by Peter McIntosh | Dec 22, 2017 | Anita Venter, City of Cape Town, Delft ECD, Early Childhood Development centre, Early Childhood Development centres, Earthen Schools, Ecobricks, Local materials, Long Way Home, Natural building, Natural building course, Peter McIntosh, Sustainable building, Tyre building
“The future belongs to the few of us still willing to get our hands dirty.” – Roland Tiangco As the end of the year approaches, we want to wish you well over the festive season, and thank you for your support in 2017. You helped us finish the Delft...
by Peter McIntosh | Sep 11, 2015 | Adobe, Alternative building, Alternative energy, Clay, Cob, Insulation, Living off-grid, Living Sustainably, Mud brick, Natural building, Natural building methods, Passive Solar Design, Permaculture, Peter McIntosh, Solar energy, Strawbale, Sustainable building, Sustainable human settlements, Thermal mass, Thermal performance
Passive solar design can dramatically reduce our demands on fossil fuels and other forms of energy input, allowing our buildings to become producers and not consumers of energy and resources, supporting us in a healthier more comfortable abundant way. Passive solar...
by Peter McIntosh | Apr 19, 2015 | Alternative energy, Living off-grid, Living Sustainably, Peter McIntosh, Solar energy, Sustainable building, Sustainable human settlements
As the cost of power continues to rise and the cost of solar energy continues to drop, going off grid has never been easier. Learn how to calculate your energy requirements, as well as choose an inverter, batteries and solar panels to suit your needs. Please note in...
by Franz Muhl | Apr 5, 2015 | Adobe, Clay, Cob, Franz Muhl, Living Sustainably, Local materials, Mud brick, Natural building, Natural building course, Natural plasters, Owner-builder journey, Peter McIntosh, Reclaimed materials, Sand, Sustainable building, Sustainable human settlements
In this edition of the Owner-builder journey, Franz Muhl writes about a mud brick addition to his Scarborough home: “Let me build a home from fertile materials that is beautiful and healthy to live in, have a very low footprint and would grow a forest if you...
by Peter McIntosh | Feb 26, 2015 | Alternative energy, Living off-grid, Living Sustainably, Peter McIntosh, Solar energy, Sustainable building, Sustainable human settlements
Being dependent on a central power source is not very powerful at all, especially as costs of centralized large-generation capacity gets ever more expensive, while the costs of solar energy continues to fall. Recently, in South Africa the centralized electrical grid...
by Peter McIntosh | Dec 7, 2014 | Adobe, Alternative building, Amanda de Gouveia, Dance like an elephant, Earth testing, Earth theory, Events, Heritage, Hermie Delport, Indigenous Architectural Knowledge, Laurie Simpson, Lebone Village Arts and Culture Centre, Lesley Freedman, Local materials, Malcolm Worby, Natural building, Natural building course, Natural building methods, Natural mortar mixes, Peter McIntosh, Qala Phelang Tala, Shack replacement, Start Living Green, Sustainable building
… and 2014 is no different. It is with pride and joy that we look back on the successes and new connections made during 2014. We launched our blog in March and have had over 5000 visits from people in 98 countries! The blog contributions included knowledge...
