Passive Solar Heating

I think this is truly the answer to eco building. It's so low tech, low maintenance, and extremely cost effective. All it takes is desgining the home/ building in a way to maximise the sun rays during winter months and shading out the sun during midday during in summer months. Oh and selecting building materials with high thermal mass (ability to absorb and hold heat). Ok there's a tad bit more to it, but like I said it's all in the planing phase, and I'd hire a specialist to calculate the figures and angles. Any way, I'll stop rambling and let the video do a much better job of explaining.

CLICK Here for what wiki has to say.

Raw Materials for the Allotment

On my week off from work, I hired a van for the day and roped my brother in for a hard days slog. We first pick up about 70 scrap scaffolding broads from TRAD in Barking (£0.30/foot ex VAT) , and also stopped by the Building Crafts College in Stratford and pick up some bags of saw dust (free if they have any out back). Then came the hard part, lugging the lot through the walkway to the plot. I was shattered after ferrying all the boards and saw dust from the small grass patch which is road side under the railway bridge and down the bridle path. But will have some serious digging and raised bed making to do during autumn and winter.

Coconut Revolution (Bougainville: Our Island, Our Fight)

My Friend Kam has been on about this video for years, and I finally got to watch it.

Badshah's message to Mathematist

HMR HIIT (Horse Manure Relocation High Intensity Interval Training)

Just like many others who part take in any amateur competitive sport. I have limited time to put towards training, more so for conditioning. As it’s not as enjoyable as the skills based training sessions. Also requires a higher level of motivation as seldom is it done in a group environment. My personal solution was to combine some manual labour required on my allotment plot and some HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)



This is how HMR HIIT was invented. It allowed me to stock up on the horse manure just outside the allotment site and place it on my own plot. Armed with a wheel barrow and spade I jog to the manure site load up the wheel barrow and jog back pushing the loaded barrow. Tip out the barrow on my plot and hand over the barrow and spade to my brother who’d then do the same while I jog in front to ensure the narrow path way is free from by passers. After thirty minutes of this we relocate six wheel barrows full of manure. Great work out.



This morning we knocked up the first bed and the horse manure was shoveled on.

Getting about town

Cycling to work has been my main form of transport for about five years. I was using a road bike (Cougar). Which I'd brought of a friend. It had served me well.





But it wasn't the low maintenance commuting machine I desired. When my work place finally started the cycle to work scheme I decided to get the Trek Soho S. Roll VT.

Permaculture

After nearly two years on the waiting list I now have a plot of land. While it's only a very small plot (allotment) it's still somewhere for me to grow some food. As the plot is a twenty minute walk away from my apartment I decided to go the low maintenance route to gardening. while researching I came across permaculture. Once set up it should mean extremely low maintenance, and while the whole forest garden plan can't be applied to such a small plot I'll be using some of the key concepts into my humble allotment plot.

I'm currently reading The Earth Care Manual: A Permaculture Handbook for Britain and Other Temperate Countries by Patrick Whitefield

Along with watching Food Forest by Geoff Lawton

Check out this fantastic video of how permaculture was used to grow a sustainable crops in the desert.