We covered the Earthship permitting process and ecosystem health today in class. It was interesting to hear about all of the stipulations covered in the local New Mexico permitting process, but the process is so different state-by-state. It is largely dependent on zoning laws, among other restrictions. In certain parts of the US (and world), there are "Pockets of Freedom" in which you are able to build with very few--if any--restrictions. Despite it being known as the "Live Free or Die" state, I'm not sure there are any official "Pockets of Freedom" in New Hampshire. I am, however, eying an area that has no zoning laws, which should help my case.
Our Earthship ecology class was pretty much an AP-version of the food production classes we had over the previous two days. We discussed ways to positively identify plants and animals that might be living within an Earthship's ecosystem and covered the importance of biomimicry.
Today was our last day on the job-site. A classmate and I helped to pour some concrete footings in one of the tire walls. We got quite the workout in schlepping the concrete from the mixer all the way down to the tire wall and had not anticipated that the wheelbarrow would weigh as much as it did. We almost lost one of the batches when the wheelbarrow hit a rock and jerked sideways for a second. Luckily we were able to save it, minus a little that spilled over the front! We filled the mesh with concrete and plopped some rocks in there to help take up some space (as long as they were not touching each other or the mesh). Then, for one of the footings, we had to insert a couple pieces of rebar, as they were going to help support a future door frame.
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