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Home Sweet Home in an RV

……I have bought my new home… and her name is Eunice. 

Here she is! This beauty is a 1994 Ford Coachman, a fully self-contained camper van. The interior is a sophisticated teal, my favorite color. Although I would deny suggestions that this what sold me (of course I would).

I put down a deposit just in time!  A group of retirees, ready to buy, pulled up to the curb where the van was still displayed for sale just as the previous owner was writing my receipt.

My mechanic (who kicked in negotiation services for free) talked down the previous owner, Rich, to $6,800.  It was worth every penny.  Rich, who declined the much higher price the old folks offered with very good grace, always made sure Eunice had the best of everything. He used a storage facility in winter, thus allowing her a relatively youthful appearance despite her maturity.  She rides smooth!

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Off-Grid 101

Reedbeds, not sewers

Reedbed Filtration is a natural approach to human waste water treatment. International environmental scientist, MELVYN RUTTER is a born-again reed-bed enthusiast. Here he describes his personal journey.

I began my research in the spring of 1995, shortly after graduating as a mature student from Huddersfield University. I visited many sites with reedbeds, learned their designs, and saw what they did. I formulated a design that avoided all of the faults and mistakes of the systems I studied.

All methods of waste water treatment harness the work of bacteria to break down nutrients and pollutants. In the presence of air ( oxygen ) things break down, and in the absence of air ( oxygen ) things build up. The original developers of reedbeds used a horizontal flow system. This is where the effluents flow in the top and out of the top of the bed. They normally used a single bed. Sometimes they elongated it, and twisted the flows round and round again.

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Why I won’t fly to America

Academic planning an off-grid village a media hero after taking a stand against eco-campaigners who jet round world to save the planet.

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