Building a well designed, passive solar house can mean comfort in both summer and winter, with minimal energy inputs. On the hottest day of summer, it’s comfortable and cool inside. On the coldest night of the year, passively collected solar heat warms … Continued
There’s not many 14 year olds that get their own house – much less one they built themselves, with help from family, friends and community. May we introduce you to the tinyhouse that Zephyr built. This beautiful little hand-made home sits out … Continued
Wondering what Milkwood’s all about, and why we do what we do? Here’s the 60 second version… Although, of course, if you read this blog, you’re probably fairly familiar with what we do. But please do watch the video anyway – … Continued
Holidays are a good time to dream about the future, and what you’re going to build one day. Here’s some articles to get you inspired about building with a minimum of money and a maximum of passion for creating natural, living … Continued
While we were down Bega way at the South East Permaculture Convergence recently, Ashar and I got a chance to hang with my friend Annie at her family’s little patch of paradise, Autumn Farm. Autumn Farm prettymuch sums up simple … Continued
The 107 Rooftop Garden build is underway! And we’ve just finished the gabions that will form all the veggie bed surrounds, thanks to the hard and cheerful work of an awesome crew of pros and volunteers. We’re now one step closer … Continued
Natural Building is rather a broad subject. It takes in everything from strawbale building to cobb, light earth, rammed earth, roundwood construction, earth floors and mud and lime wall renders, just for starters. We figure it’s best to dive straight in, … Continued
On our last Natural Building course, we built a portable reciprocal roundhouse frame. Beauty meets strength meets simplicity. Using sapling logs (though you can use bamboo instead, or framing timber, at a pinch) plus ropes and screws, this structure went up … Continued
After completing the strawbale walls and the roundwood, reciprocal roof of the Milkwood Roundhouse, we wanted a gorgeous floor to complete this hand-crafted natural building. So an earthen floor was a natural choice. There’s not much easily accessible info out … Continued
Reciprocal roof frames are self-supporting structures that date back to the 12th Century. They are used in Chinese and Japanese architecture, as well as being something that Leonardo Da Vinci explored in detail. The interlocking nature of the separate members creates a … Continued
A few months ago we raised a strawbale roundhouse with a reciprocal roof as part of our first Natural Building Workshop at Milkwood Farm. Now that we’re nearing the end of this build, I thought I’d step you through the … Continued
Following on from raising the walls of this roundhouse in four days, Floyd and Shane have been focussed on getting this little place finished before Winter. And yep, we’ve all noticed the speed at which things progress when you go … Continued
Last week we built a home. A round, load-bearing strawbale tiny house with a roundwood reciprocating living roof, to be precise. And when I say ‘built’ I suppose I mean that we got it mostly done. It was amazing to … Continued
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