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.
The materials you chose to build your home
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1 |
Pseudo-natural building where organic looking structures are
achieved by using steel and cement i.e. ferrocement (example).
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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. |
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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.
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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. |
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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.
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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 |
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7 |
Over engineered buildings such as:
7.1 |
Large log buildings with excessive
dimensions purely for aesthetic rather than structural
design.
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7.2 |
Concrete foundations where piers or a
rubble trench would be sufficient.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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8.3 |
Dome and geodesic homes in non-arid
climates e.g. a glass geodesic dome sheltering a cob house
in northern Norway.
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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' |
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10 |
Non-natural
materials that are part of your mostly natural building
project e.g. a post about how to use rigid foam insulation.
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11 |
Primitive and
bushcraft woodland shelters.
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Organisations
that promote the use of non-natural materials |
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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.
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How you
live in or describe your home |
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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.
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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.
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15 |
Self-sustaining buildings that are not made
out of natural materials e.g. tyres, concrete and steel.
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16 |
Buildings where the major components of the
structure rely on long supply chains.
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