Freedom From “The Treadmill”

I have found myself increasingly distressed by the thought that my children will not be able to afford to own a home. Or if they do decide to buy, they will be mortgage slaves for decades. Contemplating these morbid thoughts led me to research tiny homes. Tiny homes are a solution to our over-consumptive practices, and tiny mobile homes deal with our cultural habit of moving for jobs.

But tiny homes are not enough. I started asking the question: “What about building tiny homes from natural materials from local sources?” This question brought my research to a new level, but I realized my next home will never meet BC Building Code.

My next dream house will be off-the-grid and will cost next to nothing. The house will be a passive solar structure made out of local materials. The house will generate its own power, collect its own water, and process its own waste. Materials will depend on the location, but I like the idea of a post-and-beam house with cob walls. I see bucket toilets and a radical plumbing system as part of my future. I will have to build without permits, thus my house will have to be stealthy. The powers-that-be see my dream home as unsafe, unsavory, and maybe even a health hazard!

But I don’t buy into that view anymore. I wonder why the government even cares if I live in a mud house ? but by doing so ? I stop buying into 30 year mortgages. I avoid self-imposed mortgage slavery. I get off the treadmill of debt. Who knows what kind of mischief I might get into with all that free time!

GO BOX Storage has donated The Hand Sculpted House: A Practical and Philosophical Guide to Building a Cob Cottage by Ianto Evans to the Kamloops Public Library. I hope the book helps you find your own brand of freedom.

hand-sculpted-house

What would it be like if we could build our own homes? What would we do with our time if we didn’t have to work for the bank?

GO BOX Storage Donates More Books

n-t-baby-book

Sally Fallon Morell’s new book on baby and child care.

GO BOX Storage has donated three more books to the Kamloops Public Library. Over the years, GO BOX Storage has donated other books. If you would like to see the complete list please see Recommended Reading List.

oasis-with-greywater

We are aware that greywater is not presently allowed in the City of Kamloops. We hope Art Ludwig’s books in the local library will foster conversation and increase awareness of the benefits of greywater in dry climates.

The government officials are concerned that greywater could be a “health hazard”. I find it interesting that I can spray pesticide, herbicide and fungicide and that’s legal, but reclaiming water from my laundry machine or bathtub is a health hazard!

water-storage

Until greywater is legal in Kamloops, we can still collect rainwater off our roofs and use this water on our gardens. Thank goodness that’s still legal in Kamloops.

If you would like to learn more about greywater, Deanna Hurstfield sent me this article called Rainwater Harvesting and Grey Water Reuse. This greywater review of practices was completed by the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Recommended Reading List

nourishing-traditions

If you only have time to read one book, I would recommend Nourishing Traditions. This is a very practice book.

Over the last few years, GO BOX Storage have donated a number of books about nourishing traditional foods and healing diets to the Kamloops Public Library. The Weston A. Price Foundation considers most of these books recommended reading.

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Dr. Weston A. Price
Pottenger’s Cats by Dr. Francis M. Pottenger
Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall
Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride
Put Your Heart In Your Mouth by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride
Life Without Bread by Dr. Christian Allan and Dr. Wolfgang Lutz
The Fourfold Path to Healing by Dr. Tom Cowan
Know Your Fats by Dr. Mary G. Enig
The Cholesterol Myth by Dr. Utte Ravnskov
The Untold Story of Milk by Ron Schmid
The Whole Soy Story by Dr. Kaayla Daniel
Performance Without Pain by Kathryn Pirtle
The Garden of Fertility by Katie Singer
Honoring Our Cycles by Katie Singer
The Yoga of Eating by Charles Eisenstein
Seeds of Deception by Jeffery M. Smith
Genetic Roulette by Jeffery M. Smith
The GMO Trilogy (DVD) by Jeffery M. Smith
The World According to Monsanto (DVD) by Jeffery M. Smith
Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby and Child Care by Sally Fallon Morell
Create an Oasis with Greywater by Art Ludwig
Water Storage: Tanks, Cisterns, Aquifers and Ponds by Art Ludwig

Update May 12, 2009: If you would like more suggested reading please go to the WAPF Thumbs Up Book (and Other Media) Reviews.