Friends,
A dear friend of mine and his family in Mendocino County are in need of green home designers and contractors. Earlier today, their family home of three generations (and many families before them) was tragically consumed by a freak fire. It was a center of the local community and was built nearly a hundred years ago with redwood timber cut and milled on the property, all hauled by horses and oxen, and held together with nails forged in the blacksmith shop near their barn. Countless people found refuge in that home on the Ranch from our hectic urban lives, and all of us grieve its loss, as well as the loss of the dear pets who were trapped in the blaze...
My friend's words:
" Unfortunately, we had no fire insurance, as the nature of the structure was such that no company would offer us a policy, despite decades of efforts. Thus, rebuilding will be tough, though we've already received tremendous emotional support from the surrounding community. However, while several folks have offered to donate their time and skills to build something new as quickly as possible, I want to make sure that what we do put in its place is something that can foster community for more than a hundred years to come ( e.g. long beyond my time on this spaceship).
We'd always talked about how the Big House needed serious help with dust, energy efficiency, mice, and decades of clutter. Looking on the bright side, these are no longer issues. Think we just received the most thorough house cleaning possible. Seriously though, I'd like to build as green a structure as possible to replace what was lost, and, following in the Big House tradition, to make it not just a space for my family, but a space that the larger community can share (yourselves all included) and use as a rural refuge from urban jungles. If any of you, or folks you know, would like to help us design and rebuild such a space, please let me know. We're in immediate need of green home designers to come up with a master plan, and green contractors to implement dreams into reality, particularly any that are willing to work for cheap or pro-bono (I'm being blunt here), as our lack of insurance is going to be quite a hurdle."
If you know someone who would like to help create this dream and, consequently, join the community in this new chapter on the Ranch in Mendo, please contact me.
Many thanks & blessings,
Paula
A dear friend of mine and his family in Mendocino County are in need of green home designers and contractors. Earlier today, their family home of three generations (and many families before them) was tragically consumed by a freak fire. It was a center of the local community and was built nearly a hundred years ago with redwood timber cut and milled on the property, all hauled by horses and oxen, and held together with nails forged in the blacksmith shop near their barn. Countless people found refuge in that home on the Ranch from our hectic urban lives, and all of us grieve its loss, as well as the loss of the dear pets who were trapped in the blaze...
My friend's words:
" Unfortunately, we had no fire insurance, as the nature of the structure was such that no company would offer us a policy, despite decades of efforts. Thus, rebuilding will be tough, though we've already received tremendous emotional support from the surrounding community. However, while several folks have offered to donate their time and skills to build something new as quickly as possible, I want to make sure that what we do put in its place is something that can foster community for more than a hundred years to come ( e.g. long beyond my time on this spaceship).
We'd always talked about how the Big House needed serious help with dust, energy efficiency, mice, and decades of clutter. Looking on the bright side, these are no longer issues. Think we just received the most thorough house cleaning possible. Seriously though, I'd like to build as green a structure as possible to replace what was lost, and, following in the Big House tradition, to make it not just a space for my family, but a space that the larger community can share (yourselves all included) and use as a rural refuge from urban jungles. If any of you, or folks you know, would like to help us design and rebuild such a space, please let me know. We're in immediate need of green home designers to come up with a master plan, and green contractors to implement dreams into reality, particularly any that are willing to work for cheap or pro-bono (I'm being blunt here), as our lack of insurance is going to be quite a hurdle."
If you know someone who would like to help create this dream and, consequently, join the community in this new chapter on the Ranch in Mendo, please contact me.
Many thanks & blessings,
Paula
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Re: In immediate need of green home designers & contractors
Sun, June 10, 2007 - 10:37 PMMy son and I live around Fort Bragg. I have been interested and researching cob construction for about eight years. Cob has withstood the test of time in many places in the world, some homes still standing after 500+ years. If you haven't yet, check out the cob cottage company in Oregon www.cobcottage.com. They are the pioneers of cob in North America. It may be possible to host a cob workshop through the cob cottage company, especially considering the circumstances, this would help with labor and consultation. Another resource may be Emerald Earth in Boonville www.emeraldearth.org. They are an intentional community based on natural building and permaculture. The cost of building may be minimal depending on what materials can be scavenged. Cob houses can be designed by anyone which makes it very easy to build the house according to your specific use and comfort. It is environmentally responsible in many ways including building unwanted materials (such as chicken wire, rusty nails, broken concrete, etc.) into the foundation and walls instead of sending it to the landfill. Cob is also environmentally sound in the sense that it is essential to build passive solar since the mass of the cob stores heat from the sun. I would definitely be interested in helping and relaying more information if you are interested. I would also be willing to loan my copy of The Hand Sculpted House. Hope this helps a little. Please feel free to contact me at rutie420@hotmail.com.
