After leaving Charleston, I stopped in Beaufort, SC to meet with a man who is interested in building an Earthbaghome. Daniel owns a small company named Naturescapes Beaufort and he specializes in native plants.He’s been building a ‘practice’ Earthbag home for his pump house. He plans to eventually build (2) 15′-0″ domes which will be connected and finished out to be used as a home! Hopefully I will be helping him with this process; I’m fairly certain this will be South Carolina’s first Earthbag home! Stay tuned for more!
Shortly after arriving to Jacksonville, Alex Ojeda who is currently leading the Jacksonville Permaculture group, took me over to Coquina Gates. This is a magical, wooded area right smack in the middle of Jacksonville suburbia.Back in the 1950’s, James Russell who was a theater set designer, architect, and ‘riverman’ bought this little chunk of land and started designing and building these quarky, superb homes! Think Frank Lloyd Wright meets Antoni Gaudi. These houses were all so uniquely different, each with it’s own special artistic touches. Coquina is a local coastal rock which can be found installed here and there in and around these homes.
You’ll also find oversized (and I mean oversized) doors & hinges, circular doorways, incredible mosaics, and secret little opening.The residents here have done some work to the homes and they are dedicated to keeping these amazing little homes alive as well as bringing Permaculture gardens to the land… Talk about COMMUNITY!
Check out what Kristen Martini did with this Cob and Mosaic window detail; beautiful! Dustin Waller is working hard to start Permaculture-style bioswales on the land.
My workshop took place at the farm of Tim Armstrong; he’s got a little business called Eat Your Yard Jacksonville. Tim’s got it going on….not only is he growing veggies, fruit trees, and succulents galore….he’s also established an Aquaponics system in one of his greenhouses and is raising several different kinds of fish. The basic idea is that the water first flows through a tank which is where your plants are grown, the plants filter the water, the water then flows into the fish tank, and it’s re-circulated (though I’m sure it’s a much more complex system than this!). Tim plans to build a Rocket Stove which will heat the water in his tanks; GO TIM!
My experience was so rich, and I’m not even mentioning all of the wonderful things I saw and people I met. I can’t wait to get back down there for more! Stay tuned for more great Permaculture & Natural Building from Florida!