Great things come in small packages! My 2 bedroom home is only 9.3 squares, or smaller than the living areas of many new homes! It was constructed over 3 years ago on a rural farm, using rammed earth external walls and tradition stud frame internal walls. The rammed earth walls were done by hand, so have a more natural appearance. The roof is flat, sloping upwards to the north, with louver windows at the highest point to release hot air. Water is collected from the roof in a 47,000 litre, (12,500 gallon), rainwater tank. This supplies the house and garden. All grey and black water, kitchen scraps, some paper/cardboard and garden weeds, are processed in a worm waste system. Power is supplied by 6 solar panels and battery bank. Water is heated by a low pressure solar hotwater system, backed up by a wood heater in winter.
A native garden to the north has been planted with tough plants that will survive local conditions – extended dry periods, acid soils and frost. Things don’t get watered in summer. My motto is if it dies it doesn’t get planted again! Paving and paths have been built from recycled concrete and old bricks – the aim was to make something functional and beautiful with little or no money and to use something again. A 40 metre long curving strawbale wall wraps around the garden from the west, enclosing the garden space and defining it from the surrounding paddocks. I also have a pretty busy vegie patch, which always keeps my housemate and I busy. Chooks and an outside wood oven are next!
(July 2011) (
