Natural homes

Building in ways which enhance life force predominantly draws from local, natural, abundant materials, used with skill and a sense for perfect harmony. There are strong movements towards restoring the value of traditional architectures, carpentry and carving skills, and the means to creating beautifully crafted interiors – erasing any divide between building and art. Embedded in local traditions and cultures a natural edifice can generate incredibly high frequencies of life, healing and peace. Architecture is a way of telling stories, conveying history, storing knowledge, and connecting with surroundings. 

Sustainable choice of building materials and style strongly depend on local conditions regarding climate, available materials and skills. What reflects Nature’s health in one place may be utterly unsustainable and unsuitable in another. Merging traditional, time-proven and often forgotten ways of constructing homes with new technologies and ideas which update and adjust to changing local situations is bringing forth incredible developments. Similarly traditional skills are often merged with new ideas to create high-frequency homeware.

The way in which we engage with fellow living beings which are used for building or interior design and decoration will change dramatically in the future as more people realise to what extent for example trees are intelligences of their own right. Recognising the importance of these beauties within planetary circuits and their deep connection with us and seeing and feeling the aliveness of our planet will instantly stop harmful practices such as running pipes underground, excavating deep holes, breaking open mountains, taking down entire forests, or planting a ‘wood’ with the mere purpose of harvesting. Only objectification of, and disconnect from nature internally and externally – depriving life of its sentience – can lead to such ways of building.

Hui Ancient Villages

China

Incredible ancient villages which speak for themselves. Sharing this short video because of the beauty, rich frequencies & the sense of possibility.

Hui Ancient Villages

China

Incredible ancient villages which speak for themselves. Sharing this short video because of the beauty, rich frequencies & the sense of possibility.

In the future no one will live on toxic concrete slabs which disconnect us from the Earth’s electromagnetic fields, or between walls and pieces of furniture that off-gas nasty chemicals, and the materials for which were sourced in ways which destroy the planet and our societies. There will be simplicity and often minimalism, yet beauty and abundance. Deep changes are already unfolding but will go far beyond current sustainable practices (many of which are not sustainable). Be inspired below 🙂

Warka Water

Italy, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Togo & Haiti

Reviving & supporting endangered skills & traditions of marginalised, indigenous communities through integration with new technology, in collaboration with & respect of local peoples & culture. Providing water (from atmosphere) & sanitation in extremely dry regions of Africa. Building housing from local, natural materials inspired by traditional African architecture, improving drawbacks while keeping cultural features; built by local, indigenous artisans. Simplicity in building & maintenance, creating indigenous autonomy. Use of solar electricity. Collaborating with communities in Haiti & Africa to support traditional, unedited handicrafts.

Wautillarium Bio-tecture

Russia

Living bio shelter organism designed for cold climates, using thermal mass & compost-producing thermophilic bacteria for self-heat. Saving old-growth forest from logging for firewood. Built from earth & recycled waste materials (tires, glass bottles etc.) Inexpensive & easy to build. No off-gassing of toxic fumes. All wastewater upcycled for food production, toilet & heat. DIY wind turbine & solar panels for electricity. Rainwater/snow collection for water. Built-in interactive nature emergence lab. Neutralises EMF through BioGeometrical design. Natural ventilation. Offering courses & consulting worldwide.

Studio Kathryn Larsen

Denmark & Netherlands

Specialised in natural building materials, esp. seaweed, seagrass & kelp, merging old traditions & new ideas. Incredibly creative & talented. Modular housing tailored to purpose. Seagrass insulation, acoustic dampening & roofing. Musselcrete building blocks. Kelp leather/membrane. Seaweed clay plaster & paint. Microalgae ink. Stained glass application of seaweed-based plastic. Glue made from fishbones & scales. Seaweed Sketchbook with seaweed paper & hardcover. Transparency, integrity, beauty, genuine sharing of ideas. Supporting & integrating indigenous crafts.

Rahul Bhushan – NORTH

Himachal Pradesh, India

Ancient Kath Kuni architecture earthquake resistant, highly durable, beautiful & uses natural, local materials, mainly mud & interlocking layers of wood & stone. Flexible wooden braces instead of metal nails. Slate roof. Story-telling, culturally significant carvings. Reviving ancient architecture & supporting local craft. Restoring Kath Kuni houses & building new ones. Experimenting with substituting now rare local wood with fast-growing bamboo etc. Workshops for local wood carving skills revival.

Northmen Guild

Scandinavia & Latvia

Northmen Zero Waste Wooden Home: timber frame house with time tested mortice and tenon joinery locked with white oak pegs (no nails, screw, glue). Built from wood, clay, stone, bricks & lime. Northern heritage craftsmanship. Extremely heat-efficient, natural ventilation, strong, dry, lasts for 100s of years, zero building waste. Reviving heritage building. Masonry foundation, slate roof, insulation: dry, compressed pine shavings, modern-design windows made with natural materials. External natural paint.

Ngwenya Glass

Swaziland/Eswatini

Beautiful African animal glass tableware & figurines, handmade & mouth blown by skilled Swazi glass blowers. Made 100% from recycled glass collected by people all over Eswatini. Furnaces run with recycled oils. Recycled newspaper used to shape & package glasses. Creating environmental awareness via cleanup programs with schools. Fair wages – was Fairtrade & B-Corp certified but certification fees are high & funds were used to continue paying staff instead during pandemic. Ngwenya Glass Rhino & Elephant Fund helps preserve these endangered mammals.

Earthen Hand Natural Building

USA & international

Natural building courses, design & construction consulting born out of desire for socio-political empowerment – bringing building of homes back to people. Merging building & art for realignment of our spaces with nature. Teaching sculptural architecture, making earthen paints & plasters, building earth ovens, artwork, buildings. Assisting local communities by donating a building in the scope of international workshops. Durable, healthy building full of beauty.

Terrachidia

Spain & North Africa

Protecting & revitalizing architectural heritage & cultural landscapes in places at risk of being lost entirely. Viewing cultural diversity as expanding & enriching for human values, abilities & possibilities in our societies. Working closely with local communities & master builders which hold extensive experience in traditional architecture. Restoring oases, historical libraries, sewage & drinking water systems & more in Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Egypt etc. in alignment with Terrachidia’s ethical & integrity standards.

Sanjeev Shankar

India

Merging architecture, design, art & science with traditional knowledge & handcraft – rooted in rigorous field research & experimentation. Highly sustainable living root bridges, earthquake resistant, jointless timber architecture based on traditional bamboo weaving, tropical façade technology, bamboo lamps & furniture made in collaboration with local, indigenous peoples, traditional boat building, leather-woven bicultural footwear dyed with natural colours etc. Revitalising native knowledge. A wellspring for future living.

SwitoDesigns

Philippines

Multi-disciplinary design studio with focus on & passion for natural, local materials & traditional architecture which creates a sense of place, conveys local identities, preserves artisan skills & is sustainable & healing. Dedicated to providing quality, affordable architecture to small & medium enterprises. Projects include school buildings, cultural villages, residential houses, restaurants, commercial buildings etc. off & on grid. Founder with strong background in Chinese, Australian & South Asian indigenous architecture.

Hempcrete Natural Building

British Columbia, Canada

Experienced & confident hempcrete design & consulting business rooted in extensive research. Hempcrete (lime, hemp & water) is a breathable wall material with high thermal mass, durability, strength, cost efficiency, fire & earthquake-resistance, natural moisture regulation & sound insulation, EMF protection etc. No toxicity, no off-gassing of chemicals. Consulting sorts out proper project planning, architectural design, efficient material sourcing, cost estimates, contractors, building process management etc.

Creative Women

USA & worldwide

Home decor, bedding, tableware, mats & towels handmade from natural dyes & materials, incl. cotton, dried palm leaves, sustainably sourced wood, felted sheep wool. Preserving traditional skills & empowering female artisans from rural & marginalized communities through reliable longterm partnerships. Fairtrade, sourced from many regions incl. Philippines, Africa, Mexico, Peru, Vietnam.

Nkuku

UK & worldwide

Handmade furniture & homeware, made from natural & recycled materials, e.g. hemp, jute, sustainably sourced mango wood, corn husk, cotton textile waste. Supporting small traditional artisan craft projects, businesses & co-operatives, creating mutual benefit & keeping traditional crafts alive. Fair & transparent relationship-based trade. A business which unfolded organically rooted in passion for art, people & travel. Journal paper made from recycled cotton waste. Supporting coastal cleanup in UK & access to clean water in India & Nepal.

Designing Justice + Designing Spaces

California, USA

Architecture nonprofit aiming to end mass incarceration & structural inequity through community engagement, evidence-based design research, transformative design for peacemaking & reparation, policy change. Build prototypes of affordable multi-purpose community & work spaces, economics & justice restoration centers etc., transitional housing, mobile school & refuge spaces, outdoor spaces etc. Transforming our world by creating opportunities for those who have been left out by exclusive, intentionally biased systems.

Cob.gr Bioclimatic Construction

Greece

Building with locally available non-processed, non-toxic, natural materials (clay, straw, stone, adobe bricks, tadelakt, wood). Material & energy minimalism, honoring simplicity. Tiny homes, tree houses, geodesic spheres… Many years experience. Workshops, community, volunteering etc. Also: Organic farm for research, educative projects, natural farming (Masanobu Fukuoka). > 500 trees raised from seed. Eco-tourism programs, workshop for sustainability techniques incl. sustainable cooking, food processing, natural sanitation, heat systems etc. Music workshops for refugees with recycled objects.

Shepherd’s Dream

California & Oregon, USA

Locally handmade, natural, toxin-free bedding & mattresses made form Eco Wool® (sustainable, pasture sheep farming) & organic cotton. Made for durability & to create healthier homes. Transparent work & supply chain. Fair trading. Extensive info on maintenance etc. Re-use & recycling programs. Family business.

CruzinCobGlobal

Worldwide

International cob building projects, workshops for all ages, Cobber Certification programs, consultations. Builders of natural, durable & unique cob homes, healing & community spaces, artistic sculptures etc. From analyzing soil samples & making test bricks to finished building with heat, cob furniture & more. Blending ancient & new technologies. Cob building as a community experience and way to connect with nature. Great information source for cob & cob building.

Home Again Furniture Bank

Newfoundland, Canada

Providing free, gently-used furniture to people in need – ending furniture poverty, creating stability & dignity, > 500t saved from landfill on remote, economically struggling island. Locally owned & run, supported by local businesses & local partner organisations who refer people in need. Partnering Again & Again thrift store refurbishes decorative pieces – 100% proceeds go to Home Again. Volunteer program. Embodying real community.

Ink & Spindle

Victoria, Australia

Fabric as meterage, bed linen, curtains, blinds, upholstery, home decor etc. with hand-printed designs on ethically sourced textiles incl. organic cotton, hemp & eco-linen. Sourced from certified mills & printed with water based, organic inks. Made for longevity. Designs inspired by Australian landscape. Acknowledgement of aboriginal lands & peoples. Recycled paper & packaging. Internship program.

Smartblock Australia

Australia

Simple covers for smart meters which reduce harmful electromagnetic radiation by 99%. Faraday cage technology. Locally designed & made from locally sourced aluminium. High durability, suitable for marine environments too. Family business with great customer care.

Geoship

California, USA

Home-building cooperative for natural, healthy & affordable housing. Geodesic domes made from bioceramic, mimicking bone structure. Fire-resistant, breathable, non-toxic, mold-proof & durable, using passive solar heating & passive ventilation systems.

Our donation model

We envision a change towards gift economies rooted in the very same ways in which nature operates. Our donation model is based on these principles. If you like this website which is a gift from us to you, fueled by endless hours of connecting with people, businesses and initiatives, please take a look at our Donation page to find out how you can reciprocate, or pass on that gift. Or, if you already know our model and would like to be part of it in a monetary way, you can go straight to Donate below. Thank you!

Ease

I see my life, I see a destination.
It’s beautiful. Myself – a power station.
The moon, the sun,
I am the same, so much fun.

In the water, on the rock.
In the forest, around the clock.
What is time? It’s not me.
Want to own this land? Pay a fee.
What is this. Let it go, and perhaps just be.

 

So clear, no fear.
A path right here.
It suddenly appears.
What is needed is there.
Gifts all around, coming from everywhere.

I love this life.
It’s scary, yet I thrive.
The dark leaving quickly. The light so bright.
Join me in ease.
Keep dancing, don’t freeze.

There is no going wrong.
I listen to my heart – standing strong.

Poem by Carina Ramm

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