About 'căsuța din zmeuriș'
Asociația Viața Alternativă (The Association for an Alternative Life) has started building a small house out of natural, recycled and waste materials. The foundation of the house is made out of stone and earthbags, the structure is made out of wood, the walls are made out of strawbales. The house will be equipped with eco-efficient systems and surrounded by a small vegetable garden. A compost toilet has already been set up close to the house and it is fully functionable.
The whole space is organized according to permaculture and sustainability principles.
The actual workings have started in 2013 with cleaning the terrain. The old house residing on the land was put down and all good materials were used for the new one. Additional construction materials were brought from the locals and nearby and the small building is now erected. Activities to be continued as soon as weather allows :). All work was done with volunteers and few locals (some photos are available below and more photos and videos are uploaded on our Facebook page).
These activities take place in Mesteacanu village, Salaj county, Romania. This village is 70 km away from Cluj-Napoca, the city we live in. We named this project 'Căsuța din Zmeuriș' or 'The small house from the raspberry bushes', since there are (you guessed) raspberry bushes on the land (zmeuris = raspberry bushes, in Romanian).
The whole space is organized according to permaculture and sustainability principles.
The actual workings have started in 2013 with cleaning the terrain. The old house residing on the land was put down and all good materials were used for the new one. Additional construction materials were brought from the locals and nearby and the small building is now erected. Activities to be continued as soon as weather allows :). All work was done with volunteers and few locals (some photos are available below and more photos and videos are uploaded on our Facebook page).
These activities take place in Mesteacanu village, Salaj county, Romania. This village is 70 km away from Cluj-Napoca, the city we live in. We named this project 'Căsuța din Zmeuriș' or 'The small house from the raspberry bushes', since there are (you guessed) raspberry bushes on the land (zmeuris = raspberry bushes, in Romanian).
Building the small house - summer 2013
Putting down the old house - spring 2013
More about us
Asociația Viața Alternativă (The Association for an Alternative Life) is an NGO from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, promoting an alternative lifestyle based on sustainable development and living in full harmony with nature.
The NGO was set up in autumn 2010, the core team has 5 members (all volunteers with higher studies in Environmental Sciences, Sustainable Development, Economics), and there are other volunteers helping.
Our focus is on building natural constructions with eco-efficient systems, applying permaculture principles, undertaking activities related to environment protection, environmental education, and ecotourism.
Up to now, we have built a natural garage (strawbales, green roof), a compost toilet, a greenhouse for plants (strawbales), and a rocket mass heater, a cob oven (all videos and many photos are available on our Facebook page).
In the meantime, we had a small and beautiful opportunity to visit some nice places in Norway (July 2013). Via EEA Grants, we met Change the World organization (Forandre Verden) and we visited:
The NGO was set up in autumn 2010, the core team has 5 members (all volunteers with higher studies in Environmental Sciences, Sustainable Development, Economics), and there are other volunteers helping.
Our focus is on building natural constructions with eco-efficient systems, applying permaculture principles, undertaking activities related to environment protection, environmental education, and ecotourism.
Up to now, we have built a natural garage (strawbales, green roof), a compost toilet, a greenhouse for plants (strawbales), and a rocket mass heater, a cob oven (all videos and many photos are available on our Facebook page).
In the meantime, we had a small and beautiful opportunity to visit some nice places in Norway (July 2013). Via EEA Grants, we met Change the World organization (Forandre Verden) and we visited:
- The biologic waste water treatment system of Tvedestrand (7000 inhabitants) - video here
- Sagene district in Oslo - video here.
- Hurdal ecco village - video here.