There’s a large new shelter at pointReturn now. It is a 1,000 sqFt at the ground level, another 1,000sft 8′ off the ground, and further up, there are two sleeping lofts, of about 200 sFt each. I like to call it the pavilion.

There are many lessons one learns in an undertaking such as pointReturn. Those from Nature come in accompanied by compelling evidence and demonstrations. These are exciting to learn. Those of a personal nature however, seem harder to accept . I will quickly deal with the latter first.

A Rocket Stove is probably so named because the vertical column of flame in it resembles that of a rocket’s. The flame however does not descend as in a rocket, but rise. The updraft thus created, draws ample air to completely burn firewood. The net result is that the stove is smoke free, economic in … Continue reading Adventures with the Rocket Stove →

The pointReturn adventure began not so much with the idea of giving trees a home, but to facilitate the home trees will make. For thirty years now I have not been able to pass a full grown tree without, at a minimum, registering its presence. Often I do not know its name or nature and … Continue reading Trees at pointReturn →

Bill Mollison, 80 years old, toddled up to the blackboard and wrote “You are so lucky. Three teachers!”. Then swinging around, he stood, cuddly as a lad, cocking an eyebrow up and smiling the friendliest conspiratorial smile you ever saw. That kick started the Permaculture Design Course [PDC] in Melbourne, Australia on September 22, 2008.

I settled on cob as a material of construction after eliminating other options one by one. When i considered cost, embodied energy, ease of use, comfort for occupants, aesthetic potential and sense of fulfillment I found cob was hard to beat. And now having grown familiar with it, I will stay with it for long, … Continue reading Exploring cob →

A windmill pumps water when the wind blows and that is not always when you need the water. At some point or the other you will have to make a decision about creating extra storage for the pumped water. Here are some notes from my experience that might offer you a lower cost option.