Building your sustainable dream home
From Sanctuary issue 10. More articles like this
By Alan Strickland with Judy Celmins
Excerpt: Wanting to live sustainably is not a fringe occupation. Millions of Australians want to make a difference to their homes and lives. But as a member of the Alternative Technology Association and an organiser of Sustainable House Day the question I am constantly asked is: “Where do I start?”
Many people come away from Sustainable House Day fired with enthusiasm. They see homes that are warm in winter and cool in summer, without the need for large heaters or airconditioning. They see water-wise homes that gather rainfall and greywater and use these to produce wonderful, food-producing gardens. They want that for their own home. The problem is that visitors only see the finished house. Time doesn’t usually allow visitors to ask the owners about how they went through the whole saga of planning and creating a sustainable home. The wondering, the indecision, the frustration and dead ends, and the many stages of learning they had to go through.
This article aims to help fill that gap. The more you learn before you start, the easier the process will be and the less the likelihood of repeating the mistakes that others have made before you.
Further information
This article is the combination of two online posts at shmeco.com: “I’d like a sustainable home but where do I start?” by Alan Strickland and “Building the self-sufficient dream” by Judy Celmins. Alan Strickland is the Alternative Technology Association’s South Australia Branch Treasurer. Judy Celmins is a director and co-founder of shmeco.com. shmeco.com invites people to exchange their ideas, stories and experience on sustainable living choices. shmeco are managers of Sustainable House Day.
www.ata.org.au
www.shmeco.com
www.sustainablehouseday.com
www.yourhome.gov.au
www.sanctuarymagazine.org.au
