspiring permaculture gardens, elegant rammed earth homes, straw bale construction and even a 100 Mile House with the majority of the materials sourced within 100 miles (hence the name) of where the house was built. We spent Sunday, August 16th 2009, visiting eco houses on Salt Spring Island’s 2009 Eco-Living & Home Tour and what we saw was enough to remind us that going green comes in many shapes and sizes with green innovations and renovations to fit all budgets.
A highlight from the tour definitely included well-known environmental activist and author Briony Penn’s 100 Mile House, built by hip Salt Spring builder Michael Dragland. The small, spacious and funky eco-house features recycled material construction, solar water heating, and has grey water recycling. The land the eco-home sits on is also protected under a covenant.
We loved the visit to Blue Raven Permaculture Farm with its wild permaculture gardens containing more than 200 species of plants. Eco-innovations included a homemade solar water heater (a swimming pool heater used to heat a solar water tank that in turn feeds the outdoor solar shower), a hand-built manure and slip straw passive solar greenhouse, rainwater catchment, microclimate enhancement and acres of organic food. If you missed the Salt Spring Island’s 2009 Eco-Living & Home Tour , the Blue Raven Permaculture Farm is an active demonstration site that regularly holds classes and workshops.
The elegant Terra Firma Builders rammed earth house was also a tour highlight. With graceful curves, passive solar design, energy efficiency, radiant floor heating, and a heat recovery system, this upper-end eco-house was cool and calming, with the SIREWALL rammed earth walls making the house virtually soundproof.
We also took a quick visit to an off the grid, 1350 sq.ft (125m2) straw bale house with clay slip interior walls and natural earthen finishes. We had seen this house on a previous year’s tour and it was quite something to see the progress the homeowners had made. The home features a water catchment system, greywater recycling, solar heating and solar panels for radiant floor heating.
Aside from the straw bale construction, we loved the yurt the family lived in while they were building their green dream house. The yurt has a straw bale and cob bathroom, rainwater collection and propane on-demand water heater.
We finished up our tour visiting Neptune Farm organic market gardens and their two Mudgirls’ buildings - one complete with a living roof and one still a work in progress. If you are planning on building an outbuilding, small sleeping cabin, chicken coop or meditation building – consider checking out the Mudgirls Collective.
Valerie Williams is the editor of GreenMuze.com. She lives on Salt Spring Island, Canada.
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