Hi Selfsustainers!
This is a special post. The following video is the most current version of what I have been presenting here, consolidated into about three and a half minutes. I presented it late last year but without any explanation for what it is. It is still being tweaked and refined as a possible idea for a non-profit business or for low income housing, hence the ad-like style. But the images and captions in the video cover what I would build for myself and use as a prototype.
It is meant to demonstrate the most basic possible house design--a "shed" or "saltbox" style, because it defines the lowest common denominator of relative comfort and space. In other words, to me, it is comfortable enough. It can house one adult, a couple, a family of four if necessary. But additions would be easy to add. The house shown in the video below has places for two additions to be added. I have also shown many different design possibilities on this blog in the form of small and tiny houses, This particular house is the smallest square footage (300) allowed for a residency permit in the State of Maine. Yet it also includes The Five Basics for Modern Human Survival (click uppercase word for the associated blog post)...
POWER--a full off-grid power system, with photovoltaic (PV) panels, a wind turbine generator, and a large enough battery array for household power storage and usage.
HEAT--a stove that burns wood harvested sustainably every year through a technique called coppicing.
SHELTER--as you will see, the cottage would certainly be sufficient shelter for a small, low income family (better than the street, and without the cost of paying rent). Three hundred feet seems small. But I have lived in smaller spaces. Some of the "Tiny Houses" shown on this blog can be as small as 100 square feet. The bathroom in this house would be the smallest possible space that can still contain a sink, shower and composting toilet. No water would be wasted. Gray water would be used for gardening. Urine would be used for fertilization. Human solid waste would be added to compost with sawdust or wood chips.
FOOD--having at least one acre of good land can sustain a family of four who farms the land, so that would certainly be enough for just me. The only import to the property would be meat and dairy products. Hens could be kept for eggs. I won't be slaughtering animals on my property for meat, but I could.
WATER--a rainwater harvesting system consisting of specially designed gutters that let water in while leaves are washed over. The water will be collected by one or more large tanks. Maine gets approximately 44 inches of rain annually. That would provide more than enough water for storage and liberal use by a family of four, including the irrigation of their garden. I've used a similar system before and it works very well.
All of this would cost no more than about $20,000 in Maine; that is for the purchase of all utility systems, building materials and construction. Assuming at least an acre of land could be purchased for less than $10,000 (and there is plenty of land to choose from in that price range in Maine), then the entire project could be completed for about $30,000. That is about 1/4 of the $190,000 median price for a new home in Maine. To give some perspective about the value of Maine land, the median price for a new home in California is $440,000.
Best of all, when I am able to raise or save the money necessary to do all that I have described above, I will have no mortgage or rent to pay ever again. I will also have all of my utilities (power, heat and water) for free as long as I keep them maintained properly. And most of the food I need grow right on my own land for the simple cost of the sweat on my brow while working the land.
As a single man who has spent more than enough time struggling to survive in one way or another, I simply could never ask for anything more than this kind of living situation. It would be an ideal environment for so many different types of people.
Here are some solutions and benefits that this kind of package, along with the kinds of folks who might be interested, while demonstrating what this could bring to society in general and individual people specifically...
1. REDUCED WELFARE COSTS - People below poverty level could be given a one time grant by the state or federal government for the same thing that I have been explaining about in this blog. They would still have to buy things, but they would have no power bill, no heating bill, no rent, plenty of fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts and eggs, and more than enough clean water.
2. ARTISTS, MUSICIANS AND WRITERS - People who are willing to starve for their art or craft might be willing to save up for their own sustainable property just as I am doing. And then when they've reached their goal they will have a place to create, and more time to do it.
3. OFF-GRID, HUNTING AND REMOTE ACCESS CABINS - Packages such as I have described would be ideal for the establishment of an environmentally safe shelter in remote locations for holidays, vacations, seasonal living and recreation.
4. INTENTIONAL COMMUNITIES AND ECOGARDENS - Modeling the houses in a community on the simple and straightforward, energy efficient, clean and organic designs discussed in this blog, would be like having an instant infrastructure in a small village or neighborhood. In Maine especially large tracts of land could be purchased, subdivided and built with these models in mind.
5. A FAMILY TRADITION - If parents are willing to do the work required for maintaining the house systems, property and gardens, it seems a natural thing that they choose to raise their children in such a secure and healthy environment. As the children grow, they learn what's needed to maintain the property as their chores. Fathers and mothers have more time to spend with each other and their kids, because not as much income is needed to maintain such a self-sustaining property. If there is enough extra property or the parents save wisely, by the time the kids have graduated from high school the parents could have bought them their own land and constructed houses for them (if the kids want them)--even designed and co-constructed by the kids themselves as they grew up. They would move right into these houses and enjoy a lifestyle they already understand perfectly well having grown up in the same kind of environment. In fact, a family tradition of raising practical-minded children who get to design their own future houses - all the while learning exactly how to manage all the systems in those houses - could be established. By the time they are 18 years of age, they move into their houses debt free, even ready to go to college if they want go locally. Or if they are accepted at school out of state, they could rent their properties out whenever they were at school to help offset some or all of the costs of tuition. With the constant advances in communications technology, doing college and other work from home will become more common. This may end the idea of commuting for many people. When people travel it could be mostly just for fun.
All of this can happen. And when it does, I will be able to prove the efficacy of these ideas by using something very much like what is shown in the following video as both my home and a prototype for the idea in general.
Thanks for following developments here. Please check in as we progress toward a real piece of land, a real cottage and a truly sustainable property.
Please consider making a donation to the Alexandria Project by clicking the PayPal Donate button and following the instructions.
