Eco-Friendly Home is Green Inside and Out

Let's get the obvious out of the way - yes, it looks like a hobbit house. However, this Welsh woodland home has more to it than a design which appeals to Tolkien fans everywhere.

Concerned about potentially toxic building materials and eager to live more naturally, Jasmine Saville and Simon Dale decided they would build an ecologically responsible house on their own. As full-time parents of two young children, Saville and Dale needed options that were both safe and economically feasible. They were offered woodland space in west Wales, enlisted the help of Saville's father and some friends, and began construction.

The home is dug into a hillside and was built using materials that were naturally sourced or about to be thrown away. Among the home's features are straw bales for insulation, lime plaster for the walls and floor planks made from reclaimed wood. Power, heat and water are taken care of thanks to solar panels, a wood-burning stove and a local spring, respectively. Even the windows are ecologically responsible - they were donated by a local supplier who would have otherwise discarded them.

Construction of the house took four months and cost roughly £3,000 ($6,000 CAD). The tools used were the sort many people already have or can easily obtain. Dale and Saville have posted the house's plans and building process on their website, encouraging others to rethink the relationship between home and environment. The couple also plan to expand this style of low-impact and environmentally responsible home building within a community setting. Along with eight other families, they will become part of the Lammas project, Wales' first self-sufficient, sustainable village due to begin construction this fall.

Source:
A Low Impact Woodland Home

Photos: Simon Dale

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Eco-Friendly Home is Green Inside and Out

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