“Conscious catering is a boutique catering company, grown from the intention to do what we can to support sustainability and harmlessness.”

To get a sense of what’s happening with food in our culture I’ve been looking at the newsletters, websites, newspapers and listening to radio.  Everywhere I hear people talking with passion about buying local food, buying direct from local farmers, and showing a strong interest in putting their money and their mouth where their heart is – healthy food.

Soup and salad dinner at our place last night provided by Conscious Catering

Bronwyn’s business can cater to up to 500 people but last night she brought carrot and turnip soup and salad, followed by bread n butter pudding to our house where four of us ate her lovely food.  The soup was topped with baked kale and brussels sprouts – all grown at Mangrove Mountain about an hour from Sydney.  Delicious.

And this morning I received a text from Sydney Food Connect about a crowd funding campaign to get a series of farm tours going so city folk can visit local farms to see, harvest and eat local food.

I seem to hear every other day of new examples of cafes and other food businesses who are buying and growing locally.

This would be what I would call, “good news”.

ecoPOPS outside Council’s Information Centre, King George Square

Today we put up two ecoPOPS in the streets in the centre of Fremantle.

What is an ecoPOP?

An ecoPOP is a small free-standing and self-sustained green oasis that catches and stores its own water from rainfall, powers itself with the energy of the sun, generates its own nutrients, grows your own food, recycles materials, refreshes and cools cities, improves the air quality, and builds better communities.

Anyone can install it.

What is the purpose of the ecoPOPs?

The ecoPOPs creates:

• A cooler street for pedestrians and birds
• A lower temperature which means air conditioning is not needed or not needed as much as before
• A local food garden for harvesting by anyone
• An example of how solar electricity works, how composting works, how fruit trees may be grown, how food may be grown and harvested

ecoPOPs in Pakenham Street, Fremantle

Who can use an ecoPOP?

An ecoPOP can be used by anyone anytime, from little kids in school yards to adults in their own private backyards or roof gardens as well as by business, such as cafes and restaurants.

Where to install an ecoPOP

Being a free-standing unit, an ecoPOP can be installed anywhere, private backyards, school playgrounds, plazas and parks, parking lots, median strip in suburban streets, roofs, terraces, balconies, and so on. Its small size and self-sustained features allows it to be installed away from any fixed water or energy source.

For the solar pump to work and the plants to grow it’s essential that your ecoPOPs gets at least 4 hours of sun a day all year.

Electric System

The ecoPOPS uses the energy of the sun to power itself. This feature allows it to be installed away from any power source. A photovoltaic solar panel captures the sun’s energy and transforms it into electricity

Water System

After its filled there is no need to water the plants in the ecoPOPS. Its self-irrigation system allows it to stand away from any water source. Its self-irrigation system catches the rainfall water, stores it (more than 1,500 litres of water) to irrigate the plants and trees.  Refill the tanks every three months.

The customer is responsible for putting water into the tanks when you install your ecoPOP.  Simply fill the open tanks and the two end tanks and the central tank.

It is vital to fill the tanks so they are stabilised.and so the water system may water the plants and trees.

If the full amount of water is not installed on the day you install the ecoPOP then ecoPOPS provide no warranty or guarantee for the ecoPOP.

When filled your ecoPOP will be self-irrigating for about three months.  Water will gradually be lost by evaporation and by it being consumed by the plants and trees.

The tanks hold water and it is pumped to the plants through a hose buried under mulch.  A timing device tells the pump when to pump and when to stop pumping.  If there is no water the pump will not pump.

When do I top up the tanks?  Top up the tanks every three months.

How does the solar pump work?

The pump is powered by clean energy from the sun.  The sun shines on the solar panel which turns the sunlight into electricity that’s stored in a battery.  When the pump is told to pump by the timing device it uses the energy stored in the battery.

How are the plants given food to grow?

To grow the plants need sun, air, water and nutrients ie plant food.

The ecoPOPs gives the plants nutrients from wasted food which is composted in the ecoPOPs.  The compost forms a liquid which drips into the water stored in the tank below the compost bin.  As the water is pumped the nutrients are carried in the water to feed the plants and trees.

Greening Australia proudly support ecoPOPs

Greening Australia supports ecoPOPs and says:

“Greening Australia lives and works with people from remote, regional and metropolitan communities. We are a national organisation, employing local people and working with local communities to build healthy environments for healthy people.

With over 30 years of experience delivering social outcomes from environmental investments, Greening Australia is solutions-driven and is committed to doing something practical about the challenges faced across Australia’s landscape. Addressing the competing demands on our environment requires more than just planting trees.

We recognise that every investment we make into the environment builds resilience into local communities; whether it is providing pre-employment and skills development for indigenous communities, working alongside industry in conservation programs, investing in on-farm projects that provide real productivity gains, or working with students to restore our urban and river environments.

It is against this backdrop we are delighted to be partnering with Michael Mobbs on the “ecoPOPs” project to address the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE) – the localised warming of our suburbs due to the loss of vegetation and increase in paved and dark coloured surfaces. UHIE is a serious threat to the liveability, viability and health of our new and existing suburbs.

Returning vegetation to our urban environments through initiatives such as “ecoPOPs” is a cost effective way of reducing the heat in our suburbs. It’s also a great way of engaging and educating young people, communities and business in sustainable lifestyles and the impact of choices we make in our daily life.

We see “EcoPOPs” as a fantastic billboard for selling sustainability.”

www.greeningaustralia.org….au

Our Vision: A healthy, diverse and productive environment treasured by the whole community

ecoPOPs want to hear from you

Stay in touch with ecoPOPs.  Let us know your stories.  Join us on Facebook and Twitter – @m_mobbs.

Let us know how your fruit and herb harvesting goes.  We’d love your photos.  Everyone can grow and harvest food with an ecoPOPs.

Birds

If there are birds nesting nearby your ecoPOP will cool the local air and help the young and old birds survive the summer heat.

Sales:

NSW, Qld, Vic:  Tankworks:

WA: Water Installations

‘Hi Michael,

May I suggest two systems:

• Aqua Nova, and
• Fujiclean.

I use a system similar in design to the Aqua Nova.  I built tanks to fit my small back yard – 5 m wide, ten m deep with most space already taken up by the 10,000 l rain tank.

My book, Sustainable House 2 Ed, has details in the sewage chapter.

Basically, it’s: a settling tank; when that fills a pump transfers the primary liquid to three tanks where air is bubbled through the water 24/7 to clean the water; when the toilet or clothes washing machine goes the water is drawn from the final aerated chamber through two sand filters then past an ultra violet lamp for disinfection and voila – sterile water.  Maintenance is limited to replacing the UV lamp every two years and I do that.  About once a year I pump out sludge to fertilize my garden.  My water tests at zero faecal coliform every time and very little energy is used by the 60 watt air pump and the 20 watt UV lamp.

As for the red tape; both are approved by health agencies and you can get the suppliers to train you to maintain it.  You can even get a phone line hooked with a back to base alarm so that if there’s a problem the supplier will either come out or talk you through it and that’s enough to achieve the same health outcomes that  the high cost service arrangements seek.

Let me know if this works and any problems you have.

May the recycled water be with you all,

Michael

Hello Michael

I met you while hiking in the Blue Mountains in 1991 or 1992. I read Sustainable House and was hooked on building something some day based on your principles.

I eventually decided to build in Bali because of fewer zoning requirements and cheaper labor than where i live in Seattle.

I completed the house last week and other than telling GREEN magazine (hoping to expand the likelihood of others building sustainably) a few minutes ago I wanted to let you know you were the inspiration.

I attached a generic write up, i.e. from a layman’s point of view and some photos.

Regards

Michael Huffman

Michael has provided a detailed list of materials, design ideas and background information which is a useful resource so I’m copying it here.

”

MICHAEL HUFFMAN’S GREEN HOME –

Nyuh Kuning, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali Indonesia

Featured in April 2013 in: greenasiaforce.com…

Recent Photos: www.airbnb.com…

This home represents my quest to build a green, eco-friendly house in Bali, Indonesia. The goal was to use all natural materials from within a 50 mile radius of the house project instead of the energy-intensive concrete block, unsustainably-harvested tropical wood, and tile roof villas most commonly built by foreigners in Bali that are as energy intensive to build as they are to maintain.

One of the main philosophies in Bali is ‘Tri Hati Karana”, i.e. ‘do no harm to each other, to the earth or to God’. Building this house was my attempt to embody those principles and to set an example for green building in S.E. Asia. The goal was to make the house look modern and as a design element to be totally surrounded by water to have the feeling of being on a boat to clearly delineate the living space as a private retreat.

STRUCTURAL + DESIGN:

1. Rammed Earth Walls : Four Hand Designed, one-of-a-kind for structural support and/or architectural interest reminiscent of the interior of the Grand Canyon. Walls use only 5-8% Portland cement, limestone, pigments and soil (tanah) from the job site so we did not need to truck/lorry the soil to a landfill. A Rammed Earth specialist from Vancouver designed and built the walls with a workshop with builders from Norway and Victoria, B.C.
2. Energy Efficient by Design:
   1. Maximizing airflow and ventilation with West to East wind dynamic from curved upturned edges of ferro cement interior ceiling.
   2. The architect created a roof cavity between the concrete flat roof and the ceiling by designing the ceiling to be curving upward to ensure the thermal performance of the house. The cavity acts as a buffer to prevent strong sun heating up space underneath.
   3. The house is mainly naturally ventilated. Air-conditioning is used only in master bedroom.
   4. Key Learning: While main design consideration was for cross ventilation and so the edges of the roof were curled up, seasonal rains were not accounted for so bamboo blinds (Kray) with canvas on the exterior were added.
3. ‘Green concrete’ to minimize amount used of energy intensive concrete.
   1. Bamboo reinforced concrete roof that uses less concrete by volume and the top concrete roof layer has a lighter weight.
   2. Ferro cement interior curved roof ceiling. A thin coat of Portland cement was applied by hand to woven metal mesh, which is lighter and stronger than solid concrete. Local Balinese ferro cement statue artists were employed to make the ceiling. This was a slightly more expensive method because of manual application but uses less cement.
4. Local Balinese Bamboo used for: structural columns, walls, shelving, cabinets and furniture. Bamboo is a renewable, local grass considered a ‘carbon sink’ because it grows faster than trees and takes a lot of carbon dioxide out of the air releasing ample amounts of oxygen.
5. Grey Water Treatment:
   1. Kitchen: Grease trap from kitchen (2 recycled plastic trash cans filled with coconut fiber (ejuk) act as pre-filter cleaning before being added into fish pond
   2. Bathroom: Wetland area uses tropical plants (kaladi), gravel and sand as a sub-surface filtration process before the fish in the surrounding ponds glean nutrients from any residue from the organic soaps.
6. Rainwater Harvesting directs roof runoff for garden use during the not-as-wet season and to feed overflow to the pond system as well. Ponds do not need well water used for the main house and do not deplete water table which is rapidly depleting in Bali due to over development of non-sustainable methods.
7. Tanah Taro Perimeter Walls: Earth used from site taken during excavation was used for adobe-effect on perimeter property walls made of cement block instead of using high VOC paints.
8. Antique, Teakwood Joglo bedroom with morning porch. This is an example of a re-using an antique building that would have otherwise been burned as fuel. Wood windows that can be closed if raining or open for ventilation.
9. Impermeable Pavers for parking and near temple
10. Reclaimed tough and weather-resistant ULIN wood steps, bridges and dining room table.
11. Low consumption flourescent light bulbs. Natural daylight management  is done using bamboo kray roll up blinds on both sides of the house.
12. Durability – Lesson Learned: Initial floor was bamboo but it was not properly installed (lack of cement sub floor) so it was removed after four months and a cement and terrazzo floor was laid to give the otherwise floating structure grounded solidity and durability.

1. Air Flow – Wet areas such as kitchen, shower and toilet are semi-opened thus ensure free-flow air circulation.

LOCATION:

1. ‘Inner-village building site’: The land for the project site was not previously used for rice or vegetable production prior to building which is typical of foreigners looking for ‘rice field views’. The small inner city lot was one of only a handful remaining within walking distance to the organic yoga village of Ubud.
2. Convenient Local Location that encourages use of bicycles and walking to Ubud instead of car or motorbike further reducing fossil fuel consumption.
3. Nyuh Kuning is a safe, clean village on the other side of Ubud protected from the ‘green lung’ of the Ubud Monkey Forest, recently voted by the Indonesian Government as the cleanest village in Indonesia.

LIFESTYLE:

1. Minimal Footprint Living. Simple, efficient design with no wasted space. Maximize appearance of open space with open dining and living room areas while minimizing overall size to give ‘just right’ size.
2. Entertaining-focused kitchen with rammed earth island wall containing a premium butane gas range, extra large local Bali green stone countertop, bamboo countertop breakfast bar/observation seats, spot lighting over sink and stove, and small energy-efficient refrigerator
3. Rain from the roof empties into bamboo gutters and then is channeled down rain chains above pool for a Japanese aesthetic.

LOCAL ECONOMY:

1. Built primarily by human labor with minimum power tools.
2. Ninety-percent of the labor was done by carpenters, cement craftsmen, bamboo workers from Nyuh Kuning and paid fair wages that are higher than cheaper labor imported from Java. Using local Balinese encouraged the artisans to keep up their generational artisan crafts instead of becoming ‘taxi/transport’ drivers.
3. Material Delivered was from local suppliers: river stone, gravel, bricks, bamboo.

”

. . . . go the bees ….. bzzzzzzz

Michael

Chooks in Sarah’s garden

When we grow plants or nurture bees and wildlife something grows in ourselves.

I thought of this when I received this lovely email from Sarah Townsend, who came with her partner and did an Urban Farm Working Tour here:

“Hi Michael,

One reason I give the Saturday tours is the opportunity it gives me to learn more, meet people with energy and passion and to share their stories.

Thanks, Sarah.

M

The story of this inspiring example of how to create an urban farm for all is here,

Michael

• The Narara Ecovillage Co-op is set up to build a world class ecovillage community to integrate social, ecological and economic sustainability.
• The site is the former Gosford Horticultural Institute – the photos show it has a mix of hills, fields, woods, houses and is a rural haven.
• Their website is the best reference to learn more about the aims and aspirations.
• They’re using a co-operative structure instead of a company because it more fully reflects their values as shown on their website.
• Members are the investors, the shareholders, the designers, the developers, the future residents. And it is the members who decide how to use the profits resulting from the project.
• people join the co-op by making a commitment to buy a lot (at some point), buying $20,000 in shares, and agreeing to do some volunteer hours for the co-op.
• When titles are available after the DA is approved, their shares will count towards their lot price.
• Choice of lots is mostly determined by the priority in time of purchase.
• The development will be in three phases, with Stage One house building to start around mid 2014.
• People pay an additional $30,000 to reserve a lot in Stage One, now about three quarters full.
• Members who want to be in Stages 2 or 3 need not pay any additional now, but will still be fully part of shaping the community.
• Average lot prices are expected to be around $250,000.
• Currently there are about 40 ‘memberships’ translating to about 80 members (singles, couples and families). The eventual population is expected to be between 3-400.
• For those that are wondering if this might be something that they want to pursue, there are two formal documents explaining the project and how to join the co-op: a Disclosure Statement (like a prospectus) and the Co-op Rules.

The project is being funded by those buying shares and is therefore an example of a village being developed by self-funding means.  It’s interesting that folks are prepared to buy into this project without knowing where their lot will be; that suggests to me that those buying are primarily buying ‘the dream’ and Lyndall agreed with me.

Let’s see if the project solves the urban heat island problem (which typically drive up subdivision temperatures by over 6 to 8 degrees), the typical up front costs for unsustainable road, water, sewage and energy infrastructure.

In my book, Sustainable House, there’s an example where I reduced developer charges from $27,500 to $7000 a lot in a Port Macquarie project in NSW by using sustainable road design and water, sewage and energy infrastructure.  Although that’s a bush fire problem area the roads are only 5 m wide thereby increasing lot yield and amenity.

Folks will be able to live there for energy and water bills less than $300 a year no matter how many people live in the house, just as I do in my house, Sydney’s Sustainable House.

And it will be interesting to see if the project matches the VicUrban (now, Places Victoria) Meridian project where low cost road design creates self-irrigating drains for over 12,000 fruit trees planted in the drains; details are in my book, Sustainable Food.

With large developers such as Investa (see, for example:  http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/archives/42612/) now publishing data on their journey to reduce energy and water use in their offices and shopping centres it would also be handy if all new projects seeking to be sustainable published data on costs, performance, living expenses, food sources and such.

Good luck to the Narara venturers,

M

The itinerary includes special tours and experiences of buildings, architecture, restaurants, streets, museums and some of Sydney’s special spaces.  Travellers will roam from Wendy Whiteley’s garden, to the Mint at night, Janet Laurence’s studio in Chippendale to some hidden-away places in Sydney.

There’ll be a special tour of Sydney’s Sustainable House and a ‘breakout’ dinner there where a feast of fresh local healthy tucker will be on offer.

AFAR specialises in boutique tours and giving those who travel a deeper understanding of the people and cultures around Earth.  The Sydney tour itinerary is here.

Go well,

M

The Berkelouw Bookshop in Oxford Street, Sydney, is one of the more civilised, civilising and well-lit bookshops around.  With beautiful timber floors, tall windows, high ceilings and timber shelving and desks it’s a relaxing place to read, have a meal or glass of wine and enjoy the world of books and ideas.

Recommended,

M