Maarten and I have been dreaming up our dream home for about 10 years. Correction, Maarten has been dreaming up our dream home for 10 years. I only came around a couple of few years ago when I finally decided he wasn’t really stupid after all.
Years ago, Maarten started researching alternative building methods and off-grid living in an attempt to help the increasing number of homeless Afrikaans people in South Africa.
My personal observations of South Africans in general have always been in admiration of their ingenuity. There’s even a saying: ” ‘n Boer maak ‘n plan” or “a Boer (farmer) makes a plan”. I don’t know if their ingenuity is innate or is a result of their unique history, but it’s bloody marvelous! True to our austere lifestyle preference, they can make something out of nothing. What the people of Orania, South Africa have done is a prime example of their level of ingenuity and talent for making something out of nothing.
In his research, Maarten has become quite knowledgeable on many methods such as straw bale construction, ferro-cement, radiant floor heating, solar and wind power, rainwater harvesting and has designed multiple plans for small community sustainability as well as single family dwelling projects.
“A wise man learns from his mistakes. A wiser man learns from the mistakes of others” Latin Proverbs
There will be valuable knowledge and experience to be gained from this section of our blog. We value sharing information as much as we value gaining knowledge from the experience of others. Please share with us your thoughts and experiences. Also, feel free to ask questions. As one of my favorite hobby farmers, Rene aka MichiganSnowPony always says: “we’re all in this together”.
Austerity House 