Check out the Treehouse Institute of Arts and Culture

These people took the idea of building a house in a tree seriously! And they even have a treehouse institute for those who want to learn everything there is to learn about building a treehouse! Do I fancy a house in a tree?

The technology and designs developed at Cal-Earth are inspired by timeless principles in architecture: the universal natural elements, the arch and its derivatives of the vault, dome, and apse; sustainable energy, natural geometry and symmetry of structure, the unity of tension and compression.

This building system focuses on housing as a basic human right, and on the economic empowerment of people by participating in creating their own homes and communities, while at the same time addressing today’s global needs: preserving natural resources and energy, halting deforestation, slowing pollution and global warming, promoting health, healing communities and cultures shattered by globalization, sheltering the homeless and refugees.

Cal-Earth houses and infrastructure are constructed by unskilled labor, using available on-site earthen material, local supplies of sandbags and barbed wire, and usually a locally produced stabilizer (lime, cement, or asphalt). Hands-on team work molds the solutions for sustainable development while the flexibility of plan and finishes allows the integration of indigenous, traditional forms, patterns, and colors.

Cal-Earth’s next educational plan is a Distance Learning Program to be broadcast directly from the institute to universities, NGO’s and disaster struck areas in need of shelter around the world, in a hands-on, live, interactive format.
http://calearth.org/about/about-cal-earth.html

Cal-Earth believes that the whole family should be able to build together, men and women, from grandma to the youngest child. As such, we have spent many years researching hands-on how to make the process simpler and easier. There should be no heavy lifting or backaches, no expensive equipment, and a flexible and fast construction. The bags are filled in place on the wall using small pots like coffee cans, or even kitchen utensils. You can build alone or as a group.
http://calearth.org/building-designs/what-is-superadobe.html

Check out some gorgeous images here:
http://calearth.org/galleries/eco-dome.html
http://calearth.org/galleries/earth-one.html
http://calearth.org/galleries/emergency-shelter-village.html
http://calearth.org/galleries/rumi-dome.html

To provide introductions and youth training about the discipline of the first peace. To connect to peace projects and offer this capacity building training to youth and people passionate about making a personal effort for peace.

Purpose:

To create a larger culture of peace and understanding of differences in Colombia in order to strengthen the work towards peace int he country.

Key People:

International: James O Dea, WindEagle, Carl, Vanessa, Maria and Sarah
Colombia: Santa Marta contact

Income potential:

Not much… possibly something if we connect it to other work connected with peace or indigenous wisdom

Status:

Rowan will be a certified youth trainer by 2010.

Next Steps:

Contact James o Dea
Find initiatives that would like to include this approach

Inspired by:

The Discipline of Peace

This is what they write about people who come to esalen “They come for the intellectual freedom to consider systems of thought and feeling that lie beyond the current constraints of mainstream academia.”

Here is the catalogue as well

EsalenCatalog2009b-JulyDec

Some of the ideas I got was combining this approach Biomimicry with learning journeys to Colombia with Nature experiences focussed at improving a specific need and at the same time building the inner capacity and leadership in the participants to be better at bringing these new ideas forward.

Janine Benyus has started this website called Ask nature, where the idea is to gather a database of a large number of design achivements in nature, and when you are designing something yourself you can ask nature how it does.

Check out: www.asknature.org

So what does a home look like according to nature?… hmmm…

Janine Benyus has a message for inventors: When solving a design problem, look to nature first. There you’ll find inspired designs for making things waterproof, aerodynamic, solar-powered and more. Here she reveals dozens of new products that take their cue from nature with spectacular results.