Permaculture anybody?

[permaship]

I am interested to find out what people on this forum think about permaculture. Please share your thoughts with me.

All the best
Paul

[moguitar]

Earthships are the very embodiment of permaculture, with passive solar heat, solar electric (for electric acid rock guitars, too!!!!), super insulated recycled rammed earth tire walls, local wood and architectural salvage materials, composting gardens and toilet, solar oven, solar shower, rainwater catchment, and the use of soil cement for structure, base coat stucco, garden walls, and flooring.

[permaship]

Hi
These Earthships look and sound the business.
I noticed you mentioned you have electric guitars running off the solar panels and i was also reading a link about a guy with a studio run from the sun. Very coincidental as we are planning to begin an eco-studio build this summer in the back garden of the center. When i have had a good read around the topic and really get down to the brass tacks of the design i would be very grateful for some advice from someone with experience, if you do not mind me asking?

Tx
Paul

[moguitar]

Go to the links under Tortuga Blanku. He has the full music studio all run by solar.
I just have a Zoom H2 recorder, and my garage roof has 4-42Watt & 2-64Watt Unisolar panels to a Xantrex C-32 charge controller, to 4-410Ah L-16S batteries, to a Puresine 1000 inverter. This will drive my variety of 5 to 120 watt amp heads, 1x12 combos, Class A to AB tube and solid state, with 1 x12 cabs and 4x12 cabs. The Earthship has 2-64watt Unisolar panels on fixed longitude south mounting like the rest, going through a C12 controller to 4-220Ah golf cart batteries, to a 300 watt puresine. Out there I have a Marshall Mini Stack, a 2x12 under a Laney Protube 50, and a 30 watt 1x12 solid state acoustic amp. All battery banks are equipped with desulfators (from Singapore).
I also have a battery powered 30 watt Pignose Hog that I put a Snarling Dog tube emulator in front. For remote locations I use a 600 watt sinewave inverter hooked to a vehicle battery or 70 ah 12V deep cycle battery and 50 watt portable solar panel. I play very loud rock and roll, blues and metal, on about 40 guitars and a keyboard (Yamaha E303). Of course, I also have some acoustic instruments. I built several of the guitars and a dulcimer.
I did all the work on the house, addition, and Earthship with the help of my small family (wife and 9 yr. old son who is 21 now), all the trades and design (except original house shell and septic), over a 3 year period after work and on weekends. One thing that helped was that I had 18 years as a carpentry and multi-trades foreman/master before I started, so everything was relatively easy for me. The house is 900 sq. ft., the garage 330 sq. ft., and the Earthship is 700 sq.ft.(500 inside). 710 free used tires were packed with free subsoil for the addition retaining walls and Earthship. Tools were extensive and powered by the house system, and a 4000Watt generator before that. They included a 3.5 cu. ft. cement mixer and Bosch 22.5 lb. demolition hammer with compactor face for top compacting including soil under the walls. Bond beams were concrete and walls were course poured soil cement and rebared with cans, laser level, sledge hammers, slip forms, etc. Get the 3 Earthship books, and the book "The Independent Home".