A Low-Impact Woodland Home . . .

They are easy to build and certainly eco-friendly; they are also becoming popular all over Europe and America. Anything that you might want in your low-impact woodland home might come from the garbage dump - windows, plumbing, wiring . . . recycling at its finest. The home is also constructed using fallen timber. And, the refrigerator is cooled by air coming through underground foundations. Skylights light the home during the day; most use solar panel-stored energy at night. The home is partially underground, keeping it cool in summer and warm in winter, a drawback to the sod houses of the Great Plains during America's westward expansion. Water coming off the roof is collected in a man-made pond for watering the lawn and garden. The particular unit shown gets its inside water from a nearby spring via a gravity system of plumbing. Unfortunately, the greatest obstacle to its construction is governmental regulation. Government building codes are ultimately designed to protect citizens. However, such codes also discourage experimental design and home-made projects. My own state of North Carolina is currently facing the greatest drought ever recorded. Our leaders are desperate for solutions, while state building codes prevent and discourage experimental home design and self-sustaining home construction projects. Those who build low-impact homes say the greatest challenge is dealing with City Hall. Click here for more information.