I was wondering whether the Fire situation would be a set back!
I know you want to do things legally and root Earth Ships into the land, but could a temporary dwelling such as a Yurt (or even a van) be a work around the building permits in the short term?
I don't know much about fireproofing, but I'll imagine you'll find the wind to be your biggest barrier - embers and wind, that's a tough one to combat!
Hopefully it will all work out. Good to be optimistic!
As for temporary buildings, that's probably the route we will go through, the city architect mentioned, and it's common around here to live in temporary buildings while waiting and building the new one.
With fireproofing, definitely wind is a biggie. But around here, the real cause is overgrown brush, alongside the massive eucalyptus plantations.. Its a country that is used to being saturated with water. These recent fires have really caught them. Off guard and by surprise.. The biggest measure was beffing up the fire brigade, which is a great response to emergencies, but does very little in the way of prevention.
As someone who grew up in a country very prone to fires, I can easily see how the Portuguese have no cultural experience with fires.. I mean Penamacor boasts the largest bonfire in their winter festival... Maybe I'll post about it sometime because it just... So unbelievablely rediculous... Last year, they melted the church windows... melted! Evey year the fire brigade is there, spraying gallons of water all night around the area to make sure it doesn't spread... I mean.... Tradition, am I right?
Anyway, far too long a response for such a helpful and supportive comment... Thanks again, and I'll keep you all posted as we see where this goes..
It sounds like some of the solutions aren't to difficult to manifest, then again those cultural barriers!