Return of the blogger... rocket stoves and light clay straw

It takes a surprising amount of time and energy to keep a blog going... both of these things I have been directing elsewhere.

Transistion town, peak oil, sustainable living are all expressions for the urgent need for humans to use less of the planets resources and for us to remember that we are animals and need to live as part of the ecosystems of the planet.

I personally find that keeping consumption down is really difficult. Ive been seeking out ways to improve the efficiency of my use of the planets resources.
I want to generate hot water from my wood stove.... but the gear I need to buy is not readily availble nor affordable....

Went to the local tip to get some corrugated iron for a planter box, as my raspberries need repotting, only to find that the council has roped of the steel section due to OH&S issues. So no reusing and recycling opportunites at the tip anymore :-(

I got distracted one cold morning by YouTube clips of rocket stoves, really interesting ingenious designs to burn fuel in a way that traps much more of the heat than conventional combustion stoves.



Earth mass heater from ilovecob.com

I love the way that alternative people try  things and share them. This led me to mass heaters....

Cob bench rocket stove from small-scale.net

Then I got interested in construction that doesn't 'cost the earth' but uses earth instead.

Light clay straw is building technique that blends the best of adobe and straw bale construction. More on this another time.