098: The Intentional Homestead,Part 2
February 7th, 2012 at 1:42 pm (survival skills, urban survival, the human path, permaculture, texas outdoor education, green homesteading, self sufficiency farming, self sustainability, eco building)
In today's podcast, Sam Coffman continues the discussion about building an 'intentional community' with Tim Bennett, a man who has gone off the grid for his family's home.
Sam and Tim discuss:
- how to turn a crisis situation around into a positive change
- urban sustainability solutions
- life on the homestead: working with a generator for larger energy needs
- plans for a DC refrigerator out of a top-door freezer
- the winter garden and permaculture setup as part of the homestead
- how dividing the labor and working together is the missing element to success for many
- how many people Tim envisions is about right to meet the needs of an intentional community
- security concerns in a post-disaster situation on a homestead
- how being far off the beaten path helped to protect their supplies while the building process was in progress
Listen to the first part of this podcast: Episode 097: The Intentional Homestead
Tim Bennett and Rebecca Nantz and their three children were headed for success as house flippers. Then the bubble popped. They became a paycheck to paycheck family. They knew they could push themselves, continue treading the stress of the monthly bills, and make it another 20 years. But they decided "Instead of struggling, Let's have an adventure!" So they sold or gave away most of their material "stuff" and set up a camp in the North Georgia mountains where they began to build an off grid, reciprocal roof, earth bermed home. They used round wood timbers, cob, local stone, recycled materials, and alternative building techniques.
Their EarthinMind website
Recommended reading resources:
The Fifty Dollar and Up Underground House Book
Gaia's Garden, Second Edition: A Guide To Home-Scale Permaculture
The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It
Back to Basics: How to Learn and Enjoy Traditional American Skills (Second Edition)
