by Steve Byrne | Feb 9, 2018 | buildings, natural building
One of the hardest things about producing your own food isn’t growing it, it is storing it afterwards. It really wants to break down as fast as possible, and all manner of creatures want to eat it first. Until now we’ve stored food all over the place – hanging up in the living room; in cupboards. In short, not ideal. Another issue that we had was that our 4000 litre rainwater tanks and pump were not terribly pretty and very exposed to cold temperatures. The pump especially has been badly damaged by freezing twice now. The problem, as they say in permaculture, is the solution, and in this case takes the form of a strawbale barn, which incorporates the water tanks as its back wall.
by Steve Byrne | Nov 23, 2016 | buildings
Nearly two years after building the classroom, we thought it was about time that the floor got finished. It’s lovely Douglas Fir, and was getting progressively more filthy, but deserved better.
by Steve Byrne | Dec 30, 2012 | low impact living, permaculture
Composting toilets can be expensive things if you choose to buy the fancy all-in-one devices. Most aren’t much more than a seperator seat to keep the pee and solids apart, with some sort of fan to dry the solids a bit, and keep any smells to a minimum. Usually...
by Steve Byrne | Aug 23, 2012 | self sufficiency
One of the joys of doing Lackan Cottage up has been taking old ‘stuff’ and making something of it. Wherever possible we’ve reused things from around the house – for instance the kitchen units are made from the old ceiling in the extension....
