Eco Living

Start making a difference right now

"Treat the Earth well. It was not given to you by your parents. It was loaned to you by your children" ~ Kenyan Proverb

You can start making a difference to your environment right now by living in an eco friendly manner. Living consciously makes a big difference to the quality of your life, by being mindful of your actions towards the environment you will become aware of your actions to the people in the environment.

Since it is property month in March, we are going to explore some eco friendly ways of building your dream home. I am sure that you have heard of the cob house that is being built in Muizenberg. This method of building is ULTRA ECO! The mixture is made out of sand, water and straw. This is mixed and compacted into bricks and left to dry. The malleability of the bricks allows for smoother lines and curves in the buildings. The material also allows for better insulation, thus saving on heat costs in winter and cooling in summer. This method of building is not foreign in South Africa, some of the old Cape Dutch houses were built in this manner and many of the Lesotho traditional rondawels still use this cost effective method of building.

You don't have to start from scratch, your next building project on your existing home can use this method. The fact that you can involve your family in this venture will add to the fun of building additions to your home.

This methodology is not without its pitfalls, banks at this stage will not give out loans for cob building as the Government does not have standards set in place for alternative building methodologies. There are other eco methods of building such as sandbags, adobe, straw bales amongst others.

Lynedoch, Stellenbosch has a Sustainable living Institute that is aimed at being a practical and working example of an ecologically designed urban system that uses local replicable technologies and financially viable property development, including both construction, sale and ongoing maintenance and operation's. They are worth a visit!

Getting your home eco friendly can start with solar power heating, for water. Geyser blankets priced at around R150 can also reduce electricity costs. The same system that is used for a solar geyser can be fitted to your pool, allowing it to be used most of the year! There are also alternative cooking methods such as the sun stove. Stoves consume a huge amount of electricity and using the various types of solar stoves can cut costs dramatically.

Start thinking about getting your property eco compliant and reap the benefits now.