We live in a rich environment, but its resources are finite--there's just so much clean water, air, energy, materials, etc. to go around. If we squander them, then we'll lead a poorer life. I grew up in Butte Montana in the States, which is now a Superfund site. Previous generations were reckless in digging up the ground for gold, copper and other metals and polluting both the ground, water and air, so literally nothing would grow in the contaminated soil. The US government is trying to improve the situation, but the vast wealth that was taken out is in shareholders pockets, with very limited resources to repair the damage. This is the opposite of sustainability and a direct result of free markets, capitalism and ceding control of one's environment and life to shareholders. The game is rigged and you cannot beat the house.

     A better way is to turn your back on the rat race and cultivate your own space, however small. Here at Green Planet Mura we are working to cultivate our land and grow our community organically, with just the right people, expertise and energy to develop sustainably over the long term. With the land this means being frugal about using expensive fertilizers, which tend to run off with the rains. Instead we are gradually improving the quality of our soils through things like Hugelcultur, biochar, composting and adding locally available supplements, such as old tatami mats, which break down over time, while conserving moisture and adding structure to the soil. This we can keep doing year after year without great expense or excessive labor.

    Similarly, we recycle local materials as much as possible when we build. Otaru suffers from a glut of empty buildings, but we benefit by taking on used materials from demolition companies and then recycling them. This saves the demolition company the costs of disposing them, saves space in the dump and all of the costs of otherwise procuring lumber. In many cases, the materials we acquire are of a size and quality no longer generally available--old growth sized lumber and nice hardwoods for framing--something that just isn't done anymore. We can continue doing this as long as older houses are torn down.

Almost all the wood for the deck below came from a historic house here in Otaru that was torn down. We were lucky because the company that tore it down is working to recycle as much as possible--they're a real good player in the market. However, the trend more and more is toward the use of heavy equipment to just squash a house--contents and all--and throw it all away together, without sorting anything of value out. They have to pay the dump more to dispose of the materials in this way, but they literally demolish a house in a day, so they make their profits by volume...throwing away one house after another. Naturally, we oppose this approach and do our bit to source materials from more responsible companies.

Here Carlos from Colombia is installing a passive-solar water pre-heater on one of our roofs. Prior to installing it, we painted the roof itself white so sunlight is reflected, drastically reducing thermal gain, and allowing it to radiate heat from inside.  The pre-heated water feeds the water heater inside the house, so very little energy is needed for showers, etc., even on a cloudy day. Saves money while reducing our carbon footprint--win/win!

The orange tank here provides water for the raised beds, fruit trees and bushes. Water flows from the roof of the house uphill and fills it with water. Four more tanks around the property help get us through dry periods. However, we are gradually reducing our water needs for agriculture by transitioning to raised beds and by top dressing beds with old tatami, the traditional flooring of Japan. It breaks down over the course of a year, both suppressing weeds and acting as a sponge. The result is that even with a water-hungry crop like watermelons, we didn't have to water them even once last year!