Beehive homes can be found in the midst of hot deserts and cities. Most are found in rural farming communities, but there are also villages located in Urfa, Turkey and Aleppo (the largest city in Syria), which have been continually inhabited since the 6th millennium BC. Beehive homes are used for both storage and residences. Built from all natural local materials, the thick walls help cool the interior by keeping out the sun, and acting as thick insulation. The walls are made from mud bricks … Read more
Pekmez Carob and Grape Molasses
The thick, sticky syrup from carobs and grapes. Molasses is a syrup that is made by boiling and thickening the grapes and similar fruits. The healthy components extracted from these fruits include disease-fighting antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Among several potential benefits, grape molasses may help restore iron in anaemic people; and a compound in carob molasses may benefit those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Grape molasses can be used to sweeten cookies, cakes and … Read more
Open Courtyards Creating Cool Spaces in Buildings
Under some circumstances, architectural designs can be used to take advantage of the sun as a driving force for maintaining air movement. Warm air is less dense than cool air and therefore will rise in an environment of cool air. This movement is called convection. The relatively static cooling system used in a courtyard house can provide the basis for understanding modifications that can generate air movement by convection. In hot dry zones, air temperature drops considerably after sunset from … Read more
Malqaf Wind catch tower (Malqaf)
To satisfy the need for ventilation alone, the Malqaf or wind-catch was invented. It is a shaft rising high above the roofline, with an single large opening and a diagonally sloping top that faces the prevailing wind. It traps the wind from high above the building where it is cooler and stronger, and channels it down into the interior of the building. The Malqaf thus dispenses with the need for ordinary windows to ensure ventilation and air movement. The Malqaf is also useful in reducing the … Read more
DIY From salt water to drinkable water Simple invention desalifying water with solar heat
Italian designer Gabriele Diamanti has invented Eliodomestico, an eco-distiller running on solar power, to provide safe drinking-water for people in developing countries. … Read more
La recogida de la oliva
- Date: 14 November 2016
- Languages:
- EnglishFrenchSpanish
- Location: Spain
Después de varias semanas de dudas por la escasez de materia prima, hemos decidido empezar la recogida de la oliva para hacer nuestro aceite. Esto es un llamamiento a aquellas personas a las que les gustaría probar esta hermosa experiencia de salir por las mañanas en equipo al campo, con sol y tiempo fresco, a batear y peinar olivos centenarios para recoger la preciada oliva, en alternancia con la actividad en el molino, limpiando y moliendo las olivas, ayudando a montar la torre para la … Read more
Asia/Oceania (GENOA): Earthen Architecture and Green Building Techniques
A solution provided by Auroville, India Construction is responsible for the huge consumption of energy, electricity, water and materials. On the other hand the building sector has a great potential to deliver significant cuts in emissions at little or no cost. Buildings account for 18% of global emissions, or the equivalent of 9 billion tonnes of CO2 annually. According to the United Nations Environment Program, the emissions could double by 2050 during this time of rapid growth. With so … Read more
Europe (GEN Europe): Holistic Water Management and Water Retention Landscapes
Solution provided by Tamera, Portugal Humus and topsoil can absorb a large amount of water and release it slowly. In this way floods and droughts are prevented. But erosion has widely degraded both humus and topsoil in the landscape. In order to restore the water cycle, we need to enable rainwater to be absorbed by the earth even without the topsoil layer. Water Retention Landscapes are systems for the restoration of the full water cycle by retaining the water in the areas where the rain … Read more
USA/Europe (GENNA/GEN Europe): Soil Restoration and Carbon Sequestration using Biochar
The future starts with the dirt beneath our feet. Soil is the earth’s fragile skin that anchors all life. However, half of the topsoil on the planet has been lost in the last 150 years. Soil restoration is a major concern of farmers and of all of us who depend on vegetation. Soil restoration using Biochar (as with Terra Preta), is carbon negative by sequestering the carbon in biomass for thousands of years. Biochar incorporated in soils offers numerous benefits, such as improved soil … Read more
Training Superadobe. Earth bag
- Date: 22 December 2016 – 15 January 2017
- Languages:
- EnglishFrenchSpanish
- Location: Toubab Dialaw, Senegal, Undefined
(info en Castellano más abajo) ENGLISH INTENSIVE TRAINING IN BIO-CONSTRUCTION. SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE. EARTH-BAG Ecole des Sables, SENEGAL 22 December 2016-15 January 2017 Become an agent of change: another world is possible! Get your degree to build your own green home and spent three weeks with us in touch with nature. Constructions adapted to all types of climate. No prerequisite to participate. African Angara holding its next training in green building / Earth-bag together with … Read more
