[masraum]

I saw a documentary on PBS or something like that for an off-grid sustainable home. It was really interesting. I think they called it an "earthship home." There's a guy/company that provides plans and builds them. I think he had a small regular crew but then also usually the folks that were going to be living in them helped build them and other folks that wanted to learn about them or eventually build their own would also help.

It was pretty cool. They built it on a south facing slope of a hill. They used packed earth in old tires for the walls (but you didn't see the tires once it was complete). The top of the home was a water collection system and a bunch of water tanks. The south facing wall was designed to provide some light and heat (windows) but, I think it also had solar power. The south facing wall of windows also incorporated an area for a garden. Once completed, the inside didn't seem much/any different from any other home. They seemed to have full conveniences. I think it also had some sort of generator for power in addition to the solar.