Earth Haven

The first community we visited was Earth Haven in North Carolina. This was a day tour, so it's not like we lived there. Earth Haven has been around for a while and over the years people have tried many different ways to build their houses, many of which didn't work very well.

For example, this house on the left sways in the wind so they've buttressed it with long poles. But many of the structures at Earth Haven are rustic and charming, like this building on the right.




As people get smarter about how to build their own homes they are producing some pretty impressive structures. On the left is a timber-frame home where the walls are being made of cob, a mixture of sand, clay, and straw. A picture being worth a thousand words, here is a little model someone made of this home. Pretty cool, eh? I think I could live in a place like this!





I was disappointed that Earth Haven produces less than 5% of their own food! Wassupwidat? It turns out they make nearly all their money by charging new members steep joining fees and they they are not financially self-sufficient. This is a situation we've chosen to watch from a distance.

When we were visiting Earth Haven we learned that my grandmother died, so we headed up to Virginia to attend her memorial. We stayed for two wonderful weeks with my Aunt Bev and Uncle Joe in Washington DC. Thanks Bev and Joe!

Next up, Acorn!