Home Energy's associate editor gets published in the ASTM's "Standardization News"

In a shameless bit of self-promotion, I am excited to announce that me and my colleague-on-ground, Kevin Rowell were picked up by the ASTM's "Standardization News" in an article about the potential of re-introducing the vernacular building styles into Haiti's post-disaster housing crisis.

The article, entitled "Taking the Long View in Haiti" was originally published in the September/October, 2010 issue of Home Energy magazine. Kevin Rowell, a natural builder who has been living and working in Port-au-Prince, Haiti since the earthquake in February, helped me write this follow-up to an earlier article also in Home Energy, about the Gingerbread Style vernacular buildings in Haiti, their resilience in the earthquake, and their potential as a model for how to rebuild, and what with (HE July/Aug. 2010).

Kevin Rowell has worked passionately and tirelessly on the ground, helping to plant trees, build orphanages, research and test earthen building styles like wattle-and-daub, and bamboo building. At the moment he is testing the quality of the concrete rubble, immeasurable amounts of which lie available for reuse from collapsed concrete homes. You can read more about Kevin's adventures at www.kleiwerks.org.

I will continue to report on the Haiti post-earthquake rebuilding, and will also continue to bring my passion for the cheap, labor-intensive, beautiful, climate-appropriate, and environmentally gentle practices of natural building to Home Energy as often as I can work it in. I believe we have a lot to learn about dwelling simply, and many ways to apply these techniques to modern, resilient homes and lifestyles.