permaculture
Preparations for 2012…
This is a collection of my blog entries that I am moving to this website blog. There will be new ones to come!
Marloe’s preparations for 2012
Farming and growing organic vegetables
There is a whole lot of info out there and it takes time to digest it all. Construction companies in South Africa are not very au fait with earth shelters and the main underground building is in the mining industry and basements of big buildings. It will take a while to find someone who can do this but I am sure we will get there.
I will write more on the earth house when I have some exciting news about it, but in the meantime I am going to be working on my farm to plant trees and vegetables and get the paddocks ready for the orchard and the animals. A duck pond will be one of my first projects after the tool shed. Ducks, geese for security, chickens in a chook dome for free range eggs and chickens, two Dexter cows for raw milk and free range, grass fed beef. Three or four sheep for sheep’s milk and free range lamb and a horse to ride. Now will 4 hectares be enough for that? I will research and find out. Anyone out there who can advise me, feel free!
Have a gentle evening.
Earth House in the Hill
I love this
Earth House by Peter Vetsch
About this 2012 thing … there is so much scaremongering going on out there and a whole bunch of confusion. So many people out there are making mega bucks off fear, and fear is something to which I care not to subscribe. I think it wise to be prepared for possibilities, but not to let it take over my every thought.
End of that. Be here now…
In our home right now there is a mountain of clutter to clear. This is all because we have inherited so much stuff through the years and since I closed the restaurant on Feb 18 I have all that to sort and clear as well. There will be one huge yard sale when I have sorted out what we really need at the construction camp and the House in the Hill. Clutter overtakes the mind as well as the physical space around you, so de-cluttering is exciting. Just imagine – a free mind!
Building in the earth is all new technology to me but my talented husband is a civil engineer (and artist) and will employ the help and advice of the right people. I love learning new things, dreaming and planning…and then doing it!
We shall build our earth home because we really like the look of it and like the concept of future savings on energy. Since I am a permie (read permaculture student) I shall continue working with the land and living each day as well as I know how. That is so exciting! The joy at the prospect of building a home on our little farmling is much nicer than worrying about what might or might not happen.
We have just under 4 hectares on which we have a 10 x 10m vegetable shade shed under drip irrigation, 2x 3x3m wood Wendy cabins, 2 long-drop toilets and plans for a camp kitchen and a gas shower. It is a lovely site under the a pine tree and some 6 chestnut trees. This will be our construction camp.
Our journey to an earth House in the Hill has begun…
Fun out of the Sun…
Well, if that Solar Katrina decides to make us a visit, we might have to stay out of the sun for a while. We are not sure if or even how long the storm would last and how much radiation it brings with it, but let’s imagine we have got the warning from NASA and we are hunkering down in our bunkers. You have supplied your bunker with what you think you might need, and you are set for at least 6 months. Do you have any good ideas as to what you will do to keep busy? Keep the kids busy? OK, my kids are grown ups and they will take care of themselves, but what about yourself? How are you going to stop yourself from going crazy with serious cabin fever? You are in it 24/7 with your spouse – and perhaps others.
I say you need a sound-proof scream walk-in closet with room to swing a baseball bat so that you can hit the old mattress in there. That’s the first thing. Then you get out your large wall tapestry that you are going to make with petit point, or a 6000 piece jigsaw puzzle, or your French course you have had for 10 years and get busy. (Thanks Annie for those great ideas:)Try and imagine how you would cope with 6 months underground. Walk through your day in your mind and make notes of everything that you could get busy with. An indoor veggie garden, learning to do ballroom with your partner, getting to grips with chess (make sure you have instruction books of things you want to do and learn).
Any other ideas out there? Share them with pleasure.
Decided to keep this all together…copied from previous blog
What will You do for Fun in the Bunker
That is today’s subject. Let’s imagine we are under siege and safely underground with all our provisions, even our games, cards, pictionary and of course scrabble and a really big old dictionary. But now we are three months down the line and not just a little bored, and the radiation metre says not yet, so no horse riding today. Now what?
Take up a hobby that takes up little space. Jewelry, painting, sculpture (you brought along the plaster of paris, shoe box and tape, didn’t you? Oh – and of course – water…hmmmm. Maybe the sculpture will have to wait. But wait! Make up some papier mache pulp in advance and keep it in sealed plastic ice-cream cartons. I could even make up some plaster of paris blocks before hand. Which is when I wonder? Before hand?…beforehand? How long is before?
Will it won’t it, will we won’t we? Whichever way the poles shift, or the sun brightly burns, preparedness is key to survival in any emergency. Girl scout me be.
Lists are all well and good, but doing is the thing. I am going to take a leaf out of Flylady’s book (if you haven’t discovered the joy of flylady.net please go and visit this site). She is the doyenne of de-clutter and organisation. 15 minutes a day to de-clutter, set the timer. And now a new 15 minutes – to collect survival equipment and foods and store it all very well.
And don’t forget the jewelry making kit, or your favourite games.
Any ideas for fun underground are most welcome. I will add them to the final lists.
That is today’s subject. Let’s imagine we are under siege and safely underground with all our provisions, even our games, cards, pictionary and of course scrabble and a really big old dictionary. But now we are three months down the line and not just a little bored, and the radiation metre says not yet, so no horse riding today. Now what?
Take up a hobby that takes up little space. Jewelry, painting, sculpture (you brought along the plaster of paris, shoe box and tape, didn’t you? Oh – and of course – water…hmmmm. Maybe the sculpture will have to wait. But wait! Make up some papier mache pulp in advance and keep it in sealed plastic ice-cream cartons. I could even make up some plaster of paris blocks before hand. Which is when I wonder? Before hand?…beforehand? How long is before?
Will it won’t it, will we won’t we? Whichever way the poles shift, or the sun brightly burns, preparedness is key to survival in any emergency. Girl scout me be.
Lists are all well and good, but doing is the thing. I am going to take a leaf out of Flylady’s book (if you haven’t discovered the joy of flylady.net please go and visit this site). She is the doyenne of de-clutter and organisation. 15 minutes a day to de-clutter, set the timer. And now a new 15 minutes – to collect survival equipment and foods and store it all very well.
And don’t forget the jewelry making kit, or your favourite games.
Any ideas for fun underground are most welcome. I will add them to the final lists.
2012 and Water…
Water. I keep thinking of water. Imagine you suddenly hear on the news from NASA you have 12 hours to get to your safe place. Stormy solar flare is on its way. Is there enough water in the shelter? Food, emergency equipment, crank handle radio, gas, matches and quite a bit more? How will we conserve the water and still have enough to keep us hydrated. Strange thought, water.
I suppose the reason I am starting this blog with water is because we need it even more than food – and the water tanks need to go under the house in the ground – before we start building the rest of this magic home in the hill.
Waterless soap. That anti-bacterial stuff. Not always a good idea to do the anti-bacterial thing though – we like good bacteria – but it could save a little on water. Imagine trying not to wash your hands too often? A damp cloth will have to do…a jammer lappie. A sorry cloth. Sorry there isn’t any running water.
This is quite spooky really. Will we ever be ready? Is your shelter close to your home? Mine is in the mountains – or it will be! First there are the plans to be finished. There are many different ways to design an underground home, and ours is going to be built into the side of a hill on our farmette (read “small farm”). It is two hours drive from our home in the bushveld, and who knows where we will be on that fiery day!
One thing I do plan is that we will have finished our hobbit house in the hill. I also know that while planning, life happens! This is not to be some temporary disaster shelter, but a dwelling we shall enjoy for the rest of our lives, however long or short that may be. To that end, I am looking everywhere for good ideas. I am also extremely glad I am married to a civil engineer who knows his concrete.
Concrete. Now that’s not a very environmentally friendly product, but I am told it’s the best idea in a solar storm – with 3 feet of earth above it – and big strong doors – blast valve? Is that the name? Well, something truly strong enough to protect us, designed for disaster.
As long as the internet is working, I shall be gleaning as much info as I need. Then to find the right products and equipment. Now there’s a long list of hitherto unknowns!
What if there is no electricity for a long time? Well, we will have to get ingenious won’t we? I have been longing to live a permaculture driven life redolent with the fragrance of lavender and rosemary, growing my organic vegetables and milking the sheep (sheep’s milk is more easily digested than both cow and goat, really), collecting my free range eggs and singing in the hills while my solar panels collect energy for me and the wind turbine whirls away in the sometimes high winds of the mountains in Limpopo. I might have to wait a while for some of it, I might not. Perhaps the sullen sun decides to chill a bit instead of spitting radioactive fireballs at us. Anything is possible. However, whatever will come, I aim to be a good girl scout and guide my family and friends to preparedness.
When the horse gets to the water, will it drink?
We are back to the water again. There are very serviceable water tanks out there and I aim to get me some. Water in a tank buried under the dwelling, with a hand pump and some water purification drops. I can just see that ol’ style pump in my kitchen…well, where else? I am certainly not going outside to fetch water if there is a Solar Katrina whipping up a frenzy out there!
Grey water. Another tank under the ground with pipes that lead from wash up to a drip irrigation in an indoor greenhouse with grow lights. I can’t think of any other way to have fresh vegetables while under siege from the sun…and polar shifts, magnetic flips and maybe even flying trees and roofs… and an earth mother gone mad.
The survival lists are growing. I will share them in this blog as I go along. The true challenge is staying in the now while plotting and planning for a possible earth shattering event. My need in the now is to de-clutter big time in order to live a simplistic life with only that which serves us well, whether the cataclysm comes or not.
Any thoughts and ideas on water storage are most welcome…and I shall share any interesting links as we go along.
http://www.rainharvest.co.za/2010/05/26/how-to-choose-a-water-tank/
Water. I keep thinking of water. Imagine you suddenly hear on the news from NASA you have 12 hours to get to your safe place. Stormy solar flare is on its way. Is there enough water in the shelter? Food, emergency equipment, crank handle radio, gas, matches and quite a bit more? How will we conserve the water and still have enough to keep us hydrated. Strange thought, water.
I suppose the reason I am starting this blog with water is because we need it even more than food – and the water tanks need to go under the house in the ground – before we start building the rest of this magic home in the hill.
Waterless soap. That anti-bacterial stuff. Not always a good idea to do the anti-bacterial thing though – we like good bacteria – but it could save a little on water. Imagine trying not to wash your hands too often? A damp cloth will have to do…a jammer lappie. A sorry cloth. Sorry there isn’t any running water.
This is quite spooky really. Will we ever be ready? Is your shelter close to your home? Mine is in the mountains – or it will be! First there are the plans to be finished. There are many different ways to design an underground home, and ours is going to be built into the side of a hill on our farmette (read “small farm”). It is two hours drive from our home in the bushveld, and who knows where we will be on that fiery day!
One thing I do plan is that we will have finished our hobbit house in the hill. I also know that while planning, life happens! This is not to be some temporary disaster shelter, but a dwelling we shall enjoy for the rest of our lives, however long or short that may be. To that end, I am looking everywhere for good ideas. I am also extremely glad I am married to a civil engineer who knows his concrete.
Concrete. Now that’s not a very environmentally friendly product, but I am told it’s the best idea in a solar storm – with 3 feet of earth above it – and big strong doors – blast valve? Is that the name? Well, something truly strong enough to protect us, designed for disaster.
As long as the internet is working, I shall be gleaning as much info as I need. Then to find the right products and equipment. Now there’s a long list of hitherto unknowns!
What if there is no electricity for a long time? Well, we will have to get ingenious won’t we? I have been longing to live a permaculture driven life redolent with the fragrance of lavender and rosemary, growing my organic vegetables and milking the sheep (sheep’s milk is more easily digested than both cow and goat, really), collecting my free range eggs and singing in the hills while my solar panels collect energy for me and the wind turbine whirls away in the sometimes high winds of the mountains in Limpopo. I might have to wait a while for some of it, I might not. Perhaps the sullen sun decides to chill a bit instead of spitting radioactive fireballs at us. Anything is possible. However, whatever will come, I aim to be a good girl scout and guide my family and friends to preparedness.
When the horse gets to the water, will it drink?
We are back to the water again. There are very serviceable water tanks out there and I aim to get me some. Water in a tank buried under the dwelling, with a hand pump and some water purification drops. I can just see that ol’ style pump in my kitchen…well, where else? I am certainly not going outside to fetch water if there is a Solar Katrina whipping up a frenzy out there!
Grey water. Another tank under the ground with pipes that lead from wash up to a drip irrigation in an indoor greenhouse with grow lights. I can’t think of any other way to have fresh vegetables while under siege from the sun…and polar shifts, magnetic flips and maybe even flying trees and roofs… and an earth mother gone mad.
The survival lists are growing. I will share them in this blog as I go along. The true challenge is staying in the now while plotting and planning for a possible earth shattering event. My need in the now is to de-clutter big time in order to live a simplistic life with only that which serves us well, whether the cataclysm comes or not.
Any thoughts and ideas on water storage are most welcome…and I shall share any interesting links as we go along.
http://www.rainharvest.co.za/2010/05/26/how-to-choose-a-water-tank/
Today I am thinking of music inside the hill. What a wonderful thing it is to have CDs, but what will we play them on if there is no electricity? Battery operated players is one way, but when the batteries run dry? What then? Off to the internet to google!
http://www.magniwork.com/?hop=onurb Magnetic generator, build it yourself…no, no! Get an electrician to do it!http://www.pedalpowergenerator.com/ Get fit generator! Get an electrician to build this too.
Water Food and Fun
Food we will get to…
Fun
I am going to add fitness to the fun, because it had better be fun and useful, otherwise we might just not want to get up in the morning.
Take cycling for instance. I How about hooking up our bicycles up (stationary on stands) to an alternator and every day our fitness fun will give us energy, in more ways than one. Then when the doors open to the outer world again, we will be fit and fabulous and ready for the next adventure.
Other light stuff to use: Stability ball and hand pump, rubber exercise bands, yoga mat and book. That about covers it for me. If you have steps leading somewhere in the shelter, you can use those too.
Of course, if you have a guitar I would definitely make sure it is in the shelter. We will need to check up on music options, flash sticks, hard drives, laptops…will they work? Will we be able to watch DVDs? Yes, I think if they are not plugged in to the wall when the storm starts, they might just make it. Of course we need a battery charging source. I am still exploring all the alternatives to energy in the event of grids and electronics failing. Solar and wind are my favoured options at present but I am looking at everything I can find. I like the bicycle/alternator thing…no traffic, no rain, no dogs to chase you… and losing weight and getting really fit would be glorious collateral gain. Perhaps I should start now?!!!
Any ideas on fitness and energy creation most welcome.
New Blog New Day New Start
What a lovely day! Tomorrow we close the restaurant for good but will have art exhibitions two or three times a year. It gives me something concrete to work towards as regards my art. What fun:)
2012 is for the farm – for eco-building, painting and organic growing. I am so looking forward to this much written about year, preparing for a new life.
The design for the Hybrid home on the farmette in the mountains is taking shape. It has gone through so many changes already but I see it as a necessary process. It will no doubt change some more before it is truly finished. F wanted a home above ground and I wanted an earth shelter, so we compromised. We will build the above ground and the earth shelter – all in one. As soon as we have a working plan I will post it here. The lovely SmartDraw programme gives me hours of fun.
On to a day filled with promise. Two young men are coming to audition to sing at tomorrow’s farewell wine tasting at the restaurant/art gallery. Marilda and I shall be doing our bits as well, so it is to be party night!
Oh frabjous day – calloo callay….