eco sustainable farmhouse liguria | cinque terre EcoSustainability
When we decided to build a new home for fear that the old one did not have a good foundation
(unfounded fear because we found that rests on the rocks), we had no idea how to do it... the only thing we knew is that we would have desired it healthy, environmentally friendly and that could come back in the garden at the end of its life. After various alternatives, the straw house seemed to us the winning solution.
Over time we approached the ideas of Permaculture and has came up the will to be as self-sufficient (first of all, from the nutritional point of view) and energy independent as possible.
Let's briefly summarize what we managed to do:
-0 pollutants and chemicals in the construction materials of the house;
-the straw house consumes very little energy; we did not ask the energy rating but it is certainly very high (like A or A+)...you have to think that a space heater of 5 kW, in winter, warmed three floors of the
house, maintaining a temperature of about 25 degrees Celsius;
-photovoltaic panels on the roof to produce electricity;
-thermocooker for cooking with wood and, at the same time, heat the water of the showers, accumulating it in a 1000 liter storage tank;
-thermocompost (pile of fresh twigs woodchips that, thanks to an aerobic fermentation, develops heat) to keep the water of the puffer to about 60 degrees centigrade, having at the end of cycle excellent compost, useful for agriculture with a little water. This, waiting that the laws allow to self-produce methane resulting from anaerobic fermentation of the same;
-recovery rainwater for wc (in evolution);
-management of the vegetable gardens with organic (also biodynamic) methods, lack of water and manure...we use the manure of our cows and mulch derived from woody twigs or straw;
-management of the animals with organic flour and hay as close as possible to our farm;
-Food self almost 100%... we probably will never produce flours, oil and wine...there are not so big spaces and strenghts for that;
-work at Km0 so we don't need to move car or consume oil to work...we live in the workplace;
-furnishings recovered by our previous antique shop and the seaside restaurant.
........work in progress.......:)