Years ago, I slipped and fell in the Sierras on a backpacking trip because my beloved and comfortable hiking boots had traveled so many hundreds of miles on my feet that they had nearly slick soles. I condemned those boots to the landfill — oops! Turns out that I’m not Goody Two Shoes after all, since it takes more than 50 years for leather shoes to break down in a landfill. Apparently, they will still be there for some time after I’m gone. Older and wiser now, I bought a quality pair of hiking boots to replace them. But with wisdom and age, also comes wider feet. Every time I…
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Earthen Hand
The Local Application of Traditional Building Techniques According to Scott Howard, founder of Earthen Hand Natural Building, the materials and methods in natural building construction are highly sustainable because they are readily available and easy to use. Structures built of earthen materials are more likely to last for many centuries in contrast to a few decades for most contemporary stick-framed buildings. Wood-framing remains the most popular way to build homes in the Pacific Northwest where plentiful forests were once thought of as monstrosities to be cut into submission. The popularity of wood construction over time is a contributor to deforestation worldwide. Some estimates state that we have used 90% of…
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Earthen Hand – Building Sustainably by Teaching Construction Techniques
Artist Scott Howard is a community resource whose sculptural architecture is often finished with earthen paints and plasters.
