Well, I don’t pay for any subscriptions on Substack, but I do have one here, and it’s all because of how highly I value Kyle, and his integrity. He deserves our support.
This article is a perfect example of what makes you unique.
This topic isn’t commonplace, However, The mindset alone is important. It’s about Freedom and self sufficiency. Realizing how humanity has been lured through “technology” into their own prisons. One without walls. What’s being done here is no different than everything Bill Gates and other globalists are all about. Their mindset is anti-God, anti-life, anti-freedom...it’s all about control, and enslavement.
“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”
— Johann W. von Goethe
Kyle has brought to our attention yet another aspect of the invisible prison that enslaves us, while at the same time showing us beautiful examples of how things have been, and can be once again.
After Russia and China invade this nation and reduce it to a 3rd world country, this information will be even more valuable.
More regulations favor larger corporations and layers of value extracting intermediation.
They make it almost illegal for people to do anything for themselves in most places.
There is some lower limit of regulation to explore. I did this in small town Texas in late 2021 to early 2023, designing (drawings), general-contracting, finishing-in, insulating, cabinetmaking, stair-building, etc.
Bamboo should grow and be workable in the Texas coastal plains, but I'm sure there's no way to make it a legal structure. ;-(
There are ways to circumvent regs. I'll be getting into that.
Texas has an active chapter of the American Bamboo Society. A lot of members growing bamboo in the Austin area. http://www.texasbamboosociety.net/
Jules Jhanssen wrote a set of international bamboo codes. As I recall, they have been adopted by some jurisdictions in the US. I think Hawaii and maybe Florida.
I find this about cold tolerant and non-invasive bamboo varieties. The devil is always in the details. Practice is always more complicated than theory.
The species listed there are all subtropical. To call them cold hardy is a stretch. Most of them will be damaged or killed at 32 degrees, depending on the duration of the cold. But they are clumpers, meaning they are not invasive. It's the running species (especially the genus Phyllostachys) that have reputation of being invasive... only if one doesn't know how to deal with them.
On the TBS climate zone page I get windows saying that section is under construction. The national organization and the chapters are always updating species and tolerance levels as new info comes in.
Contact Carol. She's in Austin. She has been with the Texas chapter a very long time. She can answer your climate questions. We haven't talked in a very long time. She may not remember me. https://www.bambooweb.info/ShowSourceDetail.php?CID=123
Interesting stuff Kyle. Labor intensive. What about repurposed shipping containers painted with that NASA developed sun-repellant paint ? Stays cool in the hottest sun ? I have some raw land up in the hills of Vieques. I'll probably do a platform (concrete) with 2 shipping containers spaced apart. The middle section is living, dining. The 2 containers house bedrooms & baths. If they'e 40' containers, they would also house studio & Office. Any thoughts ?
There is also the issue that if you use electricity, wifi, cell phones, remote controls or anything wireless inside of them, the metal keeps the waves trapped inside where they continue to bounce around, greatly exacerbating EMF exposure.
They also disrupt our innate sense of magnetic orientation to earth.
Then you still have to build a framework to accommodate insulation, plumbing and wiring. Then there is the flooring and roofing. Essentially you have to build a another house inside and outside. That's a lot of inefficient redundancy.
Although our ancient ancestors knew about metallurgy, they didn't use it in construction. What did they know that we don't?
Thanks for sharing. I guess I missed the earlier post. Maybe I'll have to go with regular concrete blocks, or create mud-straw-concrete, blocks and use those ? And concrete posts ? Rebar reinforced ? The soil on my land is hard clay. ??? (So Rammed earth walls ?) OR... try to recreate, super low cost, the 'Rose Pauson House'. See: < https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-demolished > (#4) ? I wonder if I can buy copies of the plans ?
Let the natural resources there and the lay of the land tell you what to build with and where to build on the land. Rammed earth may be a good option. Stones may be a good option. Both may be a good option.
This will be your house. You will be living there. Let YOUR imagination bring forth the plans.
Good rammed earth or adobe soil is about 20 to 30% clay to 70 to 80% aggregate. Put a large handful of the soil in a quart jar of water. Shake well. Set the jar on a counter and let it set for several hours. After it settles, the finest layer at the top will be clay. If that looks to be about 20 to 30% compared to the rest of the aggregate, then you have good soil for rammed earth or adobe.
I lived in Far West Texas, The Big Bend area, and became amazed at the very old adobe houses. They were built of the dirt right under the people's feet as well as the other materials. They lasted hundreds of years and were remarkably cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It's high desert with little precipitation so grass yards were out of the question. The people did an ingenious thing. They made "swept" yards by sweeping the loose dirt away until finally a very hard packed earthen yard much like a natural concrete formed. It was super clean and great to walk on.
My grandparents built a house in the Ozarks, again from materials on the land of their small farm. Rocks. They took the rocks and piled them horizontally until they formed walls and used virtually no concrete except around the window openings and doors. Because the walls were made of thick stacked rocks, there were some deep crevices on the exterior where many animals lived. Birds made nests, lizards, insects of all kinds. The walls of the house were alive with little animals. It was amazing. And again, relatively cool in summer and warm in winter. No electricity or running water and the rocks they used to build the house cleared the land for big gardens.
I worked in modern construction and it was so sad to know how grotesque the materials were. Horrible chemically compounded wall boards and cheap bioengineered "wood" that was so soft. None of these houses will endure 20 years. All the while emitting noxious chemicals on the inhabitants and environment. Even latex paint is a scam. It never stops expelling plastic particles in the air. People became convinced traditional oil paints which last a lifetime were "bad" when they are anything but and they are far more beautiful.
We are so idiotic about so many things. It makes me sad we bought the MKUltra programming. Anyone who believes themselves unaffected by the programming is likely deeply programmed. That's part of it.
It's hard to believe that all those toxic materials have only come about in recent generations. It's even harder to believe how so many have come to accept them as the norm.
What toxic materials are you writing of? Sheet rock isn't toxic. The tape isn't toxic. The mud you use isn't toxic. If you breathe in the dust from sanding the mud, yes, that is toxic. The steel in the steel studs isn't toxic. Wood studs and floor joists and rafters aren't. The chipboard that is used in roofing and outside siding may be because of the glue that is used. There most likely is some off gassing in the curing process that most likely takes years.
There is an issue with mold in a lot of homes, but that is going to be an issue in a lot of style dwellings if it isn't taken into consideration with the construction. It is caused by moisture. But it is something that is controllable. I know there is some toxic substance found in carpet and most likely there could be some off gassing in laminate flooring. How much of an issue I don't know. And how much of an influence it would have on the home environment, I don't know either. I suspect pretty minimal. So can you be more specific and list some of the toxic materials? And how do you know that bamboo itself in the decaying process doesn't release toxic gases of some sort and how much? I know I don't like the odor of it if I smell it. I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm just wondering. And looking at these structures I see LOTS of labor involved which is probably the most costly part of construction.
Drywall sheets and joint compounds can contain elements that can be toxic when inhaled, such as talc, calcite, mica, gypsum, silica, and mercury.
Drywall off gases hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and other related gases which cause lung cancer.
Chipboard is made from wood shavings and urea-formaldehyde glue, which continuously releases formaldehyde into the air. The US EPA and National Toxicology Program (NTP) both classify formaldehyde as a known or probable human carcinogen that can cause nasal cancer, leukemia, and nasopharyngeal cancer.
Tyvek is plastic. It is coated with PFASs which is a known carcinogen.
The list goes on and on. Especially when analyzing building materials made in China as most new builds utilize today.
No electricity or running water sounds great. If I was living in the 1800's. I think I like electricity and running water as well as most modern conveniences. As for programming? I must have had some sort of faraday cage over my brain. I was ALWAYS the one in school who questioned as was told to shut up. I was ALWAYS the one at church who questioned and was asked to leave. Anyone that reads my stack can see without a doubt that MKUltra or anything else they have used on the population I was somehow shielded from. It might have to do with my IQ. I don't know. But I do know this...people with average IQ are VERY easy to manipulate. And to carry on a conversation where any amount of reason, logic and common sense is involved is almost impossible. I blame it on the 10th plank communist manifesto gooberment skewl cisterns. Not MK Ultra, even thought those indoctrination centers may be the very definition of MKUltra.
A word of caution as regards IQ and not being susceptible to mind control techniques: I am a genius on paper, a former member of MENSA. I was susceptible. It has taken over a thousand books and conversations with people unlike myself in every regard to begin to break free. Just saying. I have learned more of value from the so-called blue collar sector than anyone else, frankly.
I too have been talking about non "modern", non toxic home building materials my entire life, and I feel very fortunate that I was raised in an historic building, have lived most of my life in old homes and for the last 30 years in our milled, solid log home (with wool insulation I fought hard for over fiberglass or foam insulation. When we were putting it up, the wrens and sparrows LOVED it, gleaning all the tufts they could, it was a lot of fun and made the hands quite soft.)
When I was little, I used to have a reoccurring nightmare that I'd wake up in a tract home - the swaths of tract home neighborhoods that sprang up in SoCal in the late 60s and '70s, always made me feel like I was in a dystopian science fiction movie - pretty much like the last 4 years in fact!
Ps I don't know who to ask other than you, but I feel like Dr Mercola has been replaced by a cyber double (kinda kidding) because of his recent spate of rather WEFyish articles - some awful looking Netflix movie review, an old article on Minimalism (which in principle is fine, but that one smacked of recent NWO suggestive programming), and a ChatGPT article in the last week. Maybe he's finally on vacation and he's not editing? Anyway, wondered if you'd noticed. Thanks.
Rereading what you wrote about Mexico changing so much just in your (adult) lifetime.......I grew up learning to speak Mexican - certainly is not "Spanish"! the exSpirts say - with so many of my best friends......some of whom spoke no English. And still remember the glorious and sometimes harsh stories from what was rural Penjamo and other places. My yearly forays into Mexico were not extensive like yours - usually coastal and no farther than San Felipe.
I am sorry though not surprised how much has changed.
And I have forwarded this article to 4 home builders, though two may not make it past your opening sentences.
Your last sentence made me laugh out loud. My brutal honesty likely closes a lot of doors...
Had to look up Penjamo. Never been there. In fact, I've never been to Guanajuato. Been to San Felipe once.
Over the last 15 to 20 years Mexico pushed rural electrification throughout the countryside. That ruined much of what was left of the original traditions and cultures. But there are a few hidden gems left... but I'm not telling where they are:)
Youngest son just returned from Oaxaca three weeks ago - and he didn't care for the coastal town he'd been invited to, (can't remember the name) way too hot and crowded, but he wants me to go see Oaxaca in the mountains - he loved it.
Years ago, right as it was being promoted as the new art and cultural mecca, a friend and myself had made plans to go but never did.
I'm very envious he got to eat in Mexico! Of course TSA confiscated the mole he was bringing back for me...... but it's ok. I love the pico de gallo we make here every week.
(Wish we were making it with your garden tomatoes......)
I recommend you go see the mountains of Oaxaca with him. That's one of my top 2 or 3 favorite areas of Mexico. And the city is the culinary capitol of Mexico. For a divine experience, try huevos y huitlacoche con mole negro.
The tomatoes in my garden are volunteers. I've had to take pico de gallo out of my diet because my tolerance for nightshades is about non existent.
PS Your "brutal honesty" in my opinion, is "just the facts".
Sigh.
I'm trying to learn the patience I've never had to get through the next few years of this separation of the worlds. every day bidding people adieu for one reason or another...........
Kyle, you never cease to amaze me with your knowledge and skills!
A couple of summers ago, Ron and I got hired to play at a young lady's 21st birthday. The party was held at her boyfriend's family home about 20 minutes from our home, out in the Templeton countryside. We found out from the father that they had worked for 15 years on the straw bale construction. It was absolutely gorgeous.
They did have many glass windows, many of which were reclaimed. In fact, they said that all of the building materials — aside from the bales, which they purchased locally — were either gathered from the 20-acre property or were reclaimed.
To boot, they paid us three times what we had asked for. Come to find out that the birthday girl's dad was the drummer in a famous guitarist's band for nearly 40 years. Nicest guy, he greeted us on arrival and insisted on helping us unload and stage our equipment, and later he even left their family dinner to help us pack up. He was positively impressed with our music and song choices.
I was particularly pleased to see the making of sisal rope.
But mostly glad to learn about the origins of adobe as a building material.
Aside from the natural building materials,
what is wrong with a "culture" that ensures that homes cannot be afforded by ones who need them? Million-dollar houses are WRONG. At least for me and my neighbors. Why should I be exploited by bankers and accountants (those people you need to claim deductions on your income tax forms)? Because the capitalist way here in the USA is to build in profit for builders, to hell with the actual residents. If the homeless need homes, then builders must profit. Which virtually ensures that such homes are not affordable.
Reading your article reminded me when I was in Belize about 15 years ago and I saw a man and his helper up on bamboo scaffolding it was a work of art !!! It was just beautiful The structure was only 3 stories high. I remember I was trying to tell them how OSHA would go crazy over it here. I took pictures but lost them when I didn’t back up the cloud or whatever that thing is. I considered their work, safe and a work of art.
Yes, bamboo is used for scaffolding in many parts of the world, especially in Asia. I once spoke with a man who had been in a hotel in China when big earthquake struck. A nearby skyscraper under construction collapsed but the bamboo scaffolding remained standing. The folks at OSHA are poorly informed by the powers that shouldn't be.
Thank you for the uplift provided by your article and the examples of how to lead an elegant and rewarding life by going back to old ways. I loved the videos of making sisal rope and construction of the woodshop. What a lot of hard, dirty, satisfying, soul-nourishing and community-building work! Yes. I was thinking how healthy they all looked. Hard work is good for the body and the soul. There are healing properties in the soil, the clay, etc going into their hands and feet.
I loved reading about your time in Mexico - home of my heart. I wouldn't want to go there today to see what has been done to it. I hope places everywhere can throw off these global genocidal ecocidal parasites and their boundless greed. Village by village - that is the way.
A young person turned me on to the Delphi Technique/ method, used in all forms of 'government' and to control crowds at so called 'public' meetings where we supposedly have voice, but all has already been decided for us by 'experts' - usually anonymous and unknown to us. Invented by the Rand corporation as a psychological torture method for crowd control and to squash dissidence or even legitimate anger and frustration- and still used today.
I'll be reading more with interest, and will spread the word, as I am one of the poor living in a poor people's prison-box complex they call low income apartments. Part of the plan is to urbanize rural places - 'smart' cites and all that. Thank you for the education and for giving us the tools to resist and fight the death system. I'm watching the destruction here, have been fighting it for over 30 years - what a waste of my life. I realize now there are other ways around all of this - fighting a pathological psychotic sociopathic system within the system will never work.
Yes, I wrote about the Delphi Technique a few years ago. An obvious trap if one knows to look for it.
I agree, we can continue to beat ourselves up trying to fix the system or we can ignore it and build alternative systems that make the current one obsolete. Hence, this recent series of posts.
I have never heard of the use of fermented nopal juice as stabilizer, adhesive, hardener and binder, and also sisal rope. That is so fascinating! It's crazy how abundant it is and how useful it is. Yet, I was studying adobe for some time (not so much hands on stuff, which is kind of the point), and I hadn't heard of it until now. I'm wondering if this isn't talked about much because it's not in the New Mexico Earthen Building Code - which I understand, is similar to that in Arizona? Would be interested to hear your thoughts on this. From what I remember the bricks need be 'stabilized' within the first two feet from ground level... and this was usually done with portland cement. I mean, it's great that 'some' natural building is allowed, but they end up putting rules on stuff like that... and roofs needing insulation, and other things and so on. Just wanted to hear your thoughts on that kind of thing with all the building code barriers. And I also heard, not first hand, that building codes don't really matter so much in unincorporated towns.
I think it's pretty darn important to know how things were done before. I don't see why things have to be modernized and up to code if it worked so well in the first place. That's just my thoughts on the matter.
NM is too cold to grow Opuntea ficus indica, except maybe for a few areas south of Las Cruces.
Yes, it's frustrating that the building departments ignore all the 200+ year old adobe buildings in our region, pretending they have better ideas. A few years ago I spent the better part of a year repairing a 20 year old $1.5 million adobe house that was built using all the modern codes. It was a mess.
I'll be devoting a post to codes soon. Have a lot to say about that.
Wow, I had no idea it was that bad. In addition to the cost, it’s sending mix messages to people that these structures are not feasible... thinking it’s only for the rich. What a shame. Looking forward to your posts on this.
".... and roofs needing insulation, and other things and so on." From books I've read about super insulation and envelope construction, only the floor of the attic should be properly condensation and mold free insulated, with foil backing ONLY on the bottom of multiple fiberglass layers, (or other breathable layers), in order to prevent any condensation. But if you have a flat roof, which is somewhat popular here in the desert SW of NM and AZ, then that can be a whole 'nother matter.
The attic roofs and eaves should be properly "raintight" vented to breathe, preventing condensation in the winter and also monsoon season, from dripping on the insulted floor, compromising the rockwool's R value as well as creating a bad mold situation. Proper breathing of any abode outer wall from the outside, that uses breathable insulation, is critical. And in the summer, attic breathing can help keep your abode a bit cooler. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=venting+attic+eaves&t=newext&atb=v282-1&iax=images&ia=images
ALSO, back in the day, venting kitchen and bathroom under-sink, (as well as some other outer-wall) cabinets used to be common, but today that is hard to find anymore, thereby creating mold traps due to condensation. Unless you live in the (sub)tropics, indoor activities such as cooking, bathing, breathing, plant-life, etc, are the largest sources of moisture and mold, where inner, outer perimeter walls and ceiling of frame construction should first be painted with a moisture barrier paint.
I've taken notice of your above comment on living in a metallic abode, as I've done now for 40 years in my vintage 1974, 33' Silver Streak RV. If there are any health related matters, I have yet to connect the dots. But as I described above, I had both my kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors vented with large stamped aluminum sheet metal, professionally framed in the wood doors, in order to curtail any possible condensation with resulting mold that I had previously experienced, but also in my particular situation, to help prevent any freezing water pipes in my 33' RV., here at 6300' elev. in the Burro Mtns. of sw NM. https://archive.org/details/superinsulatedho0000shur
But I was also referring to another problem that I guess I'm going to have to cover in the next post because it's come up several times in comments here.
For the record, Dr. Tom Cowan is the one who told me there is no such thing as a blood brain barrier. From Oct 2021 -
The major problem is the screwed up banking system. Not the cost of housing but rather the fact the cost of the loans that in 30 years triple the cost. For instance, my father in law bought a house in 1960 for $13,500. After 30 years at the rate he was paying he had to pay back $40,050. That would have been 1990. If you look at the inflation rate between the 30 years, $13,500 translated into $57,402.03. That is a 341% increase. BUT he came out ahead by literally $17,400. If inflation keeps happening at the same rate here is what happens. You buy a house today that is about the same size as the $13,500 one for about $133,821.82 That is the same "value" as in 1960 with a 929% increase. Now that $133,931 paid back at the current interest rate will be $525,465.46 If you take consideration the same inflation rate by the time you pay it back that $133,931 house will cost somewhere about $700,000 thirty years from now. Which would mean that you would still be ahead of the inflation curve. When it comes to inflation, they really are not honest because if you look at it TODAY, you can see that some items are way higher, labor for trades is WAY up. And keeps going up due to lack of people going into the trades. I could make $100 an HOUR doing plumbing full time. That comes out to $4,000 a week and that comes to $208,000 a year. Doing a job that back when I started in 1977 would pay me about $25,000 a year. Figure that out. With the same inflation rate as used in the above problems utilizing this calculator https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ $25,000 translates into $125,702.15 I could make $208,000 so did my wages keep up with inflation or are they way higher? So if they are way higher what was the REAL inflation rate?
And since real wages for the average working person are not keeping up with inflation it makes it almost impossible to buy that same house and pay for it. Yes, you come out ahead of inflation by paying it off in the 30 years period, and if you sell it at that time for the going rate you come out ahead. The real issues is the EVILS of a FLUCTUATING MEDIUM of EXCHANGE which can become understood by reading this post. Blood Running in The Streets. Mobs of Rioters and Demonstrators Threatening Banks and Legislatures... https://www.courageouslion.us/p/blood-running-in-the-streets-mobs. Here is a for instance. In 1960 an ounce of gold cost $35.00 That same $13,500 house would have cost 385 ounces of gold. If you had saved that 385 ounces of gold and not bough the house, today you could trade it in for $847,000 at the current rate of about $2200 an ounce.
So if we had kept to real money, theoretically an new house that was $847,00 would still only cost you $13,500 in gold because gold can't be inflated. The loss of value of the FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES is the issue. Gold and silver have held their value DRASTICALLY against fed notes. A gallon of gas cost .25 cents +/- which you could have paid for with a 1/4 dollar of silver in 1960. Today I can buy almost TWO gallons of gas for that same coin. Check prices for 90% silver at AMPEX. OK so the silver quarter due to less of them being around will let you purchase more gas than you would have in 1960 for the same quarter.
Why am I laying this out? BECAUSE THE BANKING SYSTEM built on a sand foundation is the ISSUE. If you read the post I have linked above you will realize that it isn't the material or labor that is the issue. It is what we use to "PAY" for the material and labor that is the issue. It is an EVIL system that Judge Roger Sherman wrote about in this booklet: http://bornagainclassics.com/Books/ACaveatAgainstInjustice-Shermann/ There is also this one: Thank You Federal Reserve...
What Would We Have Ever Done Without You!!! https://www.courageouslion.us/p/thank-you-federal-reserve Your article is very interesting as we followed you along your trip. I couldn't build my house with adobe where I am located. If I was building a comfortable 1500 square foot today using my own labor it would be about half of what one would cost currently in my area. With a little help from some friends. We need to start local volunteer labor groups like Habitat for Humanities does and sort of like a barn raising pool our labor resources and we can cut costs way down. Realize that a CONTRACTOR typically makes a 100% profit on the house too. So if he puts $100,000 in it, he expects $200,000 out of it. Some will be willing to do it for 50% if they can do a lot of them in a short time. Labor and costs of tradesmen these days is the main cost.
I helped on two Habitat for Humanities homes by offering my labor for plumbing. It was a gift. I saved them about $4,000 each. They only paid for materials at my cost. If you study my three posts linked to in here you will know more about "economics' than your average economics major coming out of a college of lesser learning. I've been on top of the subject for over 30 years. And I'm a plumber that runs an antique car club. I hope this sheds some light on the issue. Jus Meum Tuebor
I agree, the idea of Iocal barn raising needs to be revived and applied to housing. But not through a national organization like Habitat - they represent everything that's wrong with housing. Imposing a cookie cutter model on the entire country ignores local resources, traditional local skill sets, local economies. What we need to do is revive those local, traditional, building systems and skill sets and keep all that economic activity in the local economy, instead of farming it out to the local globalist office of Home Depot, Wells Fargo or Chase.
Unfortunately Home Depot, Meeks and Lowes are the only real providers of building materials for a reasonable price. No one in my area is cutting trees and milling them I am aware of. And even if they were it would be the person "owning" the land (none of us own land anymore due to the 1st Plank of the Communist manifesto having been implemented everywhere, we pay "property taxes" they called it rent. Same thing different term) who would benefit from trees on his property. Before dry wall, we had plaster and lath. Which is VERY slow to put up and the material is way more than drywall. Before we had PVC plumbing we had cast iron with leaded hubs. Even no hub cast iron was slower to put in, just not as slow as fittings with the hubs since you didn't have to lead the joints. Both were VERY expensive and time consuming. The free market responded with PVC which can be installed quickly and the parts are a lot less expensive than cast iron fittings and it isn't as easy to clog. More modern tech that beats out older tech. The time to install a complete plumbing system to day and with the cost of materials as well as the labor time saved is enormous. 30 years ago it would have taken me at least two weeks to plumb a house all the way to the finished stages. Today I can do it in about three days. That is an average 1500 2 bath home.
A church group in any given area could possibly get a group together to get some homes up. There are problems that arise though. Say my house is 1500 SF and the next guy wants to have a 2500 SF house erected. The time it would take me or someone else to work on erecting my house is at least 2/5 less than the 2500 SF one. Most folks that do trades don't mind even ones. It is when they are off balanced that they see it as unfair, which it really is. It is also the reason the Plymouth Colony failed until a form of capitalism was instituted.
Church's would be a good place to begin. As long as were talking about the people and not the building:)
Please understand, I know where your coming from. After running a turn key landscape business I subcontracted traditional masonry floors; brick on sand, flagstone and Mexican tile for a local rammed earth/adobe builder. The builder was also the architect and a great friend. We spent a lot of time windsurfing in Mexico.
Several decades prior to that I worked on a framing crew. That's just part of my construction background. The point is, I also know what goes into a modern home. I was thoroughly brainwashed by the modern house building mind set.
I'm not asking anyone to give up running water or electricity. I'm trying to get people to reconsider traditional local resources, local labor, local skill sets, local economies. That requires a different mindset. Once that's achieved, many of the issues you bring up become moot.
As I said, all of this will be fleshed out in time.
Nope, I was talking about the building! LOL! YES, getting local participation in my areas is a challenge. I find that if I try to meet my neighbors I get no response. One next to me communicates and I buy eggs from him. The guy on the other side is a inconsiderate ass and has a dump of a house. Others in the area seem not in the least bit interested in any kind of communication. And I'm not the kind of guy that keeps trying. It is in the first interaction that you can get a feeling that it would be OK to come back. I just don't get it.
You quote Buckminster Fuller…wow. No one in my area even knows who he is. This was a gorgeous post. Thank you for the stunning images. They speak to my soul in every regard. I wish I had found your Substack sooner.
Many of these structures are absolutely beautiful. I'd love to move to the Southwest, but the heat would get to me. Southwestern design is my style anyways. I at one time was seriously considering those Earthship homes in NM. Don't know if folks are still building in that area. Not thrilled at all how some use tires. That would be a big No for me!
The reason there are so many abandoned, unfinished earthships in NM is because they are the most labor intensive building system ever perpetuated on humanity. They are essentially a very difficult to build earthen wall system. The same performance result can be achieved with adobe or rammed earth for a fraction of the effort.
Hi Sir, I'm intrigued and interested to learn more about adobe home building. I was wondering if you have any good videos or books I can get my hands on to learn more? Do you know anyone offering internships in this construction method because I am currently taking construction management here in Tennessee.
There are a lot of books out here, although, as I pointed out in my latest post, because I was lucky enough to long ago work with some of the best adobe architects and builders, I've never read any of them.
My advice would be to come to Tucson or somewhere along the Rio Grande Valley in NM and get a job working for an adobe builder. Nothing beats hands on learning.
This group has been around for a long time. Don't know if they're still going.
The concept of "Tiny Houses" could be advantageous for some, not only for one's own abode, but as a possible small business venture as well, where the creative possibilities are endless. I would suggest building from scratch using a recycled mobile home chassis, but registering it as an RV, (park model). As I recall, AZ DMV, and maybe other states(?), (but NOT NM), allows RV park models as wide as 10', that can be registered as an RV on open roads, with some simple added safety rules for transporting your own on the highway, like a simple "OVERWIDTH" safety banner. Check your local state's DMV.
Tiny houses are a step in the right direction. They do offer some economic advantages, but they also have numerous drawbacks. I'll be getting into that soon.
I was thinking of going tiny, but many of those homes are built with same materials as larger permanent structures. And NOT cheap either! Wisconsin is not friendly to tiny homes; they want you caught up in the globalist/banker BS. We do have builders here who build with timber, but again, not cheap.
That's right. A tiny house doesn't equate to being nontoxic. Personally, I'm of the belief that the popularity of tiny houses is a WEF plot. They are all built on wheels, which means you own no land - you will own nothing and be happy.
Tiny house movement=WEF plot occurred to me as well. Part of my former career was to close “sick buildings” down on university campuses and recommend upgraded HVAC systems so I think about healthy building materials a lot. Thank you for raising awareness.
Can't afford a subscription right now but wanted to thank you for sharing this wonderful and very informative article.
Glad you enjoyed it EJ. I'd rather you tell your friends than pay for a subscription.
Well, I don’t pay for any subscriptions on Substack, but I do have one here, and it’s all because of how highly I value Kyle, and his integrity. He deserves our support.
This article is a perfect example of what makes you unique.
This topic isn’t commonplace, However, The mindset alone is important. It’s about Freedom and self sufficiency. Realizing how humanity has been lured through “technology” into their own prisons. One without walls. What’s being done here is no different than everything Bill Gates and other globalists are all about. Their mindset is anti-God, anti-life, anti-freedom...it’s all about control, and enslavement.
“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”
— Johann W. von Goethe
Kyle has brought to our attention yet another aspect of the invisible prison that enslaves us, while at the same time showing us beautiful examples of how things have been, and can be once again.
After Russia and China invade this nation and reduce it to a 3rd world country, this information will be even more valuable.
Keep up the good work Kyle..
Thank you for the kind words William.
More regulations favor larger corporations and layers of value extracting intermediation.
They make it almost illegal for people to do anything for themselves in most places.
There is some lower limit of regulation to explore. I did this in small town Texas in late 2021 to early 2023, designing (drawings), general-contracting, finishing-in, insulating, cabinetmaking, stair-building, etc.
Bamboo should grow and be workable in the Texas coastal plains, but I'm sure there's no way to make it a legal structure. ;-(
There are ways to circumvent regs. I'll be getting into that.
Texas has an active chapter of the American Bamboo Society. A lot of members growing bamboo in the Austin area. http://www.texasbamboosociety.net/
Jules Jhanssen wrote a set of international bamboo codes. As I recall, they have been adopted by some jurisdictions in the US. I think Hawaii and maybe Florida.
I find this about cold tolerant and non-invasive bamboo varieties. The devil is always in the details. Practice is always more complicated than theory.
https://www.palmco.com/resources/cold-hardy-non-invasive-bamboo.html#:~:text=Graceful%20Bamboos%20are%20very%20cold,well%2Ddrained%20but%20consistently%20moist.
It looks like the Texas bamboo website went dormant for COVID and never got updated.
Species for climate zones resource is devoid of data.
The species listed there are all subtropical. To call them cold hardy is a stretch. Most of them will be damaged or killed at 32 degrees, depending on the duration of the cold. But they are clumpers, meaning they are not invasive. It's the running species (especially the genus Phyllostachys) that have reputation of being invasive... only if one doesn't know how to deal with them.
On the TBS climate zone page I get windows saying that section is under construction. The national organization and the chapters are always updating species and tolerance levels as new info comes in.
Yes a page under construction has no data.
I think that planting bamboo by a property line to invade your neighbor's land is a tort in Hawaii.
I'd believe that:)
Contact Carol. She's in Austin. She has been with the Texas chapter a very long time. She can answer your climate questions. We haven't talked in a very long time. She may not remember me. https://www.bambooweb.info/ShowSourceDetail.php?CID=123
Thanks Kyle.
Hey, you... John Day! Rememble me? Woof! and Happy New Year.
Yes.
:-)
Gorgeous Delightful Elegant Digestible Actionable Article! What a treat to read! Thank you Kyle!
Thank you Nikki.
Interesting stuff Kyle. Labor intensive. What about repurposed shipping containers painted with that NASA developed sun-repellant paint ? Stays cool in the hottest sun ? I have some raw land up in the hills of Vieques. I'll probably do a platform (concrete) with 2 shipping containers spaced apart. The middle section is living, dining. The 2 containers house bedrooms & baths. If they'e 40' containers, they would also house studio & Office. Any thoughts ?
I know shipping containers are cheap and popular right now, but they have some major drawbacks. I'm sorry, but you may not like what I have to say.
I mentioned a big drawback in an earlier post about how susceptible metal buildings are to DEW's. https://secularheretic.substack.com/p/maui-and-the-truth-about-dews
There is also the issue that if you use electricity, wifi, cell phones, remote controls or anything wireless inside of them, the metal keeps the waves trapped inside where they continue to bounce around, greatly exacerbating EMF exposure.
They also disrupt our innate sense of magnetic orientation to earth.
Then you still have to build a framework to accommodate insulation, plumbing and wiring. Then there is the flooring and roofing. Essentially you have to build a another house inside and outside. That's a lot of inefficient redundancy.
Although our ancient ancestors knew about metallurgy, they didn't use it in construction. What did they know that we don't?
Do travel trailers have the same problems? Other manufactured housing?
Worse.
Very sad. Fortunately, its a big country and there are still some traditional places left.
Thanks for sharing. I guess I missed the earlier post. Maybe I'll have to go with regular concrete blocks, or create mud-straw-concrete, blocks and use those ? And concrete posts ? Rebar reinforced ? The soil on my land is hard clay. ??? (So Rammed earth walls ?) OR... try to recreate, super low cost, the 'Rose Pauson House'. See: < https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/frank-lloyd-wright-buildings-demolished > (#4) ? I wonder if I can buy copies of the plans ?
Let the natural resources there and the lay of the land tell you what to build with and where to build on the land. Rammed earth may be a good option. Stones may be a good option. Both may be a good option.
This will be your house. You will be living there. Let YOUR imagination bring forth the plans.
Good rammed earth or adobe soil is about 20 to 30% clay to 70 to 80% aggregate. Put a large handful of the soil in a quart jar of water. Shake well. Set the jar on a counter and let it set for several hours. After it settles, the finest layer at the top will be clay. If that looks to be about 20 to 30% compared to the rest of the aggregate, then you have good soil for rammed earth or adobe.
Let me know what you have.
I lived in Far West Texas, The Big Bend area, and became amazed at the very old adobe houses. They were built of the dirt right under the people's feet as well as the other materials. They lasted hundreds of years and were remarkably cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It's high desert with little precipitation so grass yards were out of the question. The people did an ingenious thing. They made "swept" yards by sweeping the loose dirt away until finally a very hard packed earthen yard much like a natural concrete formed. It was super clean and great to walk on.
My grandparents built a house in the Ozarks, again from materials on the land of their small farm. Rocks. They took the rocks and piled them horizontally until they formed walls and used virtually no concrete except around the window openings and doors. Because the walls were made of thick stacked rocks, there were some deep crevices on the exterior where many animals lived. Birds made nests, lizards, insects of all kinds. The walls of the house were alive with little animals. It was amazing. And again, relatively cool in summer and warm in winter. No electricity or running water and the rocks they used to build the house cleared the land for big gardens.
I worked in modern construction and it was so sad to know how grotesque the materials were. Horrible chemically compounded wall boards and cheap bioengineered "wood" that was so soft. None of these houses will endure 20 years. All the while emitting noxious chemicals on the inhabitants and environment. Even latex paint is a scam. It never stops expelling plastic particles in the air. People became convinced traditional oil paints which last a lifetime were "bad" when they are anything but and they are far more beautiful.
We are so idiotic about so many things. It makes me sad we bought the MKUltra programming. Anyone who believes themselves unaffected by the programming is likely deeply programmed. That's part of it.
God Bless.
It's hard to believe that all those toxic materials have only come about in recent generations. It's even harder to believe how so many have come to accept them as the norm.
What toxic materials are you writing of? Sheet rock isn't toxic. The tape isn't toxic. The mud you use isn't toxic. If you breathe in the dust from sanding the mud, yes, that is toxic. The steel in the steel studs isn't toxic. Wood studs and floor joists and rafters aren't. The chipboard that is used in roofing and outside siding may be because of the glue that is used. There most likely is some off gassing in the curing process that most likely takes years.
There is an issue with mold in a lot of homes, but that is going to be an issue in a lot of style dwellings if it isn't taken into consideration with the construction. It is caused by moisture. But it is something that is controllable. I know there is some toxic substance found in carpet and most likely there could be some off gassing in laminate flooring. How much of an issue I don't know. And how much of an influence it would have on the home environment, I don't know either. I suspect pretty minimal. So can you be more specific and list some of the toxic materials? And how do you know that bamboo itself in the decaying process doesn't release toxic gases of some sort and how much? I know I don't like the odor of it if I smell it. I'm not trying to be argumentative. I'm just wondering. And looking at these structures I see LOTS of labor involved which is probably the most costly part of construction.
The list of toxic materials is too long to go ito here and too important not to cover in a post. You mentioned a few.
Drywall sheets and joint compounds can contain elements that can be toxic when inhaled, such as talc, calcite, mica, gypsum, silica, and mercury.
Drywall off gases hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and other related gases which cause lung cancer.
Chipboard is made from wood shavings and urea-formaldehyde glue, which continuously releases formaldehyde into the air. The US EPA and National Toxicology Program (NTP) both classify formaldehyde as a known or probable human carcinogen that can cause nasal cancer, leukemia, and nasopharyngeal cancer.
Tyvek is plastic. It is coated with PFASs which is a known carcinogen.
The list goes on and on. Especially when analyzing building materials made in China as most new builds utilize today.
You are so brilliant! Exactly!
No electricity or running water sounds great. If I was living in the 1800's. I think I like electricity and running water as well as most modern conveniences. As for programming? I must have had some sort of faraday cage over my brain. I was ALWAYS the one in school who questioned as was told to shut up. I was ALWAYS the one at church who questioned and was asked to leave. Anyone that reads my stack can see without a doubt that MKUltra or anything else they have used on the population I was somehow shielded from. It might have to do with my IQ. I don't know. But I do know this...people with average IQ are VERY easy to manipulate. And to carry on a conversation where any amount of reason, logic and common sense is involved is almost impossible. I blame it on the 10th plank communist manifesto gooberment skewl cisterns. Not MK Ultra, even thought those indoctrination centers may be the very definition of MKUltra.
A word of caution as regards IQ and not being susceptible to mind control techniques: I am a genius on paper, a former member of MENSA. I was susceptible. It has taken over a thousand books and conversations with people unlike myself in every regard to begin to break free. Just saying. I have learned more of value from the so-called blue collar sector than anyone else, frankly.
Anyone who believes themselves unaffected by the programming is likely deeply programmed. That's part of it.
Go read my stacks and see if you can come to that conclusion. Seriously...
Thanks Kyle,
Your experiences in Mexico are great fun to read!
I too have been talking about non "modern", non toxic home building materials my entire life, and I feel very fortunate that I was raised in an historic building, have lived most of my life in old homes and for the last 30 years in our milled, solid log home (with wool insulation I fought hard for over fiberglass or foam insulation. When we were putting it up, the wrens and sparrows LOVED it, gleaning all the tufts they could, it was a lot of fun and made the hands quite soft.)
When I was little, I used to have a reoccurring nightmare that I'd wake up in a tract home - the swaths of tract home neighborhoods that sprang up in SoCal in the late 60s and '70s, always made me feel like I was in a dystopian science fiction movie - pretty much like the last 4 years in fact!
Ps I don't know who to ask other than you, but I feel like Dr Mercola has been replaced by a cyber double (kinda kidding) because of his recent spate of rather WEFyish articles - some awful looking Netflix movie review, an old article on Minimalism (which in principle is fine, but that one smacked of recent NWO suggestive programming), and a ChatGPT article in the last week. Maybe he's finally on vacation and he's not editing? Anyway, wondered if you'd noticed. Thanks.
I love log homes. Wool insulation is as natural as it gets.
What a terrible nightmare;)
Yes, I have noticed. I've made more than my normal amount comments in recent weeks, asking lots of questions.
Not sure what to think about it. Maybe he's caving to pressure...?
Rereading what you wrote about Mexico changing so much just in your (adult) lifetime.......I grew up learning to speak Mexican - certainly is not "Spanish"! the exSpirts say - with so many of my best friends......some of whom spoke no English. And still remember the glorious and sometimes harsh stories from what was rural Penjamo and other places. My yearly forays into Mexico were not extensive like yours - usually coastal and no farther than San Felipe.
I am sorry though not surprised how much has changed.
And I have forwarded this article to 4 home builders, though two may not make it past your opening sentences.
Your last sentence made me laugh out loud. My brutal honesty likely closes a lot of doors...
Had to look up Penjamo. Never been there. In fact, I've never been to Guanajuato. Been to San Felipe once.
Over the last 15 to 20 years Mexico pushed rural electrification throughout the countryside. That ruined much of what was left of the original traditions and cultures. But there are a few hidden gems left... but I'm not telling where they are:)
Youngest son just returned from Oaxaca three weeks ago - and he didn't care for the coastal town he'd been invited to, (can't remember the name) way too hot and crowded, but he wants me to go see Oaxaca in the mountains - he loved it.
Years ago, right as it was being promoted as the new art and cultural mecca, a friend and myself had made plans to go but never did.
I'm very envious he got to eat in Mexico! Of course TSA confiscated the mole he was bringing back for me...... but it's ok. I love the pico de gallo we make here every week.
(Wish we were making it with your garden tomatoes......)
I recommend you go see the mountains of Oaxaca with him. That's one of my top 2 or 3 favorite areas of Mexico. And the city is the culinary capitol of Mexico. For a divine experience, try huevos y huitlacoche con mole negro.
The tomatoes in my garden are volunteers. I've had to take pico de gallo out of my diet because my tolerance for nightshades is about non existent.
PS Your "brutal honesty" in my opinion, is "just the facts".
Sigh.
I'm trying to learn the patience I've never had to get through the next few years of this separation of the worlds. every day bidding people adieu for one reason or another...........
For me the past 3 years have been a lesson in how to take the bad with the good.
But I've recently noticed some friends who have been giving me the cold shoulder for several years are now making overtures.
Kyle, you never cease to amaze me with your knowledge and skills!
A couple of summers ago, Ron and I got hired to play at a young lady's 21st birthday. The party was held at her boyfriend's family home about 20 minutes from our home, out in the Templeton countryside. We found out from the father that they had worked for 15 years on the straw bale construction. It was absolutely gorgeous.
They did have many glass windows, many of which were reclaimed. In fact, they said that all of the building materials — aside from the bales, which they purchased locally — were either gathered from the 20-acre property or were reclaimed.
To boot, they paid us three times what we had asked for. Come to find out that the birthday girl's dad was the drummer in a famous guitarist's band for nearly 40 years. Nicest guy, he greeted us on arrival and insisted on helping us unload and stage our equipment, and later he even left their family dinner to help us pack up. He was positively impressed with our music and song choices.
People that build conscious homes often have it together in other ways.
Don't ya just love appreciative clients like that:)
Thank you!
I was particularly pleased to see the making of sisal rope.
But mostly glad to learn about the origins of adobe as a building material.
Aside from the natural building materials,
what is wrong with a "culture" that ensures that homes cannot be afforded by ones who need them? Million-dollar houses are WRONG. At least for me and my neighbors. Why should I be exploited by bankers and accountants (those people you need to claim deductions on your income tax forms)? Because the capitalist way here in the USA is to build in profit for builders, to hell with the actual residents. If the homeless need homes, then builders must profit. Which virtually ensures that such homes are not affordable.
There is so much that is wrong with the housing industry...
Hi Kyle-
Reading your article reminded me when I was in Belize about 15 years ago and I saw a man and his helper up on bamboo scaffolding it was a work of art !!! It was just beautiful The structure was only 3 stories high. I remember I was trying to tell them how OSHA would go crazy over it here. I took pictures but lost them when I didn’t back up the cloud or whatever that thing is. I considered their work, safe and a work of art.
Yes, bamboo is used for scaffolding in many parts of the world, especially in Asia. I once spoke with a man who had been in a hotel in China when big earthquake struck. A nearby skyscraper under construction collapsed but the bamboo scaffolding remained standing. The folks at OSHA are poorly informed by the powers that shouldn't be.
Thank you for the uplift provided by your article and the examples of how to lead an elegant and rewarding life by going back to old ways. I loved the videos of making sisal rope and construction of the woodshop. What a lot of hard, dirty, satisfying, soul-nourishing and community-building work! Yes. I was thinking how healthy they all looked. Hard work is good for the body and the soul. There are healing properties in the soil, the clay, etc going into their hands and feet.
I loved reading about your time in Mexico - home of my heart. I wouldn't want to go there today to see what has been done to it. I hope places everywhere can throw off these global genocidal ecocidal parasites and their boundless greed. Village by village - that is the way.
A young person turned me on to the Delphi Technique/ method, used in all forms of 'government' and to control crowds at so called 'public' meetings where we supposedly have voice, but all has already been decided for us by 'experts' - usually anonymous and unknown to us. Invented by the Rand corporation as a psychological torture method for crowd control and to squash dissidence or even legitimate anger and frustration- and still used today.
I'll be reading more with interest, and will spread the word, as I am one of the poor living in a poor people's prison-box complex they call low income apartments. Part of the plan is to urbanize rural places - 'smart' cites and all that. Thank you for the education and for giving us the tools to resist and fight the death system. I'm watching the destruction here, have been fighting it for over 30 years - what a waste of my life. I realize now there are other ways around all of this - fighting a pathological psychotic sociopathic system within the system will never work.
Thank you Beedle.
Yes, I wrote about the Delphi Technique a few years ago. An obvious trap if one knows to look for it.
I agree, we can continue to beat ourselves up trying to fix the system or we can ignore it and build alternative systems that make the current one obsolete. Hence, this recent series of posts.
I love the direction you have taken and will be following and catching up on recent posts you have made.
Thank you!
I have never heard of the use of fermented nopal juice as stabilizer, adhesive, hardener and binder, and also sisal rope. That is so fascinating! It's crazy how abundant it is and how useful it is. Yet, I was studying adobe for some time (not so much hands on stuff, which is kind of the point), and I hadn't heard of it until now. I'm wondering if this isn't talked about much because it's not in the New Mexico Earthen Building Code - which I understand, is similar to that in Arizona? Would be interested to hear your thoughts on this. From what I remember the bricks need be 'stabilized' within the first two feet from ground level... and this was usually done with portland cement. I mean, it's great that 'some' natural building is allowed, but they end up putting rules on stuff like that... and roofs needing insulation, and other things and so on. Just wanted to hear your thoughts on that kind of thing with all the building code barriers. And I also heard, not first hand, that building codes don't really matter so much in unincorporated towns.
I think it's pretty darn important to know how things were done before. I don't see why things have to be modernized and up to code if it worked so well in the first place. That's just my thoughts on the matter.
Thanks for this post, really great stuff!
NM is too cold to grow Opuntea ficus indica, except maybe for a few areas south of Las Cruces.
Yes, it's frustrating that the building departments ignore all the 200+ year old adobe buildings in our region, pretending they have better ideas. A few years ago I spent the better part of a year repairing a 20 year old $1.5 million adobe house that was built using all the modern codes. It was a mess.
I'll be devoting a post to codes soon. Have a lot to say about that.
Wow, I had no idea it was that bad. In addition to the cost, it’s sending mix messages to people that these structures are not feasible... thinking it’s only for the rich. What a shame. Looking forward to your posts on this.
Dr. Mercola has long told his readers to take control of their health. That's how I feel about housing.
".... and roofs needing insulation, and other things and so on." From books I've read about super insulation and envelope construction, only the floor of the attic should be properly condensation and mold free insulated, with foil backing ONLY on the bottom of multiple fiberglass layers, (or other breathable layers), in order to prevent any condensation. But if you have a flat roof, which is somewhat popular here in the desert SW of NM and AZ, then that can be a whole 'nother matter.
The attic roofs and eaves should be properly "raintight" vented to breathe, preventing condensation in the winter and also monsoon season, from dripping on the insulted floor, compromising the rockwool's R value as well as creating a bad mold situation. Proper breathing of any abode outer wall from the outside, that uses breathable insulation, is critical. And in the summer, attic breathing can help keep your abode a bit cooler. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=venting+attic+eaves&t=newext&atb=v282-1&iax=images&ia=images
ALSO, back in the day, venting kitchen and bathroom under-sink, (as well as some other outer-wall) cabinets used to be common, but today that is hard to find anymore, thereby creating mold traps due to condensation. Unless you live in the (sub)tropics, indoor activities such as cooking, bathing, breathing, plant-life, etc, are the largest sources of moisture and mold, where inner, outer perimeter walls and ceiling of frame construction should first be painted with a moisture barrier paint.
I've taken notice of your above comment on living in a metallic abode, as I've done now for 40 years in my vintage 1974, 33' Silver Streak RV. If there are any health related matters, I have yet to connect the dots. But as I described above, I had both my kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors vented with large stamped aluminum sheet metal, professionally framed in the wood doors, in order to curtail any possible condensation with resulting mold that I had previously experienced, but also in my particular situation, to help prevent any freezing water pipes in my 33' RV., here at 6300' elev. in the Burro Mtns. of sw NM. https://archive.org/details/superinsulatedho0000shur
Thank you grulla.
As for metal buildings, I was primarily referring to this problem -
https://secularheretic.substack.com/p/maui-and-the-truth-about-dews
But I was also referring to another problem that I guess I'm going to have to cover in the next post because it's come up several times in comments here.
For the record, Dr. Tom Cowan is the one who told me there is no such thing as a blood brain barrier. From Oct 2021 -
https://secularheretic.substack.com/p/interview-with-dr-tom-cowan-4a9
The major problem is the screwed up banking system. Not the cost of housing but rather the fact the cost of the loans that in 30 years triple the cost. For instance, my father in law bought a house in 1960 for $13,500. After 30 years at the rate he was paying he had to pay back $40,050. That would have been 1990. If you look at the inflation rate between the 30 years, $13,500 translated into $57,402.03. That is a 341% increase. BUT he came out ahead by literally $17,400. If inflation keeps happening at the same rate here is what happens. You buy a house today that is about the same size as the $13,500 one for about $133,821.82 That is the same "value" as in 1960 with a 929% increase. Now that $133,931 paid back at the current interest rate will be $525,465.46 If you take consideration the same inflation rate by the time you pay it back that $133,931 house will cost somewhere about $700,000 thirty years from now. Which would mean that you would still be ahead of the inflation curve. When it comes to inflation, they really are not honest because if you look at it TODAY, you can see that some items are way higher, labor for trades is WAY up. And keeps going up due to lack of people going into the trades. I could make $100 an HOUR doing plumbing full time. That comes out to $4,000 a week and that comes to $208,000 a year. Doing a job that back when I started in 1977 would pay me about $25,000 a year. Figure that out. With the same inflation rate as used in the above problems utilizing this calculator https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ $25,000 translates into $125,702.15 I could make $208,000 so did my wages keep up with inflation or are they way higher? So if they are way higher what was the REAL inflation rate?
And since real wages for the average working person are not keeping up with inflation it makes it almost impossible to buy that same house and pay for it. Yes, you come out ahead of inflation by paying it off in the 30 years period, and if you sell it at that time for the going rate you come out ahead. The real issues is the EVILS of a FLUCTUATING MEDIUM of EXCHANGE which can become understood by reading this post. Blood Running in The Streets. Mobs of Rioters and Demonstrators Threatening Banks and Legislatures... https://www.courageouslion.us/p/blood-running-in-the-streets-mobs. Here is a for instance. In 1960 an ounce of gold cost $35.00 That same $13,500 house would have cost 385 ounces of gold. If you had saved that 385 ounces of gold and not bough the house, today you could trade it in for $847,000 at the current rate of about $2200 an ounce.
So if we had kept to real money, theoretically an new house that was $847,00 would still only cost you $13,500 in gold because gold can't be inflated. The loss of value of the FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES is the issue. Gold and silver have held their value DRASTICALLY against fed notes. A gallon of gas cost .25 cents +/- which you could have paid for with a 1/4 dollar of silver in 1960. Today I can buy almost TWO gallons of gas for that same coin. Check prices for 90% silver at AMPEX. OK so the silver quarter due to less of them being around will let you purchase more gas than you would have in 1960 for the same quarter.
Why am I laying this out? BECAUSE THE BANKING SYSTEM built on a sand foundation is the ISSUE. If you read the post I have linked above you will realize that it isn't the material or labor that is the issue. It is what we use to "PAY" for the material and labor that is the issue. It is an EVIL system that Judge Roger Sherman wrote about in this booklet: http://bornagainclassics.com/Books/ACaveatAgainstInjustice-Shermann/ There is also this one: Thank You Federal Reserve...
What Would We Have Ever Done Without You!!! https://www.courageouslion.us/p/thank-you-federal-reserve Your article is very interesting as we followed you along your trip. I couldn't build my house with adobe where I am located. If I was building a comfortable 1500 square foot today using my own labor it would be about half of what one would cost currently in my area. With a little help from some friends. We need to start local volunteer labor groups like Habitat for Humanities does and sort of like a barn raising pool our labor resources and we can cut costs way down. Realize that a CONTRACTOR typically makes a 100% profit on the house too. So if he puts $100,000 in it, he expects $200,000 out of it. Some will be willing to do it for 50% if they can do a lot of them in a short time. Labor and costs of tradesmen these days is the main cost.
I helped on two Habitat for Humanities homes by offering my labor for plumbing. It was a gift. I saved them about $4,000 each. They only paid for materials at my cost. If you study my three posts linked to in here you will know more about "economics' than your average economics major coming out of a college of lesser learning. I've been on top of the subject for over 30 years. And I'm a plumber that runs an antique car club. I hope this sheds some light on the issue. Jus Meum Tuebor
Thanks for the economic information.
I agree, the idea of Iocal barn raising needs to be revived and applied to housing. But not through a national organization like Habitat - they represent everything that's wrong with housing. Imposing a cookie cutter model on the entire country ignores local resources, traditional local skill sets, local economies. What we need to do is revive those local, traditional, building systems and skill sets and keep all that economic activity in the local economy, instead of farming it out to the local globalist office of Home Depot, Wells Fargo or Chase.
Unfortunately Home Depot, Meeks and Lowes are the only real providers of building materials for a reasonable price. No one in my area is cutting trees and milling them I am aware of. And even if they were it would be the person "owning" the land (none of us own land anymore due to the 1st Plank of the Communist manifesto having been implemented everywhere, we pay "property taxes" they called it rent. Same thing different term) who would benefit from trees on his property. Before dry wall, we had plaster and lath. Which is VERY slow to put up and the material is way more than drywall. Before we had PVC plumbing we had cast iron with leaded hubs. Even no hub cast iron was slower to put in, just not as slow as fittings with the hubs since you didn't have to lead the joints. Both were VERY expensive and time consuming. The free market responded with PVC which can be installed quickly and the parts are a lot less expensive than cast iron fittings and it isn't as easy to clog. More modern tech that beats out older tech. The time to install a complete plumbing system to day and with the cost of materials as well as the labor time saved is enormous. 30 years ago it would have taken me at least two weeks to plumb a house all the way to the finished stages. Today I can do it in about three days. That is an average 1500 2 bath home.
A church group in any given area could possibly get a group together to get some homes up. There are problems that arise though. Say my house is 1500 SF and the next guy wants to have a 2500 SF house erected. The time it would take me or someone else to work on erecting my house is at least 2/5 less than the 2500 SF one. Most folks that do trades don't mind even ones. It is when they are off balanced that they see it as unfair, which it really is. It is also the reason the Plymouth Colony failed until a form of capitalism was instituted.
Church's would be a good place to begin. As long as were talking about the people and not the building:)
Please understand, I know where your coming from. After running a turn key landscape business I subcontracted traditional masonry floors; brick on sand, flagstone and Mexican tile for a local rammed earth/adobe builder. The builder was also the architect and a great friend. We spent a lot of time windsurfing in Mexico.
Several decades prior to that I worked on a framing crew. That's just part of my construction background. The point is, I also know what goes into a modern home. I was thoroughly brainwashed by the modern house building mind set.
I'm not asking anyone to give up running water or electricity. I'm trying to get people to reconsider traditional local resources, local labor, local skill sets, local economies. That requires a different mindset. Once that's achieved, many of the issues you bring up become moot.
As I said, all of this will be fleshed out in time.
Nope, I was talking about the building! LOL! YES, getting local participation in my areas is a challenge. I find that if I try to meet my neighbors I get no response. One next to me communicates and I buy eggs from him. The guy on the other side is a inconsiderate ass and has a dump of a house. Others in the area seem not in the least bit interested in any kind of communication. And I'm not the kind of guy that keeps trying. It is in the first interaction that you can get a feeling that it would be OK to come back. I just don't get it.
You quote Buckminster Fuller…wow. No one in my area even knows who he is. This was a gorgeous post. Thank you for the stunning images. They speak to my soul in every regard. I wish I had found your Substack sooner.
Thank you Elizabeth.
I had some friends that built a geodesic dome in the 70's who turned me on to Fuller.
Glad you here now.
Many of these structures are absolutely beautiful. I'd love to move to the Southwest, but the heat would get to me. Southwestern design is my style anyways. I at one time was seriously considering those Earthship homes in NM. Don't know if folks are still building in that area. Not thrilled at all how some use tires. That would be a big No for me!
The reason there are so many abandoned, unfinished earthships in NM is because they are the most labor intensive building system ever perpetuated on humanity. They are essentially a very difficult to build earthen wall system. The same performance result can be achieved with adobe or rammed earth for a fraction of the effort.
I agree there. I love adobe homes. Wisconsin just isn't the place for them, unfortunately.
Yup.
Hi Sir, I'm intrigued and interested to learn more about adobe home building. I was wondering if you have any good videos or books I can get my hands on to learn more? Do you know anyone offering internships in this construction method because I am currently taking construction management here in Tennessee.
There are a lot of books out here, although, as I pointed out in my latest post, because I was lucky enough to long ago work with some of the best adobe architects and builders, I've never read any of them.
My advice would be to come to Tucson or somewhere along the Rio Grande Valley in NM and get a job working for an adobe builder. Nothing beats hands on learning.
This group has been around for a long time. Don't know if they're still going.
http://www.adobebuilder.com/classes.html
The concept of "Tiny Houses" could be advantageous for some, not only for one's own abode, but as a possible small business venture as well, where the creative possibilities are endless. I would suggest building from scratch using a recycled mobile home chassis, but registering it as an RV, (park model). As I recall, AZ DMV, and maybe other states(?), (but NOT NM), allows RV park models as wide as 10', that can be registered as an RV on open roads, with some simple added safety rules for transporting your own on the highway, like a simple "OVERWIDTH" safety banner. Check your local state's DMV.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=tiny+houses&t=newext&atb=v282-1&iax=images&ia=images
Everyone is jumping the gun on me:)
Tiny houses are a step in the right direction. They do offer some economic advantages, but they also have numerous drawbacks. I'll be getting into that soon.
I was thinking of going tiny, but many of those homes are built with same materials as larger permanent structures. And NOT cheap either! Wisconsin is not friendly to tiny homes; they want you caught up in the globalist/banker BS. We do have builders here who build with timber, but again, not cheap.
That's right. A tiny house doesn't equate to being nontoxic. Personally, I'm of the belief that the popularity of tiny houses is a WEF plot. They are all built on wheels, which means you own no land - you will own nothing and be happy.
Timber framing might be a good option there, but not with a contractor. A much simpler, much cheaper, much easier to build option would be an A frame, using unmilled, intact logs cut right from the forest. https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/how-to-build-an-a-frame-ze0z1111zhir/
Tiny house movement=WEF plot occurred to me as well. Part of my former career was to close “sick buildings” down on university campuses and recommend upgraded HVAC systems so I think about healthy building materials a lot. Thank you for raising awareness.