Sustainability


Improve Your Soil – Bury Yard Waste

Posted on April 1, 2015 by

What can you do to repair or improve your soil? Hugelkultur is a technique that works by burying logs, sticks, and yard waste, which then decomposes into fertile, aerated, moist… Read More


Couple Builds Cabin of Windows for $500

Posted on March 23, 2015 by

A Cabin of Windows Wouldn’t it be cool if a house had a wall of windows, so it couldn’t confine the sunset to just one little space?   Lilah Horwitz… Read More


How to Thrive on 10%

Posted on March 13, 2015 by

How to Thrive on 10% It is often taken for granted that the United States consumes and wastes 5 times more than the rest of the planet. At the same… Read More


Free Land on a Tropical Island!?

Posted on March 6, 2015 by
6 Comments

Free land on a tropical island!? Pitcairn, a small remote paradise-like island in the South Pacific is running out of people. They are giving land for free to people who… Read More


UN Report says Organic Farming is Key

Posted on March 3, 2015 by

UN Report says Organic Farming is Key In a new report, with the dramatic title, ‘Wake up Before it’s too Late’, “the United Nations is once against sounding the alarm… Read More


New Beehive Design does not disturb Bees to Harvest Honey!

Posted on February 22, 2015 by

For those who harvest honey, “the worst part of being a beekeeper is pulling out the honey-laden frames from the box and tearing them up to get the honey. The… Read More


Smart Water Pipes that Harvest Power

Posted on February 11, 2015 by

New smart infrastructure! The innovative city of Portland has unveiled plans for new smart water pipes that harvest power. They will generate electricity for streetlights, and in addition are equipped… Read More

Filed Under: Sustainability

Beautiful Tiny Home costs couple $22,000

Posted on February 1, 2015 by

How much space do you really need? This brave couple decided to radically change their approach to housing, to create something beautiful, elegant, functional, and affordable. “Andrew and Gabriella Morrison… Read More


Life with the Solar Kitchen

Posted on January 30, 2015 by

The Tamera Solar Village combines solar thermal and biogas technologies to create a kitchen that not only promotes responsible relationships to the earth and sky, but also builds human community.


Reasons why Comfrey is perfect for permaculture

Posted on January 13, 2015 by

Comfrey is a fairly humble looking plant. It has large hairy green leaves and small bell-shaped flowers, typically colored either purple or white. However, what it may lack in striking… Read More


Kindista: Technology for Living More Freely

Posted on January 9, 2015 by

Born of collaboration, an innovative technology helps build community by encouraging trust, appreciation, and giving from the heart.


Technology on the Path to Reality: Snapshots from the Pre-Post-Digital Age

Posted on December 29, 2014 by
1 Comment

Misadventures with a cell phone help the author dial into more enduring, meaningful adventures and relationships not dependent on an electronic-communications hamster wheel.


Back to Life: Returning from the Virtual to the Real

Posted on December 19, 2014 by

To shake our addiction to modern technology, we must understand its true costs. Stillwaters Sanctuary works to create a culture of greater connection, where it is easier to live without industrial society.


“Appropriate” Technology and Community on the Path to Resiliency

Posted on November 28, 2014 by
1 Comment

At Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, efforts to foster a renaissance in land-based living go hand in hand with judicious use of modern design and communication technologies.


Technology, Nature, and Community

Posted on November 21, 2014 by

How does modern technology affect our ecological and social literacy? Are computers and their kin suppressing or enhancing the awareness, skills, and qualities essential to our nature as humans?


Seeing the Good in the World, Part II: Transformative Learning Experiences at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage

Posted on October 26, 2014 by
1 Comment

While helping communitarians measure their progress toward sustainability goals, a college student finds herself unexpectedly changed.


The Dirty Business of Growing a Cohousing Community Farm

Posted on August 8, 2014 by

A farm is not a clod of dirt; it is more like mud that slips through your hands, gets on your boots, and is tracked all through the community.


Southern Exposure Seed Exchange Wrestles with Growth

Posted on July 8, 2014 by

For an income-sharing group in Virginia, economic success presents challenges and opportunities.


Business. Busy-ness. Coincidence?

Posted on June 5, 2014 by

Improving our relationships to work, money, and entrepreneurship can dramatically enhance our sense of community and quality of life.


Opportunity Village Eugene: Pioneering New Solutions for the (Formerly) Homeless

Posted on May 15, 2014 by
1 Comment

An innovative self-governing village lifts spirits while modeling new ways to address homelessness.


Who Builds the Houses?: Gender in Eco-Communities

Posted on March 17, 2014 by
1 Comment

A researcher finds that men still dominate building in eco-communities, and offers strategies to empower women.


Energy Efficiency in Cohousing

Posted on January 14, 2014 by
1 Comment

Sustainability is embedded in community—even without a minus-$88-per-year electric bill.


Going For the Grid

Posted on January 14, 2014 by

After three decades off-grid in Washington state, Walker Creek members decide on-grid living is more sustainable.


Community Makes Renewable Energy Work

Posted on January 14, 2014 by

Living Energy Farm embodies the promise of renewable energy used cooperatively.


Putting Our Lives on the Line

Posted on January 14, 2014 by

Jubilee Partners’ clothesline does more than dry clothes with solar power; it helps build community.


Climate Changes

Posted on January 14, 2014 by

Intentional communities are in a unique position to respond to climate change.


Sustainability Is a Life Style Not a Solar Panel

Posted on January 14, 2014 by

A 13-year-old indigenous environmental activist asks us to walk lightly and respect the Earth.


Burlington Cohousing’s Excellent Solar Adventures

Posted on January 14, 2014 by

When community members want to place “private” panels on “public” roofs, don’t expect clear sailing.


Confessions of a Fallen Eco-Warrior

Posted on January 14, 2014 by

A communitarian stops counting nanowatts, and starts counting blessings.


Strangely Warmed

Posted on January 14, 2014 by

Home-scale geothermal in appropriate conditions promotes both community and energy savings.