THESE HOUSES ARE MADE OF WHISKEY BARRELS - ECOVILLAGES

pipokinha (62)in #news • 7 years ago

In Findhorn, in the north of Scotland, living in houses that were once barrels of whiskey is a reality. The construction of this ecological community was driven by the foundation with the same name of the locality, created in 1962 in an old park of caravans. And it was from the mind of Roger Douda that the idea of reusing wood from the barrels to build houses became the first permanent residences of Findhorn in 1986.

Douda, 73, a North American resident of Scotland since the 1980s, admits that building wooden houses that once used to house the famous Scottish drink was an innovative refresher exercise. The idea came to him after he had gone to a cooperage to get wood for the winter and to have seen six large barrels dismantled.

After the first house came four more and today there are dozens of houses made of recycled material in this small community of about 500 people. In times ridiculed by its hippie style, Findhorn is today a reference of how to live in communion with nature, without polluting the environment and favoring the recycling of materials. Sustainability is a motto of life: waste water treatment is done biologically, boilers are fueled by biomass, there is a water heating system through solar energy and the electrical system is supplied by wind power, four wind turbines scattered around the surrounding terrain.

"The first wind turbine… was put up in 1989 as a brand new machine, and it generates 75 kilowatts", said Duncan Easter, project manager at Findhorn Wind Park.

"At the time, most of that power was being used in the community and that allowed us to pay for it relatively quickly. Then, we had a long pause before the regulations changed and we were able to get a better price for exporting power… in 2006 we put up the three additional larger wind turbines, taking us from a 75 kilowatt wind park with just one turbine to 750 kilowatts", said Easter.