The Natural Homes Groups ...

 

All of our groups have one common thread running through them, living naturally and thereby minimising our negative impact on the environment. The groups collectively cover the building of homes using natural materials, living naturally in the home using sustainable natural crafts and outside the home tending the land using natural methods. The scope of the groups are well defined but they do overlap a little, so from time to time an administrator might send you a message to say your post is better suited to one of the other groups. As well as sharing here what is in scope we also share some details about what is NOT in scope. As a member of a group you have agreed to stay within its scope.


NOTE:
If your post falls outside the scope an administrator will reject the post. The administrator may not have time to write to you to explain why. Please don't let this upset you.

'Talking Natural Homes'

Post questions in our natural building group about using natural materials and how to minimise the use of one-use, polluting and/or high embodied energy materials like steel, plastics and cement. [Read about cement's CO2 pollution].

Make posts about natural materials, their properties and construction methods in aspects of new building projects or in the renovation of conventional non-natural homes.

The group also includes posts about the building techniques used in historical buildings which inevitably are built naturally. You are welcome to post pictures of your own work or work you admire.

The group's scope does NOT include:

 

The materials you chose to build your home

 

1

Pseudo-natural building where organic looking structures are achieved by using steel and cement i.e. ferrocement (example).
 

 

2

Cement stabilised earth building e.g. Stabilized Compressed Earth Block (SCEB), Poured Earth (soil and cement) and the use of cement stabilisers in rammed earth, papercrete and earthbags.
 

 

3

Inappropriate use of concrete such as for thermal mass where earthen materials could perform the same task or cement soaked fibre sheets for thin shell roofing or other cement based materials like aircrete.
 

 

4

Encasing waste, but recyclable, materials such as plastic bottles and rubber tyres in the fabric of the building rendering them un-recyclable at the end of the building's lifespan.
 

 

5

Heavily processed products like Rockwool and Vermiculite, especially when used incorrectly or when a natural alternative serves the same function. Although the source material may in some cases be natural the product is not and often carries health warnings.
 

 

6

The use of reclaimed high embodied energy materials like shipping containers to build essentially non-natural conventional homes.

The design, production energy and components of your home

 

7

Over engineered buildings such as:
 

7.1

Large log buildings with excessive dimensions purely for aesthetic rather than structural design.
 

7.2

Concrete foundations where piers or a rubble trench would be sufficient.
 

7.3

Whole house ceramic (fired clay) buildings that burn large quantities of fuel (generally wood) where adobe or cob methods would be more energy efficient.
 

 

8

Homes that are built in a climate inappropriate for their design, these include:
 

8.1

Homes that require non-natural materials to allow the building to perform e.g. using cement to protect a dome in a temperate climate.
 

8.2

Homes that use natural materials but are over engineered and/or lack respect for the local environmental resources e.g. a log home designed for cold regions in a tropical climate.
 

8.3

Dome and geodesic homes in non-arid climates e.g. a glass geodesic dome sheltering a cob house in northern Norway.
 

 

9

Modular designs whose purpose is to deliver a home on site in minimum time rather than with traditional structural integrity for longevity and comfort. The structure may be entirely natural but the design is too heavily influenced by logistics rather than sensitivity to its landscape. These designs typically exclude all the patterns defined by Alexander in 'A Pattern Language'
 

 

10

Non-natural materials that are part of your mostly natural building project e.g. a post about how to use rigid foam insulation.
 

 

11

Primitive and bushcraft woodland shelters.
 

Organisations that promote the use of non-natural materials

 

12

Section 3 and 4 of this page identifies the use of cement and recyclable materials. The use of these materials are promoted by some organisations. If your post references such organisations your post will not be approved, even if your project does not use these materials.
 

How you live in or describe your home

 

13


14

Self-published articles that are storylines about living in your home rather than the practical natural building details. Especially if your article does not show any details to help the administrator see that you have used natural building methods and materials.

Posting articles or questions to the group that misrepresent non-natural materials as appropriate, affordable, beneficial or traditional. 

 

Our off-grid living and homesteading group 'Permahome'

Post questions in our off-grid and homesteading group about how to design a self-sustaining natural home that's right for your needs, land, materials and climate. We discuss natural living methods that include permaculture, resource management and off-grid technologies as well as small-scale farming, woodland management, social structures such as intentional communities and alternative money systems.
 

 

15

Self-sustaining buildings that are not made out of natural materials e.g. tyres, concrete and steel.
 

 

16

Buildings where the major components of the structure rely on long supply chains.
 

 
 

Our natural living group 'The Kitchen Table'

Post questions in our natural living group about using natural materials and methods in the home. This includes a wide variety of topics like basket weaving, spoon carving, making homemade cleaning products and cosmetics, healthy diet minimising processed foods. The group also discusses things like yoga and tai chi, herbal remedies, cheese making and food preserving techniques.

The group's scope does NOT include posts about:

 

17

Conventional recipes with high amounts of fats and sugars or processed commercial ingredients.
 

 
 

General exclusions to all groups ...

It should be obvious but nevertheless none of the Natural Homes groups are a place to share content about the management of your business or your day to day personal experiences. Please remember the group is a place to share knowledge and skills to inspire, support and educate.

The group's scope does NOT include posts about:

 

18

A company's social events or details of its meetings e.g. the minutes of meeting of an AGM. Of course this type of content is important to the company who are proud of the progress they have made or the fun they had at an event but the Natural Homes groups are not the place to share them.
 

 

19

Crowdfunding and fundraising requests are not allowed in any of our groups or made on any of our Facebook pages. Of course your fundraising project is important, but please understand that there are thousands of other projects trying to get the attention of our members. Posts to crowdfunding or fundraising sites will not be approved, nor will posts that are obviously designed to draw people to a crowdfunding destination.
 

 

20

For one reason or another your project may not be 100% natural. Just because your project is 80% natural that doesn't mean you can make posts about the 20% of the project that isn't natural. Questions or advice about the non-natural materials in your project should not be posted in our groups.
 

 

21

The use of power tools and sharp hand tools can sometimes be represented in inappropriate and dangerous ways. If a picture or video is posted to the group which encourages people to adopt bad and possibly dangerous practices it will not be approved.
 

 

22

Sadly there are some social media publishers and websites of low quality and low integrity that publish content without proper attribution to the originator and/or are knowingly misleading. Posts which take members to those publishers will not be approved.