Solar cookers are great and easy to build. All a solar cooker is, is an insulated box with a glass top or side (depending on where you decide to cook). You could probably build one using a few tightly packed strawbales and a lot of adobe clay/mud mixture. Once the adobe dries and seals the strawbales (just like in the straw bale house), you will have an extremely insulated (and fireproof) oven. Now one might thing that this method won't cook your food properly, but it does. That glass top or side, when positioned for the sun, will create temperatures near 400 degrees Fahrenheit from what I've read. A roast can easily cook in that heat and the best thing about it is that it probably won't burn. A vent can be placed at the top for when the oven gets too hot.
Now, if you've read my gardening page, you'll realize that I'm probably going to have more food than I can really eat. Some of it will be given away to friends and family and much of it will be sold to support my household. But what about during the winter when it's cold and I don't have as much produce? Well, food dehydrators work wonderfully. The ones that big corporations sell are around $35 dollars but are usually very small. I plan to have a few big dehydrators sitting outside next to the house. Dehydrators can also be easily made using some wood and many thin shelves. A screened vent near the top of the structure will let out moisture as the food dries and will keep any bug life off your food. Dried corn, beans, and peas and other foods work great in making soups.
A solar refrigerator is an item that I have heard works wonderfully, but it uses electricity. I wasn't really planning on electricity, but I may have to have a small amount running into the house. I'm not exactly sure what is out there, but if you know more about these devices, please email us at gaiabalance@yahoo.com .
Now for my favorite part! The compost toilet has been around for centuries. They are often called privies or outhouses. They stink horribly. But newer innovations have come into existence and they don't stink (unless you don't clean your bowl with biodegradable cleaners). The composting toilet comes in many shapes and sizes. The idea of the structure is that after you've made your deposit, the waste goes down a pipe, and finally into a container in your cellar. This waste is ventilated by another pipe that runs outside. After one container fills, you replace it with another empty one. In about six weeks, your 'humanure' is a rich compost which is perfectly usable for gardening. Most bacteria which would be dangerous to us usually, will be killed off by the heat generated by the decomposition. Neat, huh? I thought so.
If you have any questions or comments, please write to
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