[FESTIVAL] The Shepherd's Hut, Ruinen the Netherlands

[Quincy]

This topic is part of the Community Center Sustainability Festival. The original topic was posted on the Dutch Community Center by @Katja202, and we have translated it below.

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The Shepherd's Hut, Ruinen in the Netherlands.

For us, it has never been a question of using as many natural building materials as possible when building our home; it has been a process of years of reading and searching. Creation is not ours, we may live there, but as temporary residents it is only natural to be careful with what you borrow. 

In 2017, we got the opportunity to buy a small farmhouse with large pigsties including 1076 square feet of asbestos. For most home seekers, this was one big drama and due to the lack of interest we got a fantastic place. Thanks to a wrecker, the site was freed from its industrial pig farm and we were given an empty canvas to fill in ourselves.

The design of the house had actually been in our minds for years and the choice of building materials had been made for a long time. Simply because eco makes sense. Lots of natural materials, a wood stove that also heats the central heating system, solar collectors for hot water in the summer, solar panels for electricity, lots of south-facing windows, concrete as a passive heat source on the floor and lots, lots of insulation to have the house like a warm blanket over us. 

To get so much insulation in the wall and roof, wooden skeleton construction was a great option. Both the inside and the outside were covered with wood. And hemp in between as insulation was a no-brainer; a fast-growing crop that can be grown locally without pesticides. In addition, it has the wonderful habit of absorbing and releasing moisture, so that it treats the resident to a pleasant indoor climate. The neighbourhood soon got wind of our insulation and our house was lovingly named 'the weed house'. 

Our empty canvas consisted of about 0.94 acres of dead ground. It had been covered with concrete for 60 years and the rest of the soil had been sprayed with pesticides or handed over to the weeds. For us, not a disaster, but rather an opportunity to revisit what we had learned in Austria from Joseph Holzer (Holzer Permaculture) and from Geoff Lawton's Permaculture Design Course in Australia.  Slowly we see the land recovering, the diversity in plants and animals increasing, and it allows us to take steps to harvest, both materially and immaterially. This year we hope to eat from our own garden most of the year, and we get to enjoy our increasingly beautiful canvas all year long.

But other people also fit in our picture. We decided to start a small AirBnB. It seemed like a good source of income, but soon turned out to be an added value…

We built our AirBnB just like our house with mostly natural materials. The base consisted of a farm cart that we bought from a shepherd from a village down the road, hence the name ‘The Shepherd's Hut’. Then we built a Tiny House of materials from the construction or from others, with a shower and a compost toilet. The number two left on the composting toilet could eventually go to the trees and the gray water could also go back into the garden via a simple grease filter and a helophyte filter. And to ensure that no damage is done to the ground, we decided to provide the guests with ecological soap.

Thanks to AirBnB, the guests arrived soon. Mostly people who wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. To enjoy the atmosphere of our cottage, the peace and nature.  And they also discovered our garden; fresh mint, tomatoes from the greenhouse, vegetables and eggs from Charlie & the Chooksters.  It is so nice to see how guests come with the burden of everyday life on their shoulders and to see them leave well rested. People who say they've felt at home with us for a while.

To be honest, we aren't thinking very big. We focus on the climate in miniature. We should take good care of the piece of creation that we have been given control of. That includes providing a warm place for guests.  That means feeding the soil in the garden instead of depleting it, and we are rewarded with food with nutritional value.  That means we plant trees and shrubs and we get a diversity of birds in return. That means that we give animals an existence that suits them, instead of seeing an animal as a product, and then you get beautiful eggs and good meat. 

Some of the guests are genuinely interested in our canvas and some so much so that they want to start painting their canvas at home too, just naturally!

How sustainable are you?

Best regards,

Katja

[Laurelle3]

@Katja202 I loved reading your story of growth and adventure with the your little plot of environment. It is best to start off small. By adding a little bit each day, week, or month improves your land.

I think Europeans have taken up saving the environment because of the population and the size of countries and appreciate all that they have and need to preserve it.

The challenge is being taken up here by the children and grandchildren to improve what we have. Our heritag of all our forefathers has been to take and do what they want with this land because there is more for the taking. But as history shows that not all ideas were fore the best.

Your Shepherds Hut is calling and the location. By starting off small you are ambassador for the people arround you and the guest come and stay.

[Katja202]

@Laurelle3Thank you for your kind words. Indeed on our small piece of land we try to do the right thing well.  

[Helen427]

Gorgeous @Katja202 @Quincy @Laurelle3 

What type of timber did you use and where did you source it from for the main part of your home @Katja202 ?

What are the flowers around your home?

[Katja202]

@Helen427  Thank you ☺️ The wood used for the house is mainly douglas and oak from the Eifel (nearby in Germany) The wood for the Shepherd’s hut is left over wood from the house. Oi the question about the flowers … that’s just so much and difficult because you want to know the english names 😉! I give it a try … calendula, daisy, horsradish, clover, cosmea, comfrey, cornflower, epilobiium hirsutum, papaveraceae, poppy, mallow, evening primrose, chamonile …. (Soooo refreshed my english vocabulaire on flower names 🤣) … lots of flowers and i don’t even know all the names. But i always try and find out what it is and what the potential benefits are (other than just being pretty). Some are herbs and some are good for insects against diseases, some are pioner plants. The pioner plants are interesting because they tell you the story of problems in the soil. The pioners are the restorers and if you know what they do you can help them. Plants are great and nature is so much smarter then we are ……

[Deirdre122]

Oh how lovely to be able start from scratch the right way and build on your own foundation of knowledge and experience. I'm happy to hear you're seeing the land recover and reaping the rewards. Really inspiring!