Building a homestead
I am copying for you a small piece of text from the book The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen, a very useful book full of projects and pragmatism for anyone who considers a house more than four walls an a rooftop. It is indeed much more than that, and the way our house (read as, wherever we are living now) behaves is crucial for a sustainable society. I have put my favourite parts in bold…
« Nowadays the style sections of newspapers and magazines are full of profiles od spacious and sleek ‘green’ houses made with novel eco-materials by famous architects. Eco-design is the wave of the future, these articles promise, it is going to save us all. This is all very glamorous, but the truth is that if you want to take the truly environmentally conscious route, you can do two things: renovate an old house instead of building new and live in the smallest place you can, whether you rent, buy or build.
Tearing down an old house is wasteful; the craftsmanship and materials used to build old homes cannot be replicated today. More than that, the construction of a new house — any type of house — generates three to five tons of waste that goes straight to the landfills. We urban homesteaders suggest that you revitalize a house instead, a home in the dense urban core, somewhere central where you can walk and bike around. Your footprint will be much smaller than someone who builds a ‘green’ house on pristine land at the edge of the city and has to get in the car and drive for miles just to get a carton of milk.
There is much to be said for living in a small place. It seems counter to the American dream to suggest that we downsize. The size of our [American] homes has been growing steadily since World War II, and along with it our home energy use and our personal debt. We have to stop thinking big, at least when it comes to material things.
When you live small, you’ll be living in a more ecologically sustainable way. Small homes are significantly easier to heat, cool, light and maintain. Apartments, even more so. Nothing trumps size in terms of energy efficiency. But more compelling than energy savings is life savings. A small home supports you and allows you to do what you want to do, rather than burdening you with debt, worry and upkeep. »
I strongly encourage anyone to read this book and reconsider their living with a bunch of pragmatism, awareness and positive thinking. Kelly and Erik also run the interesting Homegrown Evolution blog.
