How To Build a 400 Square Foot Solar Powered Off Grid Cabin for $2,000

Image: offgridworld.com

How to build a nice small cabin powered by solar panels. Lamar Alexander built this cute little 400 square foot cabin for approximately $2000, and powers it with a 570 watt solar and wind power system. The whole system is very inexpensive, and the best part is he is mortgage free. Very cool little cabin. I’d be proud to build something like this myself, and call it home.



“…This cabin is 14×14 with a full loft and approximately 400 square feet of living space. Downstairs is Kitchen, Bathroom, Dining and Living area. Upstairs is a large Bedroom and Office. There is enough room for 6 people to sleep comfortably. Power system is 580 watts Solar electric and 400 Watts wind power which powers a 12 volt fridge, lights, water pump, TV’s, laptop and many gadgets. Heat source can be propane or wood stove. Toilet is composting or a septic tank system…” ~http://www.simplesolarhomesteading.com/

Source: offgridworld.com

America Could End Homelessness in One Year by Doing This

Kevin E. Lake | Free Patriot

If America really cared about solving the problem of homelessness among it’s citizenry, here’s an idea that would work. Oh- and that opening line references the fact that as far back as 2011 empty houses in America outnumbered homeless families by five times, according to Amnesty International.

Anyway, let’s say the problem with homeless people in America was a result of not enough housing. Then, this idea would work.

Did you know that you can make houses out of plastic bottles? By filling them with sand, and molding them together with mud or cement, the walls created are actually bullet proof, fire proof, and will maintain an comfortable indoor temperature of 64 degrees in the summer time.

And it’s not like there is any shortage on used plastic bottles out there. Here are some statistics from treehugger.com:

"The United States uses 129.6 Million plastic bottles per day which is 47.3 Billion plastic bottles per year. About 80% of those plastic bottles end up in a landfill!"

To build a two bedroom, 1200 square foot home, it takes about 14,000 bottles.

The United States throws away enough plastic bottles to build 9257 of these 2 bedroom houses per day! That’s just over 3.35 million homes, the same number of homeless people in America.



Many people in third world countries have taken up building homes out of plastic bottles, from Africa to Asia. Perhaps the trend will catch on in America and all of those bottles will stop ending up in the landfills. Wouldn’t they be better off housing the homeless? Kinda like all those empty houses scattered all over the country?

Follow The Free Patriot contributor and Iraq War veteran Kevin E Lake on Facebook.

Source: freepatriot.org

Wikihouse Download and Print Your Own House

Imagine downloading your house online, and “printing” it out on a machine. You don’t have to imagine it. It is a reality. Wikihouse makes it possible to download the blueprint designs for the house, which can then be fed into a CNC machine and the parts (and tools) needed to assemble the shelter simply cut out from sheets of plywood. - This can be great for off grid living or just a fun 'do it yourself' project. This is also a great solution to helping people find homes after natural disasters etc.

The practical applications are far reaching. Not only can your design and download your own home, but the Wikihouse could be used in disaster relief scenarios where natural disasters, war, or political turmoil causes destruction of home and property and displaces many people. SCALABLE: This is scalable and modifiable. Anyone can download and use the plans and modify them for you own use under the terms of the license for free. This means you are free to improve upon the design or make your own. Wikihouse is designed using Sketchup. A free (at the time of this writing) 3D design software application. This is a truly revolutionary idea, and the concept is proven. It works.

“The purpose of the WikiHouse construction set is that the end structure is ready to be made weathertight using cladding, insulation, damp-proof membranes and windows. WikiHouse is still an experiment in its early stages, and these have not yet been prototyped or developed further. All the information shared on WikiHouse.cc is offered as an open invitation to collaborators and co-developers who are interested in putting open source solutions to these problems in the public domain. If you are working on one of these, or would like to know (or do) more, please get in touch.” http://www.wikihouse.cc/guide

Source Links:

Living Off The Grid: http://www.offgridworld.com/wikihouse-download-and-print-your-own-house/

WIKIHOUSE

Please visit us @ http://thesyndicate.info

The Syndicate- http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSyndic…
Beyond the Bottom Line -http://www.youtube.com/user/beyondthe…
The Commons - http://www.youtube.com/user/Thecommon…

Mind Culture - http://www.youtube.com/user/mindcultu…

The Spirited Life - http://www.youtube.com/user/thespirit…

Human Rights Today - http://www.youtube.com/user/humanrigh…

The EcoLogic Channel- http://www.youtube.com/user/ecologicc…

The Kudos Channel- http://www.youtube.com/user/TheKudosc…

Raw News - http://www.youtube.com/user/TheRawnew…

Inside Information - http://www.youtube.com/user/whistlebl…

The Occupy News Network -http://www.youtube.com/user/TheOccupy…

How to Make Your Own Mason Jar Herb Garden

What you will need:
6 mason jars (I used 3 quart sized and 3 pint sized, just for fun)enough potting soil to fill all your jarsvarious herb seeds (choose your favorites!)

Photos by Anna Gleave

Fill the mason jars almost to the top with soil, leaving enough room to add just enough additional soil to lightly cover the seeds.

Add seeds to each jar following planting instructions on the seed packet. (Or just sprinkle some in each jar like I did.)

Cover lightly with more soil. You don’t want to plant them too deep because they need the sun (and water) to germinate. Add just enough water to each jar to wet the soil and the seeds. I used a condiment-style squeeze bottle to control the water flow so I didn’t dislodge the seeds.

Affix some sort of tag to your jars to aid in identifying them as they sprout. (In hindsight, this would have been smarter to do BEFORE I added the seeds because it’s pretty hard to tell what seeds are in what jar AFTER you plant them! lol)

I planted my herb garden on June 13th and took these pictures 2 days ago. Coming along quite nicely don’t you think? I haven’t actually used any in cooking yet, but just as soon as they’re a little farther along, herb butter is at the top of the list!

Now when I have a recipe that calls for fresh herbs, my “supply” is a short walk to my window sill. :-)

Source: onegoodthingbyjillee.com

A Retired Mathematician Found A Rotting Cabin From 1830. What He Did With It Is Perfection.

Viral Nova

Reddit user, srirachaforeverthing, just posted what happens when you mix a retired mathematician father and an old, rotting 1830s cabin.

He decided to restore it. And the result? Cozy perfection.

This is the original cabin from the 1830s. A lot of it was rotting, but he labeled and transferred as much of it as possible to the family’s land.

                                                 Here you can see the labels.

And the foundation is mostly intact, now on his land.

The restoration begins!

This entire thing took 10 years, so it was not an easy task for just one man.

Taking a look inside…

Starting to construct the fireplace for those cold winter nights.

And the fireplace is ready.

Natural light: check.

This is the finished construction, but let’s look inside.

This looks really cozy.

The staircase has a great story behind it. A large oak tree fell on the family’s property. They were upset and didn’t know what to do with it. After a few days, they decided to turn it into the staircase for their cabin. Looks great!

I could spend a lot of time here.

And the loft has a really comfortable bed. I love it.

A panoramic view.

It’s perfect for a cozy night inside, with a warm blanket, cup of hot chocolate, and loved ones.

The 1830s cabin completely redone for 2013.

Ten years in the making and totally worth it.

Images: Reddit 

All of the wood that makes up this cabin that was not from the original came from the family’s land. This is about as authentic as it comes for an 1830′s cabin. This retired mathematician did an incredible job over the past 10 years.

Share this awesome work with others.

Source: ViralNova.com

How to build an underground greenhouse that you can grow in all year-round

DIY Underground Greenhouse - #OccupyTesla

Image: treehugger.com

In Ground Greenhouses have many benefits; the surrounding Earth provides excellent insulation, it's not an eyesore on the surface and most of all protecting plants from frost. Links to learning below.

The underground greenhouse method allows for natural insulation, while optimizing solar absorbance. These partially subterranean greenhouses appear to be the best for growing winter horticultural crops, and have been adopted in numerous countries, such as Japan, Russia, Korea, and now even the United States. These underground greenhouses can be something built very small for an individual or family, or it can be much larger to accommodate for more commercial needs. But it has proven to be more beneficial for growers than conventional methods which are at the mercy of varying weather conditions. Cheaper than aquaponics, but more effort than urban homesteading, an underground greenhouse is almost universally viable, more than affordable, and ecologically smart.
http://www.exposingthetruth.co/underground-greenhouse/

Underground greenhouse diagram via #OccupyTesla

Oehlers method utilizes a coldsink to help keep warmer while Greigers plan utilizes insulation between bags and earth. All 3 plans utilize a form of thermal mass to retain warmth.
http://naturalbuildingblog.com/earthbag-pit-greenhouse-plans/

Here is a video of a tour of the Walipini underground greenhouse:


Directory pertaining to the Wallipini underground greenhouse method.
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Walipini_Underground_Greenhouses

Mike Oehler book to purchase
http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Sheltered-Solar-Greenhouse-Book/dp/0960446400/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357419115&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=earth+integrated+greenhouse

"Earth Sheltered Solar Greenhouse" - pit construction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hV8Teiskfo

How To Make A Homemade Compost Tumbler

The Crunchy Housewife

Learn how to prepare dark, rich, nutrient-dense compost for your garden. make compost using a water barrel, whether you live in a homestead, In the city or somewhere In between. It's fast, cheap and easy!
* It's Important to Note that the best size of holes to drill into the barrel (for aeration) are holes that are 1/4" to 3/8"



They have made a few improvements on the design of the composter and made a short video about it :

Image: YouTube

How to Heat Your Room For 15 Cents a Day

This video shows us an ingenious way to heat a whole room for under 15 cents or possibly even cheaper if you find cheaper candles or maybe larger ones. 

It's simple, here's what you need: Small candles such as the ones seen is the video, which are found at Ikea, A metal cake pan, Two clay planter pots, one smaller than the other, and a lighter to light the candles This awesome idea works on convection, which is accomplished by the air moving around between the two clay pots. This helps create a forced air effect which pushes the hot air around the room. Watch the video below to see how it's done:

Found on http://www.naturalcuresnotmedicine.com/2013/11/heat-your-room-for-15-cents-day.html