#self sustainability

Brainstorming cabin ideas for the farm I’ll be buying later in the year…

Another step towards zero waste and self-sustainability…

I’m not interested in the moon cup as I hate tampons and silicon doesn’t break down. These were hand made by a stay at home mum running a small business who is supporting herself, her family and the small business industry in Australia by producing these amazing clothe pads…

We can all make small changes in our lives that contribute to the big picture of saving our glorious planet …
I have made so many changes of the years and this is one changed I have been researching for a year now… I’m proud of myself for making the change and lowering my impact on this planet…

Second round Order of cloth pads …and a few extra’s which included 5 used pad pouches and a small clean/ used bag for my handbag…

My first time use was an interesting experience and I realised I underestimated my flow so I bought for more cloth pads for a super heavy flow… I’m so happy with them, I actually look forwards to my period and I wish I had made the change sooner …

Six Senses Svart, Holandsfjorden fjord, Norway,

The hotel is the first building to be designed and built after the highest energy efficiency standard in the northern hemisphere. It will harvest enough solar energy to go back into the system, covering the hotel, adjacent operations, boat shuttle, and the energy needed to construct the building – rendering it independent from the power grid. 

Such energy-positive buildings could deliver 89 per cent of the 45 per cent decrease in emissions required to reach the scenario where global warming is limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. 

As such, Six Senses Svart is the northernmost implementation of the Paris Agreement, demonstrating that carbon neutrality can be not only feasible in a sophisticated development at an eco-sensitive site, but can also be profitable.

It will also be self-sustaining, complete with its own waste and water management, recycling, and renewable infrastructure. The team will work with existing sustainable fishing and farming operations and engage local like-minded suppliers for the restaurants and bars.

Designed structurally by Snøhetta, the 94-key Six Senses Svart will combine a futuristic design, led by interior design studio, Space Copenhagen.

Image credit: Snøhetta/Plompmozes/Miris

so honored to be a part of this teach-in w @sftporg tomorrow morning! 

come listen to us discuss our experiences in the intersections of sustainability, self-sufficiency & art! there’s also a Q&A after to sate all your curiosities.

(begins @ 12 noon sharp EST!) link to register: https://bit.ly/35LeYTP

Let me introduce my very first zucchini this year! In fact, my first zucchini ever on a balcony. I’m feeling proud.

Garden update -  First Swiss chard harvest! 

Have you ever planted Swiss chards? I absolutely adore this vegetable! ❤️ Swiss chard is not a well known plant, but I think it’s amazing. It grows super fast, it’s very undemanding and if you are lucky it can survive during the winter! Well I guess not everywhere, but my patch of Swiss chards did survived this year, I live in Hungary and we had some snow and minus degrees during last winter… (The red ones are new, I planted them back in March. The white ones are the survivors from last year.)

I can’t wait to cook something from it. I love to make simple omelettes from them but now I will maybe try out something more special. I don’t know yet..

Got another garbage onion started, this time a sweet yellow onion. Looking at all the divisions in the center, it may send up shoots from multiple places meaning I can divide it and get more than one onion out of the deal. We’ll see!

For those who mentioned having trouble getting this to work, you do have to change the water daily. Not just add more, but pull the onion out of the dish, dump out the water, rinse out the dish, and put new water in (and obviously put back the onion). Other than that and temperature control (don’t let it bake in the sun or freeze in a draft), just leave it alone and it should sprout.

My garbage onion (I grew it from the root end of a store bought onion, something that normally goes in the garbage) finally sent up a shoot! And look at all those gorgeous roots!

I also had some sprouting store-bought garlic (you can see it on the counter behind the onion) so I decided to put those in some dirt as well. So one onion, five cloves of garlic.

I’ll probably sprout another onion bottom after dinner, since I have a couple of yellow onions that need to be eaten and my little sprouting dish is now empty.

Finally getting my seeds started! Since I live in an apartment with no balcony or patio this will all be a 100% indoor garden. Never done this before, so we’ll see how it goes!

I’ve got:
▪rainbow mix carrots,
▪red Russian kale
▪salad bowl lettuce
▪Bloomsdale spinach
▪Oregon spring tomatoes
▪red cherry tomatoes
▪habanero peppers
▪sweet basil
▪Greek oregano

All are heirloom seeds.

Now, this seed starter tray is really nice. I’ve seen a few different versions, but I went with this one (years ago) because the company offered refill pellets so you can reuse the plastic tray and clear greenhouse lid (not pictured).

I will say that these little pellet refills also work well when put in eggshells for those who like to use their old eggshells as seed starter containers. They have biodegradable mesh around them that allows them to more or less keep their shape in case they’re too tall for the eggshell.

To use, just soak them for about 10 minutes or until they’ve expanded, then sink a single seed in the center of each one.

I put the root end of a store bought white onion I ate into some water and it’s growing quite nicely; plenty of new roots and an obvious swelling in the center on top. Once it starts turning green I’ll put it in a pot.

Never grown onions before. This will be a fun experiment.

This is a book that I think every homesteader will find intriguing. The bottom says:

“Deftly steering clear of dogma, never sounding like a sanctimonious scold, Eric Brende makes a persuasive case that most of us would enjoy life more by radically minimizing our reliance on modern technology. Better Off is a buoyant, thought-provoking, and very entertaining read.”
~ Jon Krakauer